Why Do Teachers Reinvent the Wheel?
This is a question I’ve been asking myself and my wife: why do teachers reinvent the wheel when it comes to their lesson plans and what they teach? Why aren’t there specific, proven lesson plans for many subjects? Sure, science is evolving and the curriculum changes, but math is math. I’m hoping to come up with some good answers to this once I am in the public classroom, but my instincts tell me that it’s a combination of teachers desiring to do things their own way and an inefficient, obsolete system.
Why are teachers trying to explain it in their own words, or have students read it out of a dry text book, when the same Interactive Flash Multimedia Presentation could be used for EVERY SINGLE HIGH SCHOOL in the country?
Let’s take fractions. Fractions haven’t changed, and will never change. Why isn’t there an “Introduction to Fractions” video and workbook, or Flash website, or Interactive Tutorial, that has been tested and proven that teachers can use in the classroom?
I distinctly recall from my high school years (at a public school) that my Algebra teacher was a rotten communicator. When a student asked a question, his answer rarely matched or made much sense. Other students would wind up taking over for him. A good portion of the class would have been better off learning on their own. The students who wouldn’t, couldn’t or preferred not to learn on their own could then enjoy a more traditional experience in a much smaller class.
Let’s look at photosynthesis. It hasn’t changed. Why are teachers trying to explain it in their own words, or have students read it out of a dry text book, when the same Interactive Flash Multimedia Presentation could be used for EVERY SINGLE HIGH SCHOOL in the country?
I shake my head because I don’t think there is a good reason for it. I think things have wound up that way and are unlikely to change in the public school system. Here’s a few obstacles:
- The Teachers’ Unions will oppose measures that take control away from teachers and that lessen the impact the individual teacher has. This style of teaching does both.
- Thousands of school districts simply will not agree. I can safely say, with no exaggeration whatsoever, that the federal government takes forever and costs infinitely more. There just isn’t a system in place that can make something like this happen effectively.
- Liberals will cry that this penalizes poor students who can’t afford their own computers, since the rich kids will be able to do a portion of their learning online or at their own pace.
- Politicians will oppose the idea unless they get to wet their (vulturous) beaks.
By the time we overcome all of these, Google will already have made the Tutorials and be offering it free but plastered with ads.
What do you think?
-Snoop (at whyschoosux dot com)
