Millions to GSU and KSU to improve teaching
FYI: Here are some specifics about where a portion of that $700 million in US DOE grants is going. (See post below about the fed dollars pouring into Georgia and other states.)
They sound like worthwhile projects.
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10 comments Add your comment
Lee
October 3rd, 2009
2:00 pm
According to the article:
“State studies show about 30 percent of Georgia’s beginning teachers leave within five years.”
We’ve blogged about the reasons for teacher dissatisfaction ad nauseam. What good is it to spend millions trying to qualify teachers when they walk away after a few short years?
Happy teachers = a good learning environment. Disgruntled teachers, frazzled teachers, worn out teachers, not so good.
Might want to address that issue first….
TW
October 3rd, 2009
3:09 pm
Lee – well said. Any college education professor worth his salt will advocate for his students to begin their teaching careers in another state. Sad, really, but when the citizens of GA support politicians who advocate against teacher:student and teacher pay, this is simple not the league for an aspiring young teacher to begin play.
ScienceTeacher671
October 3rd, 2009
3:23 pm
I agree with Lee.
Also, addressing points in the article, (1) if our school is representative, even more than 43% of the state’s high school special education teachers are not fully certified, and (2) the young teachers who leave the classroom frequently are “the best and the brightest” who decide they can make more money with a less stressful work environment in the private sector.
Maureen's accountability metric
October 3rd, 2009
3:27 pm
Once again we see a fundamental unwillingness to address the truth when it comes to “reform,” and as we see Maureen says “they sound like worthwhile projects” we see where once again Maureen makes a mockery of her claim to have a “single lens focus on what’s best for Georgia students.”
Does anybody doubt that having an empowered teacher is best for Georgia students? Does anybody doubt that if we spent one billion on removing chronically disruptive students from the classroom, and put them in environments where they given the structure and discipline they need, that it would bring a far better return on investment than spending ten or even twenty billion on the latest “training du jour” for teachers?
Of course you won’t see Maureen or the AJC take that stand. You have to understand that their agenda, and “what’s best for children” are two distinct things.
But of course you already understand that; a quick look at the AJC subscription rates confirms it.
ScienceTeacher671
October 3rd, 2009
4:41 pm
Another question might be why two metro-area universities received this money, and no money appears to have gone to colleges or universities in other parts of the state (which as usual seem to be forgotten and ignored.) What about Georgia Southern University (formerly Georgia Teachers’ College)? What about Georgia Southwestern?
Sarge
October 3rd, 2009
5:22 pm
Urban Education Emphasis…if that doesn’t sound like a barrel of snake oil…exactly how is this tax-supported grant going to enhance the education process? ESOL teachers will simply speak L-O-U-D-E-R and S-L-O-W-E-R? Before the advent of ESOL (yet another layer in the education elite hierarchy), how in the world did kids, newly-arrived on the Red White and Blue shores, ever manage? Some became captains of industry, most (yours truly included) simply learned the way kids have learned for centuries, and went about life as productively as we could. As with bailout packages of recent, this DOE grant will simply replenish the coffers controlled by the few for the ultimate benefit of the few.
Millions to GSU and KSU to improve teaching | Get Schooled « Improvers
October 3rd, 2009
6:56 pm
[...] View original post here: Millions to GSU and KSU to improve teaching | Get Schooled [...]
catlady
October 4th, 2009
6:52 pm
Based on the graduates I have seen coming out of KSU’s program and their lack of preparedness, I guess they need the money. Doubt it will be well-spent, however. KSU is THE public state university serving all of Northwest Georgia, which is decidedly NOT urban. Way to go! Next, let’s award the University of Kansas some stimulus money for marine biology! Or UGA for Arctic Studies! Or Ga Southern for Archaelogy of the Great Lakes! Woo! Call me a hoagie ’cause I am on a roll!
jim d
October 6th, 2009
8:31 am
NOW THERE’S A PLAN DOOMED FOR FAILUR!!!!
You’d think after decades of just throwing more money at the problem we’d have figured that out!
Old School
October 7th, 2009
8:23 am
You know, Valdosta State’s New Teacher Institute is an excellent program for new instructors recruited out of industry. It doesn’t force teaching styles on the newbies but gives them a set of excellent tools from which to choose. They also get a crash course on fighting the paper tigers they’ll face that have little to do with students but everything to do with recordkeeping and cya. As a result, there are some mighty fine CTAE programs around our state that are doing a great job (until someone higher up decides you must teach auto mechanics exactly like a language arts class.)