An amazing exchange took place on this blog.
I posted a comment by a reader who gratefully remembered four teachers in the Chicago public schools who literally changed his life.
One of the four teachers responded.
And the original writer wrote back:
| Wow! Thank you, Miss Schwartz!Of the teachers that I mentioned, you actually impacted my life the most. At the time, I was primarily into writing, but I learned from you that, in order to improve one’s writing, one must read. At that point, I had not enjoyed reading and actually avoided it, and I was a rather rebellious adolescent… However, you were patient and inspiring… After exploring different genres and concepts with you, I discovered that there were many books I wanted to read, as well as many things in the world that I wanted to read about. Ever since, I’ve been interested in learning about virtually everything and my library has been my prized possession.
You also alerted me to my first two teaching jobs, working with preschoolers in Head Start and tutoring primary aged kids who were struggling readers. I had never planned to become a teacher, but that resulted in my 44 year long teaching career. (And, yes, I know what it’s like to have students return to touch base years later, too…!) Thank you ever so much for appreciating my strengths, opening up the world to me (and me to it), and setting me on such an intrinsically rewarding path! Forever grateful (and sorry that I was not an easy kid)– |
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is proof of the validity of Henry Brooks Adam’s quote about a teacher affecting eternity…
I, too, went to the Chicago Public Schools…though my time was a bit earlier…50’s and early 60’s. There were 3 teachers who were especially helpful as I struggled through those years with undiagnosed learning problems.
I spent 35 years in public education trying to do for my students what my teachers did for me. Some of my former students are now teachers…I’m hopeful that they reflect at least a bit of what I learned from my teachers. The teachers who supported me are likely gone by now…but their influence is alive and well.
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I should read more carefully. The writer mentioned his 44 year teaching career…apparently I didn’t attend CPS earlier after all.
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In those days, CPS tested students throughout their schooling, too, but not nearly as often as today and they were not high-stakes tests. Most importantly, students were led to believe then that our test scores were about us, such as our study habits and how much we were invested in learning, not about our teachers.
Today, this differs because students are aware that the onus has been shifted to teachers. However, teacher qualities that are significant to learning are not measured by the standardized tests given to students.
The focus on standardized tests discounts teacher’s professional judgments about student progress. The way education is headed by economists, corporate “reformers” and politicians, I would not be surprised if the plan is to repalce grades entirely with standardized test scores. And, since credentialed teachers are seen by them as unimportant, as evidenced by the push to eliminate teacher certification, they’ll be replaced by minimally trained adults and computers –as already seen in some charters and online schools. So much for relationship-based learning between curious novices and caring experts. Scary stuff!
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See Can Technology Replace Teachers? http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/08/08/37replace_ep.h31.html?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mrss
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