I have very little respect for education degrees from most universities--even graduate education degrees. I've met too many folk I thought should not have been granted a BA/BS, let alone more advanced degrees.
"Will Durant" has pages of actual observations from graduate-level studies in education
cene: Math examination room. Characters: Several panicky students, attempting to memorize (rather than UNDERSTAND) basic mathematical concepts like the transitive property. A scene we're all familiar with. The difference is that these were not middle school students, the room was filled with seniors majoring in math education and math teachers. The cause of their concern: The dreaded mathematics subject matter expert exam. And yes, the word expert is used extremely lightly. The exam consisted of 100 questions in increasing order of difficulty. Elementary algebra made its first appearence around question 75, geometry around question 90. The last three questions consisted of basic calculus. Three hours were allocated; I took 50 minutes. When I left the room, I noticed that most of the candidates were still answering questions in the teens and twenties.
(it's a digression from his regular programming). Joanne pointed the way.
The advantage to education you actually pay for directly (read: private schools) is that you are keenly aware of the cost of each hour of instruction. It doesn't mean you always get what you pay for, but the adminstration tends to be more responsive. Also, I believe most private schools aren't unionized, so the path to getting rid of a teacher who cannot teach is much, much smoother.
Will Durant is going to continue with the sorry state of education education:
http://discusseducation.blogspot.com/
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Posted by: liz | Sunday, October 03, 2004 at 02:10 AM