Re: Supporting vs stifling curiosity

[Aaron Titus <titus@NCAT.EDU>]

At 06:48 AM 2/11/2002 -0500, you wrote:
> Hey guys:
> I wonder if the teachers everyone refers to are really such awful teachers
> or human
> beings.  Teachers in most schools are bound by scope and sequence rules
> and are
> overworked.  If you could not guarantee when and where an inquiry answer to a
> question would "come out" and your superintendent would replace you with
> *anyone*,
> and you had kids at home to feed, how would you "teach"?  If you had only
> 20 minutes
> a day to do something other than be responsible for students immediately
> in front of
> you, and if you were required to grade and return each students work in a
> quick turn
> around yourself, how would you modify your teaching?

These are superb points raised by Ed -- a good reminder that education
(teaching and learning) at all levels is highly influenced by
constraints.  This is especially true of K-12.  Here are a few constraints
that I can think of that influence K-12 and/or post secondary
education:  (they are listed in no particular order)

1.  money (lack of)
2.  politics
3.  large class sizes
4.  undisciplined/disruptive students
5.  parents
6.  time (lack of)
7.  facilities/equipment

Obviously, these constraints are not mutually independent.  On can
influence the other; for example, money can influence large class sizes,
facilitities/equipment, and time.

BTW Many of these constraints are ultimately the cause of teachers leaving
the profession.  A close friend recently told me about his middle school
science teacher; my friend gave him credit for most of the science that he
knows today and for his success in college science courses.  Unfortunately,
this teacher left the profession because of the frustration of some of the
constraints I've mentioned, especially issues of classroom
discipline--today, he is selling insurance or something.

Thanks for the reminder, Ed.

AT




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Dr. Aaron Titus
Department of Physics
316 Marteena Hall
North Carolina A&T State University
Greensboro, NC  27411

Email:  titus@ncat.edu
Phone: (336) 334-7646
Fax:   (336) 256-0815
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