Gold Dome Live

By THERESE PERSAUD

March 4, 2009 1:25 PM | Link to this

I have never heard of anything more elitist and unenlightened !!!! The world is reeling from the effects of sterile mathematical and scientific engineering without attention to the area of human feeling !! If anything , we need more emphasis on the liberal arts areas !!

By JRB

March 4, 2009 2:10 PM | Link to this

We just need to increase their pay a little bit more then we are sure to see improvement in students achievement. How much more money are we going to throw to the teachers union before we realize it will never be enough? The union has destroyed public education in this country. If you ever wanted a case study on the effects of unions on a business just compare our primary education system to the college education system in this country. The one with the union has been falling and the one without remains the best in the world.

By MrLiberty

March 4, 2009 2:15 PM | Link to this

Obviously it would never occur to these idiots that wonderful, capable, intelligent retired professionals from private industry would be more than happy to consider teaching positions in government schools were it not for the hair-brained requirement for a government authorized teaching certificate. Somebody who has worked with math and science for a 25-35 year career is more than capable of teaching to high school students or lower grades without any “certification” but is likely not interested in going through the dumbed down brainwashing academy that is today’s teacher education programs. It is likley that they have been “teaching” their colleagues for most of their careers. Some of the best teachers I had in private school did not have teaching “credentials” but certainly knew their subjects and knew how to make them interesting and enjoyable. My SAT scores and college performance certainly confirmed for me that my education was great.

It is the inflexibility and restrictive regulations of the government run system that make it the failure it is today. Throwing more money at the problem (apparently the only thing politicians seem to know how to do) will not address the underlying problems.

Currently government school teachers already make way more than their private counterparts and deliver lower quality, plus they get guaranteed pensions after minimal time on the job.

It seems to me the problem of good science and math teachers is likely more about the candidates who seek out these cushy jobs and not the pay incentive. Studies show that education majors score among the lowest on standardized tests. I certainly don’t see how more money is going to fix that. By the way, private sector employers of math and science majors generally don’t pick from the bottom of the pile.

By Steven Stembridge

March 4, 2009 2:18 PM | Link to this

Math teachers, like myself, get paid more for one simple fact. Teachers who are high school math certified are generally smart enough to pursue other, more higher paying professions in the private sector. And that is what most of us do. Teachers who have science backgrounds can go into the medical field and earn way more than a teacher’s salary. It is much harder for someone with an Endlish, Social Studies, or any other liberal arts degree to go get a job in the private sector that will pay them more than a teaching job. Just a fact. So… the government is going to increase our salaries to make math and science jobs more competitive with their private sector counterparts. Hopefully, this more competitive wage will attract qualified teachers to the profession.

By Buddy Eidson

March 4, 2009 2:19 PM | Link to this

TP says that we must get in touch with our feelings. Well I feel you are an idiot. Our graduates can’t compete with students from other countries because we are seriously lacking in math and science. Teachers don’t want to push themselves because math and science cources are “hard” and they might not be able to cut it. They weren’t taught tough cources in school because they didn’t “feel” like taking them. In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny, “What a MAROON.”

By NewMathTeacher

March 4, 2009 2:33 PM | Link to this

Where are all of these Math Teaching Jobs? The Gwinnett Teacher Job Fair on Saturday had over 2200 attendees. It seems to me that the schools are still able to be pretty selective with the large applicant pool due to the recession. TeachGeorgia.org lists only about 36 Math Teaching jobs for all of Georgia.

By k lee

March 4, 2009 3:03 PM | Link to this

MrLiberty, you are lazy and misinformed. You worked in math and science for 25 years? The hair-brained requirements you refer to are to ensure that teachers in public classrooms understand the scientific research which undergirds the profession. You know, frivolous courses such as educational psychology and statistics.

I spent 15 years in the private sector before going back to school to earn a teaching certificate. If you want to be a teacher, become a teacher. If your standardized test scores are so high, you won’t have any problem getting accepted into a program. Since you’re so intelligent, you won’t have a problem passing the courses. If you background is so extensive, you have to take content courses to earn your certificate. So instead of bellyaching about obstacles that literally thousands of people such as myself have overcome with minimal difficulty, why don’t you go out and earn a teaching certificate?

By drt

March 4, 2009 3:39 PM | Link to this

Mr. Liberty, I will put my wife’s knowledge in math against yours anyday. She has taught math for 20 years. She could make more in the private sector and I told her that. She loves the kids and understands how to get them to love math. I have dealt with professionals who were great in their fields, but had no clue how to relate it to others. This is the key to teaching.