By: Jack Graham

Jack Graham — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:36:29 +0000

Some non sequiturs in this piece. I am a “highly qualified” teacher and I am a super tutor, if I do say so myself. If one is “highly qualified” to “teach” one is “highly qualified” to “tutor,” because “tutoring” is “teaching” one student at a time. If you know your subject inside out (as a “highly qualified” teacher does) then you can just look at a student’s graded homework and exams and tell right away what the student does or does not understand, and simply help the student learn what they obviously do not know but do need to know to get the correct answer on their exams and homework problems. If you want quality tutors, you need look no further than “highly qualified” teachers to fill that need. But the state doesn’t want “highly qualified” teachers working as tutors, and wants to see the entire educational system fail. Why? So that the system can become privatized. Indeed, big business is behind this. Billions of dollars in educational funds are the prize. And the worse mess the educational system is in to begin with the less pressure there will be on privatized schools (charter schools) to perform well. And one thing I think is humorous in this piece is the notion that there is a “tutoring program” that will work for kids. “Program?” Tutoring is not “programed” education — that is what the regular school day is all about. “Tutoring” is properly customized teaching to a particular student’s particular academic needs, at any given point in time. Additionally, the schools that are failing to produce results and must hand out NCLB-mandated free tutoring are schools that pass on hiring highly qualified teachers and opt to hire some person without a college degree — that’s right, a school can hire anyone they want. They just have to say that no one else wanted the job. That’s a lie of course. Basically, the game is rigged, and the kids are the victims. You know how they say “it’s all about the children?” What they really mean is its all about greed, and how much you can grab for yourself right now. The state board of education effectively BANNED “highly qualified” teachers from working as NCLB-mandated tutoring services providers. The only way anyone or anything can be an NCLB-mandate tutoring provider is to first run a tutoring business for 2 years in the past and show that the business resulted in improving student academic proficiency. Well, how you can prove that I have no idea. More, how does the business get hold of privileged and private student academic data? But what is really weird is that a “highly qualified” teacher who would only PERSONALLY provide their services to schools needing tutors cannot do that! The state board of education insists that any applicant must have run a tutoring business for 2 years in the past, and prior teaching in classrooms does not count. Of course, teacher don’t run tutoring businesses… Oh, but it is interesting to note that almost all the (10) members of the California Board of Education making these policies were appointed by the Republican governors, and, of course Republicans want to privatize everything. Naturally, you don’t want “highly qualified” teachers out there serving as tutors and making the educational system actually work, as that would interfere with the greater scheme to privatize everything. Enough said.

Comments on: Edwards on Teachers and Super Tutors

By: Jack Graham