quarta-feira, 23 de setembro de 2009
deadline 05/10
"Before we go on discussing about your experiences observing classes, let's have a break and think about our profession itself. Read the article avaible on your e-mail and post your comment about it. Then you have to comment two other posts from your friends. This is food for thought!!!"
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Guys,
ResponderExcluirThe link to the text is here
http://www.wakingbear.com/archives/a-history-of-teaching-in-america-as-told-by-those-who-know.html
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ResponderExcluirAccording to the article, about the history of teaching in America, we can see that many things changed in education. In the colonial era, women were not common in teaching. They were considered unable to impose authority such as men, and in order to this conception, men dominated pedagogy. In the middle of the nineteenth century, women became more present in education, when religious views of children started to recognize that students were in a gradual process during their learning, and women could better perform this function – according to their maternal instincts, I guess. But the most intrigant part of the text consists in connect women’s social roles as housewives and mothers to their teaching career, and degrading their skills and quality as professionals. This is a problem in our career since this feminization, because people started to attribute less confidence and expectations to the teachers, depreciating the profession and considering a “lower knowledge professionals” area, and it is what we face today: teachers or teachers to be – as we are – are considered less intelligent as students of medicine, law and so on.
ResponderExcluirOur graduation is as important as any other one. We will always need teachers, and this profession, in spite of people' judgment, is not easy and simple. It involves not only a certain financial reward, but it is related to our own beliefs. We are a few women and men that deal with educational system, something that is so rethought and claimed, but only teachers and pedagogy professionals are there to put hands on the problem.
ResponderExcluirNow I know why our profession is so undervalued... I was reading the article and thinking about it. This is not a problem that comes from now, but from a very distant past. I think in the colonial ages teaching did not have much importance. Men did not want to spend their lives teaching, as they used to think that it would be better to use their knowledge studing for more prestigious carreers, and women could not teach because they were not able to impose authority. Many other barriers used to be imposed to this profession, and for this reason other areas were considered better than teaching, making our carreer less prestigious than the others. If we think about teaching as it is today, we can see that this area had a big development, but we still have too much to change. Teaching should not be so undervalued, I think, and I feel so angry when I think that the profession which is responsible for the formation of all the other areas is so forgotten.
ResponderExcluirI agree with you, Elaine. "We will always need teachers", and I think because of the way our profession is threatened - with so little interest from the government and other institutions, not just in case of money (this is just one of the problems), but in questions like improvement in teachers formation and investment in education - , this is becoming a big problem, because very few people want to follow this carreer, and quality cannot be ensured for both sides, teacher and student. I totally agree with a teacher who said us that it is mediocrity from the teacher to say "I am badly paid and I do not have to manage to do my best in this circumstances (crowded classrooms, poor material and shortage of resources, etc)", but even so I have to admit that it is very anoying to think in the neglect in which us teachers are threatened.
ResponderExcluirOur profession is not valued probably because it would cost lots of money for the government to make us happy with the salary we deserve! haha
ResponderExcluirThe credibility in education has to increase among our teenagers, as they are the ones who will keep the country development. I believe that once they understand this, teachers will be seen as important "tools" who can help them to achieve their goals in life and get rid of the image which were built for a long time - seen on the text - as not revelant or important people.
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ResponderExcluirIt is very easy to find people who have travelled abroad and work as English teachers in their homewtown because of their experience or English schools's students that have become teachers because of their satisfactory report cards. I reckon that many of these people discover that they have talent to the profession, but I also think that this is one of the reasons why teachers are undervaluated. If it is possible to teach without much qualification, so it cannot be considered something which deserves prestige by the member of a society.
ResponderExcluirI agree with you Ju! In many places teachers are undervaluated when they don't have abroad experiences and that ones that have abroad experience but not the experience in teaching or a formation in the area are overvaluated. I see the teacher profession as the most important because no other profession could exist if a teacher wasn't there to teach.
ResponderExcluirIt is hard to understand why the women teaching is seen as a "housekeeping" work. In fact, it's clear that is becaming much more difficult to attract talented students into teaching. First because, as Elaine said, medicine, law and other kinds of professions are "praised" whereas teaching has been seen as a "poor profession", "a stupid choice" beacuse earns much less than the majority of the others. Second, because government doesn't care (at least Parana government) about the educational conditionals and things concerned to it, and to get an opportunity of improvement requires years of effort. At last, because, unfortunately, many women and men that are teachers are a shame for this profession and offer a second hand job, transmiting a bad impression that they are working as teachers just because they have no other option, instead they would quickly give up.
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ResponderExcluirAt the present time the teachers and teaching have not the value that they are worthy to, but we can see in the text,” A History of Teaching in America - As Told By Those Who Know”, it is not a nowadays problem, it’s a sad and old problem in the teacher’s life since long time ago. During the Nineteenth century, this profession wasn´t seen like a good job or a respectable career, so, several teachers used to teach, while didn´t get a better job.
ResponderExcluirThe problem was biggest to females teaches, because in that time the most of teachers was young and white men, and the women was not considered able to teach, due to they was considered without stature physical and social enough to impose the authority and discipline to a good class, (Nowadays, we know how is difficult to keep the order in a class, to the teacher male or female.) and when the students didn´t learn, whatever was the problem, the guilt was just of the teacher.
I have no doubt that, at this time, many things are different, however, when someone is teaching and he has some problems like low salary and lack of structure, sometimes he looks for a better job, as they did in colonial age.
