Should teachers be held to a higher standard

I was wondering what people thought in regards to whether or not a teacher should be held to a higher set of standards. It was sort of a general question thrown out to us in one of my other classes where we had to a write a reaction paper to the question.


In my opinion, teachers should not be held to a higher standard. People in society possess freewill, so in my opinion, teachers shouldn’t be treated any differently. As we know, all members of society are expected to abide by the rules and laws set by judiciary and legislative powers of government. Why should a person, simply because of his or her profession, be expected to live differently than the rest of us? It is unfair and impractical to tell hard working teachers that they can be publicly scrutinized and expected to live differently than everybody else. In addition, my beliefs are not just centered on educators: I truly believe that people should be free to do what they want to, without being under constant public scrutiny. As long as a teacher is not involved in illegal activity, I think they should be able to live their own life.
While I am a firm believer in having freedom to make your own choices, obviously there are many people (teachers included) that make less than stellar decisions in regards to their own personal conduct. I am not condoning behavior that lends itself to being unlawful or on the fringe of criminal behavior. Teachers should always be cognitive of the situations they put themselves in on a daily basis, whether it be in the classroom or in the outside world in general. In a world of instant gratification, bad news is spread faster and faster with the advent of cell phone cameras and the Internet. Celebrities have always been under a constant microscope, but unfortunately, sometimes their slip-ups do not even come close to the negative consequences teachers would face if caught doing something deemed inappropriate in relation to their field of work. Because educators are teaching children, common public perception states that teachers should live like saints without any sin. However, everyone knows everyone else has human elements and they are all inclined to make mistakes at some level throughout their lives, including their professional careers.
The only requirement that I think should be mandatory is passing a drug test. If you have an educator preaching about how it’s destructive to get involved in drugs, and then he or she is going out against their teaching, that’s obviously wasted time in the classroom. More importantly, it’s just poor form as an educator to be doing one thing and practicing another. Teaching can be incredibly consuming and tiring, and a teacher needs to be able to perform day in and day out. This wouldn’t be possible if a teacher is using drugs. I understand that drug testing raises issues that pertain to both the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which requires that citizens be treated as innocent until proven guilty and be accorded due process of law when accused. There is a legal battle going on right now about this topic in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
Kanawha County school board members decided to enter a long legal battle over employee drug testing because of several high-profile drug incidents and their own political calculations, according to interviews with board members who support the policy. The board decided last week to go ahead with its plan to randomly drug test teachers and other school employees despite warnings of a nasty, costly series of legal actions that started today. One teachers union, The American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, this morning filed a lawsuit in Kanawha Circuit Court calling on the courts to end the board's plan to begin random employee testing in January. The suit seeks a declaratory judgment and injunction to prevent the implementation of the testing plan. (http://www.mapinc.org/newscfdp/v08/n1067/a12.html)

For obvious reasons, teachers feel that this would be an expensive violation of their rights. The money used to perform the drug tests could be better used in the classrooms. In conclusion, I believe that teacher’s should be allowed to live their lives how they choose. This includes social lives, sexual orientation, opinions, beliefs, and decisions. Conduct inside the classroom should always be top-notch, and all teachers should be mature enough to know how to live their lives so this is possible

What type of teacher's personality do you possess?

Here is a link I came across while researching multiple intelligences for another class. I find that this may be helpful as we try to relate experiences and teach to different children. Obviously, we probably won't be perfect teachers for every single student in our careers, but this mini-quiz may allow you to understand your strengths and weaknesses a little better.

http://712educators.about.com/library/quizzes/blteacher_personality.htm

Interesting Article

This is an interesting read- especially after learning about My Access!
What do you think?

http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i04/04b01001.htm

MY Access! software

In Response to MY Access!

I am impressed with MY Access!, and I think it is proof that technology has transformed (and will continue to transform) how we teach. I believe that Web-based programs can be very effective, when used to correct way.

As I watched the video and demonstration, I thought to myself, “Wow, I wish they had stuff like this when I was growing up!” I can only imagine how much more I would have enjoyed "learning how to write."The program looks organized, interesting, and easy to use. I think that students of all ages and abilities would benefit from this program.

My Access would definitely decrease the amount of student and teacher paperwork. As a teacher, I would enjoy the freedom that this program allows. I think it’s important to continue to create your own assignments, not just stick to the MY Access! assignments. This program can be used for different subjects, types of assignments, and genres.

This program would also really help ESL students, as he/she can work on the English language at their own pace and in their native language (when needed). It would also be a great way to communicate with their parents. Oftentimes parents struggle with the English language, and communication can be difficult. A parent letter sent home in their native language would be tremendous.

I can imagine how the word bank and graphic organizers would help resource students. The “My Editor” feature is also a great way for students to see their "weak spots." MY Access is a nice way to track student progress and skills. The feedback is in a timely manner, which is always a challenge for teachers!

As a teacher, I would love to use a program like this in my classroom. Although it wouldn’t be my only way of teaching, I think it would be a valuable resource. I believe that variety is the key to a successful and engaging classroom.


I found this article very interesting – looks like MY Access “walks the walk!”

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Online+writing+program+walks+the+walk:+MY+Access!+boosts+scores...-a0120254108

Teaneck Public Schools Think About Incentives

http://www.northjersey.com/education/brightideas/Teaneck_tries_rewards_cards.html

I came across this article in the Bergen Record.

I think this type of idea sends kids the wrong message about learning in general. Striving for greatness, be it for grades or outstanding behavior for the ultimate reason being coupons or virtual cash at local businesses is a poor way to dictate the terms of learning. While I believe it's a teacher's duty to energize the classroom and make topics more interesting, putting a bounty out there for good grades basically states that kids should only be doing things for monetary gain rather than intellectual world.

Granted we live in a capitalist society, but this is taking things way too far too fast just like I think it would be too much too soon with the approach of distance learning at the high school level.

Any thoughts?

Ipod Article Reaction (History to go: Why I Teach With Ipods)

In my class on Principles of Curriculum I had to do a presentation on multiple intelligences and how different styles of learning relate to curriculum. Reading this article on the Ipod and teachers and professors incorporating it into their course load could not have been a better example of the message I was trying to convey during my presentation.



While the Ipod probably incorporates the visual/spatial and auditory mulitiple intelligences, I think there may be new research coming out that implements technology usage as another multiple intelligence. In today's world, where kids can multi-task with the best of them, and certainly more so than when I was in school, technology allows another window of learning capacity.



When Howard Gardner first published his multiple intelligence theory in 1983, Sony Walkmans were just coming into being and they weren't nearly as interactive as today's Ipods and other handheld devices. I think as far as people who learn best visually speaking, they are able to think in picture displays including diagrams, illustrated textbooks, overhead transparencies, videos, handouts, and Power Points. Ipods just add to that capacity to llearn while also adding in auditory components. Interactive schemes like online quizzes can be used on an Ipod, you basically have a small hard drive at your fingertips, and it's something that you always see the younger generation with. Other handheld devices like Blackberry and now Iphone and Gphone will come into play, and it's at the teacher's discretion to see what avenue best assimilates their teaching principles into a young sudent's mind.

The Ipod is the perfect solution. And now they can have detailed notes to take with them while they are listening to music on their Ipod. All that has to be done is to open that condensed Word doc. and take it all in at their leisure. I think that may be the biggest advantage. It provides a much more casual atmosphere to learning rather than the traditional regimented studying in the libary attitude (that wasn't wrong, but I think we as teachers have to adapt in a new age).