Are we missing real education issues?

[muon2]

Teacher training is a significant issue. One important change here in the last couple of years is to move away from a set of required courses to a a required portfolio for students seeking certification. The idea is to demonstrate competency in a number of standards, some of which are on technique and some are on subject matter.

For students seeking certification in sciences there is an intrinsic problem. Those students cannot take the same number of hours in the subject  as other majors. THe combination of teaching technique courses, and one less semester for student teching make the full course load impossible.

Nonetheless, I find that most of these students are enthusiastic about their subject material.  I do sometimes see enthusiasm flag over the years. I think this is because high-school teachers often have little contact with active research to spur new enthusiasm. Programs that provide summer reserch internships are an excellent way to provide that additional research experience.

[muon2]

Public schools need to teach things a little more USEFUL I believe -- not that anyone would sign up for these classes. Stuff like Modern Logic or Criminal Justice.


I've seen the horrible state of Baltimore public schools, and I've seen the close to 70% dropout rate, and I've seen Mayor O'Malley do next to nothing.

Clearly, the first step in improving inner city public schools is not raising academic standards and getting star teachers in the classroom -- it's finding a way to keep students from dropping out, cos the studies don't lie -- more education, less likely chance for crime.

Relevance in subject matter is very important to keep a teenager's interest. However, a course that describes itself as "Modern Logic" by itself allows itself to miss teaching the basics. This happen all to frequently in high svcholls that put out contemporary metrial but provide no basic training.

The most successful mechanism is to take a required core subject such mathematics, and place the content within a context such as "Modern Logic". The students can gain a basic skill while putting it in a contemporary framework.

[muon2]

I spend the next two days at the Illinois Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (ISAAPT). I chair undergraduate advising in my department and co-chair the program that develops standards for transferability of physics courses within the state.

[muon2]

undergrad chair and in curriculum development and bureaucrat.  that's an impressive resume, sir.  no wonder the alacrity.  yes, its a challenge to find interesting applications.  a fun one, no doubt, but apparently elusive at times.  your ideas about undergraduate internship in this thread is a great one.  it costs money.

Actually there is a surprising amount of money available for undergraduate internship - it's one of the easiest sources today. I'm equally interested in summer internships for current teachers so that they can continue to remin excited by their subject material. This is also easier to find than traditional summer grad, post-doc, and faculty money.