Re: math (in)competence

[Michael Bowen <fizzbowen@MINDSPRING.COM>]

At 10:35 2002/07/03, Hugh Haskell wrote:

> As to fear and disrespect, I also agree. I also wonder why any
> teacher would not respect their students. If they are not there to
> help the students make of themselves something more than they are
> now, why are they there at all? If they don't know enough to succeed
> in that class, they need to be guided to the proper class.
>
> [snip]
>
> [Community college] teachers usually are held to a similar
> credentialling system to that of the secondary teachers, so often
> their skills are not with the subject matter, but with "education."

The second paragraph above is not universally true, which may explain, in
part, the answer to the question posed in the first paragraph.

In California, which probably has the world's largest system of public
community colleges (over 100 campuses statewide), instructors in _academic_
subjects must possess (by law) at least a master's degree in their field of
specialty (or one closely related). Education majors need not apply
(except, of course, for those cushy administrative slots). Some snootier
CCs (especially those that lie in the shadow of a nearby UC campus)
virtually insist on hiring only doctorates (nothing in the law either
requires or prohibits this; it's a local preference).

Picture, now, if you will, a freshly minted Ph.D. in math (or physics),
searching for a teaching position. In particular, imagine one with no taste
for the revolving "publish or perish" tenure track at the state
universities. This newbie will naturally be drawn to the community
colleges, where research and publication take a distant (parsecs, usually)
back seat to classroom teaching. Unless they have prior teaching
experience, however, they are typically shocked (remember poor Tina?) at
what they encounter after they obtain a teaching post. (Most hiring
committees at the CCs ask candidates how well they understand the student
population. This is not just an idle conversational question in search of a
well-B.S.-ed answer. We really don't want shell-shocked new hires to quit
on us when they learn how bad things are; we'd rather they already have a
good understanding of what they're getting themselves into. That's why
part-time CC teaching experience is a real plus for applicants to have.)

Return now to our hapless Ph.D. He/she just spent seven to ten mostly
thankless years of his/her life (bachelor's plus doctorate) in college,
learning (or discovering) esoteric theorems and perhaps rubbing elbows with
(or brown-nosing) world-renowned experts in some highly elitist
subspecialty. Suddenly, he or she plunges from this rarefied intellectual
atmosphere into a roomful of people who don't even remotely qualify for one
of those cool recording industry jobs that I described in my last post on
this topic. Can you imagine the sense of letdown that could occur, and how
it could affect this instructor's attitude toward his/her students and job?

Another category of instructors we have are part-timers, many of whom have
spent years working in industry as scientists or engineers. They've always
wanted to teach (it's the most noble of callings, don't you know), but
couldn't afford the cut in pay. So they teach part-time, usually in the
evening; the classroom equivalent of a "gentleman farmer". These people
come from a working environment where incompetence is simply intolerable;
lack of respect for those that can't or won't perform goes with the
territory. Although many of our part-timers are excellent, there are also
several (and I've personally seen some in action) who transfer their
negative attitude toward perceived incompetence onto their students,
particularly when the latter prove to be grievously underprepared. Needless
to say, the effectiveness of such instructors in the classroom is severely
limited, in accordance with John Denker's succinct conclusions regarding
students' sense of smell. I am often amazed less by these instructors'
attitude, which can be explained away, than by their determination to keep
their teaching jobs, even when they are clearly not happy doing them.
You're right, Hugh, there are lots of easier ways to moonlight than teaching.

> [A]s a group the community college teachers suffer from poor morale and
> low motivation.

This is definitely an occupational hazard, but by no means should this be
accepted as an accurate generalization.

> As often as I have said that there isn't enough money in circulation to
> get me to teach in middle schools, I think I would even less rather teach
> in a community college.

Most community college teachers I know harbor the opposite sentiment. A
telling statistic: We have several instructors who joined our staff after
teaching (sometimes for years) in local middle or high schools. In the
eleven years that I have been teaching, none of our staff have made the
switch in the opposite direction. At least in California, community college
instructors have much more autonomy in the classroom than K-12 instructors;
short of breaking the law or acting unethically (activities in which only
the board of trustees and the district chancellor are permitted to engage),
we can pretty much do what we want, even pick (or write) our own textbooks.
I don't think many middle school teachers can do that. (Note: textbook
problems have been discussed at length elsewhere in this forum, and I do
not wish to reinvigorate the discussion here).

--MB