...Those who understand, teach." -Aristotle
I love this quote because it's so true. The best teachers are the ones who truly understand not only their subjects, but the students they teach. The best teachers are the ones who can make learning meaningful and fulfilling for students -- not saying "you need to know this because it's on a test."
Testing should measure students' knowledge. It should be the end, not the means, of gauging what is taught. I know I have spoken at length about this; that's because it is an important topic.
Testing does not equal teaching. Period. Yet that is what education has been reduced to. Because of this, so many talented teachers have lost the passion for teaching, because what they get to do now isn't really teaching. Yesterday's Answer Sheet published a letter from a teacher who said just that.
Data gives us important information, but you cannot measure effective teaching (or learning) strictly by the numbers. Teaching is far too complex for that. The teacher of the letter, Susan Barber from Georgia, states it well: "My classroom experience is far bigger than a checklist. Talk to my students. Talk to me."
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