View Content #2020
| Contentid | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Content Type | 1 |
| Title | Opinion: Teachers of Ambition |
| Body | The following is quoted from: http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=02banner.h24 Full text available with free registration. Does anyone worry these days about teachers aspirationstheir professional dreams and expectations for themselves? Ive come to do so because Ive recently read applications in the competition for Teaching American History grants, the federal program to improve teachers and students knowledge of the nations past. Because of a confidentiality pledge, I cant disclose anything specific about those proposals or the nature of discussions among my fellow panelists. I can say that the proposals I read were solid, intelligent, and earnest; some were exciting; many, if funded, would significantly help fortify the knowledge of some teachers and their students. But what troubles me is that inherent in them all were two assumptions now integral to the way outsiders view teachers and the way teachers view themselves. The first is the assumption of passivitythe premise that others, not teachers themselves, must provide teachers with the spur to learning. The applications contained no indication that the teachers who would benefit by funded projects were those who had already shown proven initiative to gain knowledge on their own or clear frustration with the existing limitations on their knowledge. No evidence was provided that the teachers were desirous of becoming better historians as well as better teachers. If the proposals were funded, participating teachers would be given many opportunities to learn. The trouble is, as far as I could tell, they werent actively seeking them. The second assumption, which confuses knowledge with assumed responsibility, is the belief that by becoming better teachers through knowing more of their subjects, teachers become closer to being full members of their disciplines, able to assume positions as independent thinkers with their colleagues. This assumption comports with the widely held view that teachers teach students, not subjects, and that because of this they dont have to be thinkers in their subjects, but simply conveyers of knowledge about it. Neither assumption is valid.... The author goes on to discuss possible explanations for these detrimental assumptions. Banner, J. Teachers of ambition. Education Week. http://www.edweek.org/ew/ ewstory.cfm?slug=02banner.h24 (8 Sep. 2004). |
| Source | James Banner, Education Week |
| Inputdate | 2004-09-10 01:00:00 |
| Lastmodifieddate | 2004-09-10 01:00:00 |
| Expdate | Not set |
| Publishdate | Not set |
| Displaydate | Not set |
| Active | 1 |
| Emailed | 1 |
| Isarchived | 1 |