I completely agree with Romelaine, when she mentioned that there would not be other professions "if a teacher wasn't there to teach". In other words, teachers are responsible for the basis since the beginning of any career, supporting any professional since they start to write and read. Everyone has depended on a teacher to develop educational skills. Nobody can enter in a school by itself. They need a guide, who can lead the process till the professional achievement. It doesn't matter if you are an engineer, a psychologist, a lawyer, or also another teacher, many teachers made you achieve this position.
ResponderExcluirMartha mentioned really important subjects: government neglect and teachers mediocrity. As far as we concern, teaching is not easy and not well paid. The profession is not well valued in society and it is associated to low salary and bad conditions of work mainly in public institutions. But what is important to reinforce is not only that government is responsible for improvements and reforms in education, but also it is responsibility of the teachers. How can we claim for our profession if we don't give our best to accomplish our work? How can we put this burden on government's shoulder knowing that our commitment with the professional obligations is based only on our salary dissatisfaction?
ResponderExcluirThis article brings informations that had never passed in my mind. How can teaching had an image of 'social housekeeping'?,this phrase is so controversial, because even the doctor, the lawyer and any one else needed a teacher one day.
ResponderExcluirNow we know that the actual reality (some
teachers take this job like a "bico") have started in the past when men taught while they were studying for other carrers. Be a teacher wasn´t a real work, and this concept have been influencing people´s idea through the years.
Unfortunally it is still happening,and what we can do in order to face it and get a good job if travelled person are more valued than graduated teachers?
As Marta said "for the profession which is responsible for the formation of all the other areas is so forgotten". I totally agree with her.
Every politc says in the electoral campaign that one of the priorities is to invest in education, but it didn´t turn truth.
"Our profession is not valued probably because it would cost lots of money for the government to make us happy with the salary we deserve! haha"... very good comment Ju... but I am sure the politics are really happy with the "salaries" they earn, aren't they?
ResponderExcluirI agree with what you said, Elaine. We cannot guilt only the government if we are not responsible for our atitudes as professionals. In fact it is very easy to be a mediocre teacher, and keep "putting the burden on the government's shoulder". But to be responsible and commited to our role as educators, this is hard. I think some teachers forget that when they put their hands on the certificate they assumed a commitment, and not just a way of earning money - no profession is just a way of earning money, in fact. Even though people do not think so, teachers are very important professionals, and we have to start giving importance to ourselves as professionals, if we do not do this, who will do? Of course the education as a whole needs improvement, but it starts from the smaller part.
ResponderExcluirI really agree with Elaine when she sad that the people depreciate the profession and consider a “lower knowledge professionals” area, and it is what we face today: teachers or teachers to be – as we are – are considered less intelligent as students of medicine, law and so on. I felt this things many times in my life, when somebody ask me what I do, and I say: “Letras”, so I can see the prejudice in his face, the same behavior happens when I tell that I will be English teacher .
ResponderExcluirNo doubt I agree with Evelyn when she sad: “Every politic says in the electoral campaign that one of the priorities is to invest in education, but it didn´t turn truth.” Because, nowadays, the bad education in Brazil is for me a big problem, and the candidates know that, so they promise a quick and good solution for this problem. The people, tired and desperate, vote in these liars that never do nothing or almost nothing to change the problems about the education.
ResponderExcluirThe concern of educational career becomes an undesirable one, which existed in the past, is still present in our time and the fact of people who used to teach did it as a second option in their lives still remains for the same reason as in the past. Professional of other areas which demand much less mental effort and are not so time consuming, are better paid than the education professionals.
ResponderExcluirIt is undeniable that, if the interest in education courses lessens, the quality of education worsens ever more, because the ones who provide education do not have many options and end up hiring professionals which do not have a real goal in the area.
As Gabriel said, it is not impossible but it is unlikely, to find "heroes" who though face many difficulties are always looking forward doing your best just to improve the teaching quality.
ResponderExcluirElaine commented that women were, somehow considered unable to teach, which had mainly to do with authority.
ResponderExcluirNowadays, the number of female teachers, mainly, in the first years is very expressive, because, though women have ever more become financially equal to men, they, untill some years ago, accepted a lower salary and submited to the job as teacher.
Hey guys,
ResponderExcluirI really enjoyed reading your comments.
I think this text is very interesting for us to understand where some beliefs related o our jobs come from. And what makes me sad, is that many things just keep the same... My aim with this activity was to bother you! I really want, from the deep of my heart, that you all fell very annoyed with this image teachers' have in the society! Why? Because I strongly believe there are lots of misconceptions about our career... and no one apart from ourselves have the power and the responsibility to change things! As a teacher of teachers, I want to call you all for plotical action in your profession!!! To begin, the first thing is: yourself, respect your career, understand that to be a teacher you MUST acquire SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE, that no other professional has, only teachers know what teachers are supposed to do(unless they were supposed to do so...). What I mean is, value what you learn, and use that as a teacher, I'm aware that we have lots os deficiencies at our university, but enjoy everything you are able to! See yourselves as teachers since now! And try to understand your teachers in the same way.
As the author says, the way the teaching profession hasn´t changed much during the decades. Peopple still see it as a past time, or a way to get some extra money. And also about the preference of women for this professio nowadays. As the writer states, men were "better qualified" for this profession (according to the research) and now we have a feminization of the profession. Another thing I thought interesting, was about the period these people keep teaching as a temporary job. Is it really temporary?
ResponderExcluirI agree with Elaine when she states that the teaching professin is degrading due to the social role that society imposes. People think that teaching is an easy profession, and us, as women,"can take care" of their children, when what the concern is on teaching.
ResponderExcluirI totally agree when Evenly says that people give more value to the ones that traveled abroad and teach, than us, who are graduating. It can be compared to what happened in the past. People with not enough knowledge in the language are teaching while us, sit and wait!
ResponderExcluir