| AFT to Congress: One size, please... by Ken Goodman > > >Thanks to Randy Bomer for calling attention to this absurdity. The >American Federation of Teachers asserts that there is " no consensus >within the education profession" on "what prospective teachers should >know" in teaching math and reading (strangely defined as subject matter) >and therefore the National Academy of Science should be funded to >develop "such curricula" "based on the best research into how students >learn and on the content-specific teaching methods shown to be effective >with students." Reading through the code words what they want is to >bring together another NRP under the auspices of the NSF (well known >for its long history of curriculum development in teacher education) and >impose the "scientific curricula" it would produce on teacher educators >who have no clue about how to prepare reading and math teachers. Louisa >Moats and Doug Carnine, no doubt, just happen to have the draft of the >report such an NSF panel would produce already written. AFT apparentlly >believes if Reid Lyon's advise to "blow up the Colleges of Education" >proves impractical that other ways need to be found to neutralize their >effects. >Ken Goodman >This is from the Jan. 6 AFT Letter to Capitol Hill regarding the Higher >Education Act. It was written by AFT legislative director Charlotte Fraas. --The AFT believes that there is a tremendous need for core pedagogy curricula, an agreement within the education profession about what prospective teachers should know about teaching subject matter such as reading and mathematics. There is no consensus on core pedagogy and the AFT believes that the federal government could play a major role in correcting this impediment. We urge the [Congress] to fund an effort by the National Academy of Sciences to develop such curricula and promote their adoption by colleges of education. The recommendations should be based on the best research into how students learn and on the content-specific teaching methods shown to be effective with students.
|