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Quarterbacks and Teachers
September 1, 2010
Hope is often misunderstood. People tend to think that it is simply passive wishful thinking… This is indeed the opposite of real hope, which requires action and engagement.
-Jane Goodall, Primatologist
-Jane Goodall, Primatologist
Gladwell goes on to describe how the key to the success in teaching is the quality of the teacher — "the difference between good teachers and poor teachers turns out to be vast... If you rank the countries of the world in terms of academic performance of their school children, the United States is just below average ... the United States could close this gap simply by replacing the bottom 6 percent to 10 percent of public school teachers with teachers of average quality.... But there's a hitch: No one knows what a person with potential to be a great teacher looks like. The school system has the quarterback problem."
Gladwell concludes this essay with that radical suggestion that to find successful teachers at any level we can't exclude people based on test scores or certificates, but we need to keep "the gate as wide open as possible" and then hold on to the ones who demonstrate what it takes on the job. "... We shouldn't be raising standards. We should be lowering them, because there is no point in raising standards if standards don't track with what we care about.... Teachers should be judged after they start their jobs, not before."
What keeps adults learning is the combination of ongoing reading, dialogue, trial and error, skill development, and continual self-reflection. There are always old and new ideas to visit, mentors and models to re-examine, and adjustments to make in one's approach. The Exchange CD Book Developing Capable, Creative Teachers offers an exhaustive collection of 53 articles in PDF format offering a host of practical ideas and strategies in the following categories:- Staff Development Basics
- Staff Development Strategies and Solutions
- Team Building Strategies and Solutions
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Comments (4)
Displaying All 4 CommentsShishu Vikash Kendra
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
A child is a book , a teacher is to read from page to page . The line indicates
that a child is a vast store of knowledge . A teacher may be high qualified but she has to learn more from the child . So the teacher should be child oriented
N.E. Focal Point Intergenerational Child Care Center
Deerfield Beach, Florida, United States
I agree that finding a good teacher is an analogy to the job of a quarterback. Everyone has a part and has to fit into the team. No one knows how the game will be until the whistle has blown or how it might end. Strengths and weaknesses will be evident and the "big plan" will be a success or a flop. I have to add that working with young children especially birth to 8 the growing years needs to have a good quarterback and team players in place. A quality program will lead to success for everyone. The teachers, the students (our future generation) and the community will be winners.
Child Care Resource & Referral
Cedar City, UT, United States
We need a way to measure how the prospective teacher will be with relationships and we need to add relationship training to teacher preparation classwork. Just doing this would make a world of difference. I know what makes the difference between a good teacher and a poor teacher and it is the quality of the relationships they are able to engender. As I look back on a long life in Early Childhood Education, I have seen caregiver's who had all the knowledge but were not sucessful with children and caregiver's with little knowledge who were able to teach children amazing lessons. There is no substitute for relationship.
new fun land childcare
lewisporte, nl, Canada
Food for thought....having good quality teachers/caregivers, doesn't mean you have the best or most qualified educated person. From time to time, we are made to hire staff based on certification, but that education should not be the final draw...I believe a pre-requiste for early childhood education would be to work in a licensed childcare for a minimum of 3 months(perfer 6) with evaluation, before accetance into a program. Usually by then the person knows wether or not this is for me and the honest evaluation would pend acceptance into the program. Then if marks are not top of the class, it doesn't matter, because we know this person is doing something they are cut out for!!!Not everyone qualified should be allowed to work with children....Food for thought!!!!
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