Random Thought About Teaching

People who get top grades in high school and high SAT scores go to the best colleges. The next rung of the scholastic ladder go to good schools. The bottom rung go to "Teachers' Colleges".

They don't learn any actual subject matter there, like math, science, civics, English, literature, or history. They learn the latest theories about teaching these subjects, but nothing of the subjects themselves. Practically speaking, the only information they have about any of these disciplines is what they learned in high school—where they got all those mediocre grades.

(I'm not talking about college professors, here. That's a separate horror.)

Since the 60's Education Majors learn a mixed bag of trendy, unproven, wacky ideological, politically correct theories about teaching. They turn out to have more to do with politics than reading and writing and cyphering. (Remember, the teachers at the teachers' colleges had the same education.)

I'm sure there are a lot of teachers who are very nice people, with good hearts, who love children. But some of the evidence I have seen of their lack of erudition is stupifying. Most of them don't seem to realize how ignorant they are. After all, they hang out with children all day, and each other. How would they know?

If I'm even sorta right, that means we've got the least capable, lowest achievers, least educated, least informed, highly propagandized people teaching our little kids. Does that seems wise?

And considering their general mediocrity, I suspect they're wildly overpaid.

I'm prepared to be enlightened if things are different than they seem, but I'm pessimistic.

The Gunslinger.