Get Schooled

By Ann

April 20, 2005 10:58 AM | Link to this

That was a truly inspired post today. I can’t wait to see the show. Happy CRCT Testing Week!

By Brittney

April 20, 2005 10:59 AM | Link to this

This would be an interesting show to watch-perhaps even entertaining. It would show just how much teachers grow through on a day to day basis. Their jobs are not a piece of cake! I would change one thing though- in my opinion A.D.D. is just hyper kids that have not been shown how to concentrate and calm down…instead they use drugs and prescriptions to basically “numb” the hyperness instead of teaching that child… BUT anyway… I would want to see the contestants deal with children who are dyslexic, illiterate, special needs and speak little English.

great idea though if some t.v. exec. would pick it up!

By Jennifer

April 20, 2005 11:28 AM | Link to this

Love cannot believe it, but I love the idea. I can’t stand shows like Survivor and The Apprentice, or any ‘reality’ shows for that matter.

I am curious to know how the businessmen/women view schools and teachers before they do this and after.

Talk about a massive lifestyle change. Going from a good salary down to a teacher’s salary is going to be difficult I’m sure, but very entertaining for me.

By Sly

April 20, 2005 12:05 PM | Link to this

We don’t complain as much in our jobs in the real world. Let’s see a reality show where the teachers try to do our jobs. They wouldn’t last too long. We’re not as sheltered. You do the job right or you’re gone.

By I_Teach

April 20, 2005 12:12 PM | Link to this

Sly honey? Most of us HAVE been in the real world. Fact: attrition rate for new teachers is about 4 years. In other words, those shiny new teachers coming in, usually leave after 4, because of the job.

The attrition rate is much lower in what you call the real world. I DARE you to go become a substitute teacher. Hey, as a sub, your plans will be made out for you already. I guarantee YOU won’t last. Very few come back after a while.

I’ve done outside jobs, done the stay at home mom thing (another difficult job!),and have taught for 12 years. What have you done?

By I_Teach

April 20, 2005 12:16 PM | Link to this

Brittney,

ADD is much more than “hyper kids that have not been shown how to concentrate and calm down.” Believe it or not, there is actual medical evidence to the contrary. Hyper kids, as you describe them, may suffer from ADHD, not ADD.

ADD is much different from ADHD—ADD kids don’t always jump around; most are the ones we say are daydreaming. Most young children do not have the coping skills needed to screen out those distractions, and need some extra help. Most do go off their meds once they get older (middle/high school).

It’s also terribly unfair to say that the condition is caused by not being shown how to concentrate and calm down.

An idea: go volunteer your time in an elementary school, and try what you think may help. I promise you, it isn’t that simple. When bright children can’t learn because they can’t ‘shut off’ their brains, it’s a real problem…(again, i am not speakiing to ADHD, which is a real problem as well!)

By Brittney

April 20, 2005 12:49 PM | Link to this

To I_Teach: I have volunteered at an elementary school. In high school I did and now my youngest sister is in elementary school, so I help her class out plenty. That was my opinion. I am in the medical field and know the difference between ADD and ADHD. I have my opinion as well as you have yours. I am aware that the kids may “daydream”… my point was, yes, we can put a label on it all we want…but where are we getting at if we put these kids on medicine for the majority of their life.There are alternative things we can do to get these kids to pay attention-if we took the time to help… Thank you for your opinion but I am not 110% convinced that ADD OR ADHD cannot be sustained without putting these kids on meds. Being that I am in the medical field I see from another perspective…that we are just putting labels on things in order to “cure” the most simplest problem with meds. You are right, they have done medical research but alot of research they do now-a-days doesn’t convince the majority of the people.

I do not want to make this post about who scientifcally believes the theory of ADD or ADHD. I am just commenting on I_Teach’s post concerning me.

Back to the original message:this would be a terrific idea! Show what teachers really go through.

By Shauna

April 20, 2005 03:37 PM | Link to this

I would love to participate in this series. Not for the pay, because it would be an increase for me. (Sad huh?!) But because I already know that it would be difficult. I just want to see how well (or bad) I would do. I love children and I know that I would give it my all. I also realize that may not be enough.

Great idea though.

By C.R.H.

April 20, 2005 05:10 PM | Link to this

I got this email the other day…I would watch the show and invite friends over to laugh at the poor contestants! It would be even more fun to put these contestants in a low performing school with students that are illiterate and are only there because their P.O. & some judge told them they had to be there.

By Lacy

April 22, 2005 09:59 AM | Link to this

While this might be an interesting premise, I personally would like to know how many of our teachers would fare better than the businessmen? Yes, there are some really great teachers. But there are also some terrible ones. They’d have to do some pretty careful casting, wouldn’t they?

By nuckenfuts

April 22, 2005 11:52 AM | Link to this

“”Each class will have five learning-disabled children, three with “A.D.D.â€?, one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three will be labeled with severe behavior problems. Each businessperson must complete lesson plans at least 3 days in advance with annotations for curriculum objectives and modify, organize, or create materials accordingly. They will be required to teach students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance, write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades, complete report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents and arrange parent conferences.

They must also supervise recess and monitor the hallways. In addition, they will complete drills for fire, tornadoes and shooting attacks. They must attend workshops, (100 hours), faculty meetings, union meetings and curriculum development meetings. They must also tutor those students who are behind and strive to get their 2 non-English speaking children proficient enough to take the TAKS test. If they are sick or having a bad day they must not let it show. Each day they must incorporate reading, writing, math, science, and social studies into the program. They must maintain discipline and provide an educationally stimulating environment at all times.”“

Haven’t teachers ALWAYS done all of these things thoughout the history of public education? This classroom scenario/TV Show implies that these things are new to teachers these days. My contention is that they have always done all of these things (with very few exceptions), and done them well up until the last decade and a half, or so.

It’s not like any teacher today does not understand what they are in for when they choose to go into teaching and once they graduate with their education degree.

And don’t teachers go to college to learn how to do all these things that seem so unmanagable to the common person? And to do them better and more efficiently? If not then we need to look at the teaching universities and figure out why not.

By Devil's Advocate

April 25, 2005 01:29 PM | Link to this

No. Teachers haven’t always done these things. Kids who were special ed. were in special ed. classes that served as holding pens where they got very little actual education.

Others were probably kicked out or dropped out by the time they were in high school. Go back a few generations in your own family. Did everyone graduate from high school?

Behavior problems were expelled if they made enough trouble. ADHS kids were probably treated as behavior problems and ADD kids got yelled at for daydreaming.

Teachers assigned grades, and reoort cards went out each grading period. People probably didn’t expect constant averages and updates.

By Dan

April 25, 2005 04:47 PM | Link to this

My money would be on the business folks. People with real life experiences, in math, science, accounting, communication do this all the time. In my opinion some people are just natural teachers and while the “teaching” classes taken in college will probably help those people become better teachers I am not so sure it will help someone without the natural ability to become a great teacher. In the AJC this weekend a teacher wrote a bitter letter to the editor about teacher bashing and then listed some of the masters courses he had taken Law for teachers, finance for teachers, science for teachers. This is the problem. Who understands the subject better the pupil who took Law or the one who took law for teachers? It is no contest I have a finance degree and therefor had to take calculus for business and let me tell you compared to the calculus my Chemical engineer roomate had to take was a lot different. I am not saying to be a good teacher is easy, but the sob story gets old