Just let me Teach
by
Dale Neal Rusher
EDAD 854
INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATION
ADMINISTRATION
Dr. Patricia Hoehner
So you want to be a teacher?
• How many times have
school administrators
heard the complaint that
teachers just want to
teach? Anyone associated
with education, and most
have attended school,
understands the many
undertakings of school
life.
Teacher’s Prayer
by James J. Metcalf
Let me see if I’ve got this right.
You want me to go into that room with
all those kids, and fill their every
waking moment with a love for
learning. Not only that, I’m to instill a
sense of pride in their ethnicity,
behaviorally modify disruptive
behavior, and observe them for signs of
abuse, drugs, and T-shirt mesagges.
I am to fight the war on drugs and
sexually transmitted diseases, check their
backpacks for guns and raise their self esteem.
I’m to teach them patriotism, good
citizenship,sportsmanship and fair play, how
and where to register to vote, how to balance a
checkbook and how to apply for a job, but I am
never to ask if they are in this country illegally.
I am to check their heads occasionally for lice,
maintain a safe environment, recognize signs
of potential antisocial behavior, offer advice,
write letters of recommendation for student
employment and scholarships, encourage
respect for the cultural diversity of others, and
oh yeah, teach-always making sure that I give
the girls in my class fifty percent of my
attention.
IÕm requi red by my contract to be working Š on my own tim e Š summ er
and even ings and at my own exp ense towards addit ion al ce rtific ation,
advan ce certifi cation and a masterÕs degr ee; to sponso r chee rleaders or
sopho more class; and after schoo l, I am to attend committ ee and fcu lt y
meetings and pa rtic pate in staff deve lopment training to maintain my
current certif ication and employment status.
I am t o be a paragon of virt ue larger than li fe, such that my very
presence will awe my stud ents into being obedient and respectful of
authorit y.
I am t o pledge all egianc e to supporting family values, a return to
basics, and to my current admi nistration. I am t o inco rporate
techno loygy into learning, but to mon it or all web sit es for
appropria tenes s whil e provid ing a persona l one-on-one relationship wit h
each stud ent.
I am t o decide who migh t be a potentiall y dange rous and /or li able
to commit crim es in schoo l or who is possibly being abu sed, and I can be
sent to jail for not mentioning these susp icions to those in au thorit y.
I am t o make sure ALL studen ts pass the state and f ederally
manda ted testing and all classes, whe ther or no t they attend s chool on a
regu lar basis or complete any of the work assigned .
I am t o comm unicate frequently wit h each studen tÕs parents by
letter, phone, new sletter and grad e card.
IÕm to do all this wit h just a p iece of cha lk, a computer, a few
books, a bull etin bo ard, a 45 mi nute or less pla n tim e and a big smile . All
on a starting salary that qua lifi es my famil y for food stamps in many
states.
You wan t me to do all this and you exp ect me to do it wit hout
praying??
Without praying??
•
It takes special people with special
skills to be a professional educator.
The one area that creates the most
difficulty for teachers is classroom
disruptions due to disrespectful
children. Outstanding teachers are
constantly interrupted and forced to
deal with classroom disruptions. It
is difficult at best to promote
learning and foster student
achievement within a single period
for 180 days a year but to teach
with unruly and disrespectful
students is next to impossible.
Teachers quitting
-money, unruly students, lack of respect
• . Almost 1000
teachers quit teaching
each day and another
1000 per day change
schools looking for
better working
conditions.
Cost to replace
• A conservative
national estimate of
the cost to replace
public school teachers
is 2.2 billion dollars
per year
Most important figure = teacher
• There is a growing
consensus among
researchers and
educators that the
single most important
factor in student
performance is the
quality of the teacher.
????
• So what is an
administrator to do?
Hire policemen and
bouncers to control the
classroom, so we can
retain good teachers?
The answer
PBS
Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is a broad range of systemic and individualized
strategies for achieving im portant social and learning outcomes whil e preventing problem
behavior
PBS
• PBS involves the assessment and
reengineering of environments
so that reductions in problem
behaviors are evident and
children experience an increase
in the social, personal, and
professional quality of their
lives. Teachers and
administrators who implement
positive behavior supports
develop and consistently enforce
school-wide rules and
expectations.
Leadership team
• Teachers and administrators who
implement positive behavior
supports develop and consistently
enforce school-wide rules and
expectations. A leadership team
consisting of the school
stakeholders as well members of
the community work regularly
and collaboratively to ensure
clarity, consistency and support.
Records and interventions are
recorded carefully and accurately
to provide the data for research,
including time, location, and what
physical characteristics were
involved.
conclusion
• Effective schools are
schools that have rules
and procedures that
allows teachers to
teach. They have
school wide
interventions and give
teachers the support to
share the joy of
learning.
References
Re f e r en c e s
Ar u m , R . , & P rei ss, D . (2 0 09) . L a w a nd d i so r d e r i n the
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tea c he rs sa l ar i e s.
R et r ie v e d f r om
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I nge rso l l , R . M . (20 0 8) . A Re s e r che r e n co unt e rs th e po licy
r ealm:
a p e rso n a l t a l e . P h i D elta K app an , 8 9(5) ,
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