Re: Supporting vs stifling curiosity

[Rick Tarara <rtarara@SAINTMARYS.EDU>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael N. Monce" <mnmon@CONNCOLL.EDU>
>     Ed has made some excellent points regarding demands on teachers in the
> K-12 regime.  I would just answer his question in the same vein for
> university and college faculty: We don't do this sort of mentoring because
> our "system" says we get rewarded for publication of research.  In most
> cases,"research" is defined by "real science", not by education research
> by many administrations, tenure and promotion committees, etc.  There is
> little reward incentive for mentoring kids in the local schools, so most
> faculty find such activity counter-productive to their careers.

Maybe I'm wrong and my school is the exception, but don't most schools have
a 'Community Service' component to faculty evaluation.  It might not be of
_major_ importance in determining rank and tenure, but it is not (or should
not be) of zero importance.  Mentoring kids in local schools fits right into
that slot!

Rick

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Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
rtarara@saintmarys.edu

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