tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post2534147109026555082..comments2024-03-22T01:06:23.845-07:00Comments on Confessions of a College Professor: Report: Teacher Training is Ridiculously EasyDoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528555392898760692noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-78880322978043226812014-12-23T06:41:50.290-08:002014-12-23T06:41:50.290-08:00I totally concede that much of what I have to say ...I totally concede that much of what I have to say isn't particularly new. I'm simply trying to say these things loud enough that more people can know what's going on.Doomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04528555392898760692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-6118647337408207712014-12-23T05:13:09.935-08:002014-12-23T05:13:09.935-08:00What you're saying is correct but it's not...What you're saying is correct but it's nothing new. See Baran and Sweezy's "Monopoly Capital," published fifty years ago for a list of hilarious doctoral dissertations awarded by departments of education; e.g., "The Crash Impact Levels of 13 Football Helmets."<br /><br />Departments of education have long been the intellectual ghettos of their universities and ed majors typically come from the bottom quartile of the university population (maybe even bottom decile).AAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13242448989166177843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-34886718647255776502014-12-22T07:42:52.249-08:002014-12-22T07:42:52.249-08:00I've known my share of education students sinc...I've known my share of education students since I was an undergrad and I was often puzzled about what they actually learned. At least in something such as engineering or physics, people have to study subjects which are concrete, such as differential equations or heat transfer. Those are based on sound fundamental concepts and often start from first principles. Often, those concepts and principles can be readily tested, observed, and measured.<br /><br />I roomed with an education student during my freshman year and some of the courses he took sounded wishy-washy, full of air pudding and marshmallow words. How that could qualify as proper education was beyond me. It came as no surprise to me that he eventually became a high school counsellor and recently retired from that position.<br /><br />Even later, I knew a number of schoolteachers and, frankly, most of them weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. Back when newspapers were a primary source of information, none of them read one on a regular basis--and were proud of it. I, on the other hand, read 3 or 4 almost daily plus I listened to the news on the radio.<br /><br />I wasn't able to tell whether that mentality was a result of their own natural inclinations or if it was due to what they learned in university. It scares me to think that they were an example of what the public education system depends upon.<br />Quarter Wave Verticalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03173446011323023116noreply@blogger.com