http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/n..._r=1&scp=1&sq=jordan mott&st=nyt&oref=slogin There was a lot that I liked about the article, but the following quote still remains my personal favorite:
Sorry if this coming from a Roman Catholic annoys anyone, but: Oy Vey! Some people need a swift slap the back of the head from the Get A Clue Fairy, and a visit from the Common Sense Fairy too...
I can see that as well. Unfortunately, I can also see the writers at the NY Times thinking in just the same manner, and I suspect that this is the only reason the event got any publicity. There were several other paragraphs of note in the article though, some of which I discussed with Ba yesterday: Some people seem to still be playing right into the hands of Al Sharpton and others who encourage a reality of mistrust, separation, and downright violence. Such thinking (addressing an issue by *not* addressing an issue) is the kind I find pathetic, and I'm glad that Mr. Waronker got the job after all, rather than being forced into the "teach white kids" or "teach Jewish yeshiva boys" stereotype that some seem to have wanted him to obey to save any potential trouble. Jacqueline Williams makes me cringe, as does any teacher who measures the extent of his or her commitment to the students by the extent of his/her insurance. If you're just there for the money, then you'd better start looking for another job - because if you don't care enough about your students, if you're there to just shove facts down their throats rather than prepare them for the future, you're more an enemy to them than a friend. And the students will treat you as such. All I could say to that was "When Ms. Synodis was teaching math, no one bothered to attend. So what will more math books help, other than occupy the seats that the students themselves won't sit on?" If a student doesn't understand why he's being taught, then he'll just treat the teacher as a damn fool who doesn't know a thing about real life. He, the student, will be certain that the knows better, and that the teacher is just a petty dictator who needs to be put in place.
I don't know how it is in Israel, but in America there's no such thing as a teacher who's "only in it for the money". Well, okay, maybe one or two, but they've got mental health issues.
Teachers in Israel get a very low paycheck, far below what they actually should get. A teacher who doesn't have two jobs is a teacher who won't be eating much. But this doesn't change two essential facts: 1. One may start out with good intentions when studying up for teaching, but those intentions can die pretty quickly once you get in the field. Then, you just stay because it's all you know. From that point on, it becomes "just a job", and that person won't stick his neck out for "just a job". 2. One's intentions may not be all that good in the first place. Some people see teaching as an easy job, one that doesn't require too much effort to get into. My neighbor wants to be a teacher, and he often presents me with stories where a maths teacher of over 15 years is taking the same course with him, only to show that she doesn't have much beyond basic math skills. To which I respond "But how can someone teach someone a subject that he doesn't understand?" - to which I get I shrug and the answer "You can't. But that doesn't change the fact that some people who want to be teachers are total morons."
