What's the deal with shcool teachers?

[Blingy]

Originally Posted by reznor_ [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I don't think teachers (as a collection) do...thats why there are such an array of teachers, and it's why liberals/conservative parents complain that their children are being "indoctrinated" at schools. Parents fucking suck if they can't teach their kids to think critically -- these are people who should never have been allowed to have kids in the first place.

So, I disagree that it should be purely STEM focused. I have a PhD in nuclear engineering. I'm published in a number of peer-reviewed journals. I think liberal arts, social studies, humanities, art, music etc are a critical part of school curriculum, because if the world was entirely STEM focused it would be one of the most boring existences out there. I'm very thankful for my colleagues who aren't scientists and engineers. They help make the world a more interesting place. If our existence was purely left or right brain, how awful a world this would be.

That being said, I completely agree that the definition of "good" is such a tough one to get right. I think it's important to have well rounded curriculum through K-12 and then give someone a few years to figure out what they want to do. I disagree with the "graduate high school and jump right into college" tradition because I think most people don't know what they want to do when they're 18. I certainly didn't.

I think teaching is a hard job. Often thankless. I'm referring to the K-12 path here -- I have friends who love their jobs as professors and make a lot of money doing it, but they also work at very prestigious universities and write a lot of grants and are rewarded for it. I have friends who teach middle and high school, and that job is one that is thankless and fraught with meddling parents who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

I have a habit of writing novels where a short story would work fine. I left a bunch of qualifiers out for the sake of brevity. Anyway, qualifiers to my post. The east side of King county (few miles east of Seattle) focuses very heavily on STEM. This region exists because of it. Before Microsoft set up shop we were a little bit of farm land, mining, minor commercial/retail businesses. Since the mid 1980's though when MS started gaining traction this area has boomed. We're now a major tech hub all built on STEM. Most families around here are supported by STEM. Even the non-stem people recognize the value of STEM around here. Because of this STEM is pushed by the entire local society; including the school system. It's easy to understand why it's pushed so hard around here. I've seen the same mindset in other places I've lived but with the focus in other areas. North Idaho pushed getting into the lumber or mining industry when I was in Highschool. Walla Walla had the idea that you either become a professional doctor, lawyer or take over the family farm. My elementary school years in Utah all I remember hearing about was start your own small business and grow it into a major enterprise.

If you get outside the Seattle-east King County area this mindset goes away. Although people in say Tacoma or Everett recognize STEM as a viable path those areas are also way more open minded to other ways of "winning" at life.