Blog Assignment #14

According to Joel Klein in Teaching Can Be a Profession, problems schools face are

1. Needs to give more school choices to families
2. Needs to use technology to improve teaching and learning
3. Needs to adopt a knowledge-based curriculum
4. Needs to start a child's education before turning 5 years old

However, his biggest concern is that we need to make teaching a well-respected profession.

To solve these problems, Klein suggests

1. Recruiting people who are at the top of their class to be teachers
2. Choosing quality over seniority when having to downsize
3. Giving a "national teacher's examination" to test pedagogy and content knowledge

In my opinion, I am not sure if I agree that more school choices should be provided. The only reason is because some counties can not fund more schools, unless they are privately funded. I do agree that technology needs to be taken advantage of in schools. Baldwin County schools are already providing each students with a laptop, so we are striving to better our schools. I think adopting a knowledge-based curriculum would also be a good thing for schools. The students will learn about real world scenarios and will be more equipped when graduating. I also think children should start getting an education before they turn five years old. However, I think the parents should be the ones who provide this; I know this will never happen with some people in today's age. Some students are entering Kindergarten without even know how to write their name or the alphabet and this is very upsetting.

I completely agree that in some people's eyes, being a teacher is not as respectable as being a lawyer. However, lawyers only become so by having teachers.    So when people tell me that I should become something other than a teacher, I ask them how they got where they are. Even though being a teacher is not the "most respectable" job, teachers will always be needed. I want to be someone who helps change the way people think or make them think of something they never would have. The only way for me to do this, for me to make a change, is for me to become a teacher.

In conclusion, I agree with Mr. Klein  when he said, "Self-discipline and high standards can secure the future of public schools." However, I only agree with some of the "problems" he sees in the schools system, I also do not see the solutions occurring unless there are some radical changes that occur to make more people see teaching as a respectable profession.