On one of the listservs I subscribe to, someone had posted an article (alas, CNBC has removed the article, if anyone finds a copy of it I would appreciate it muchly!) concerning masters degrees. Some economists think paying teachers more for obtaining a masters degree in education is a bad idea, because they claim studies have shown that whether or not a teacher has a masters degree has no effect on student achievement. Maybe these economists need to turn to education research because the only articles I found indicated that education degrees had either a positive or neutral impact on student achievement.
That really isn't the point I'm trying to make in this post, however. What made me recall the article is that I'm sitting here on the first "real" day of school vacation (Saturday and Sunday don't count of course!) and I have a couple of assignments to do for the course I am taking for this "Master Teacher" program I was selected for.
A bit of background: I have a Masters Degree in Education from what I consider a reform minded school, where testing isn't the answer and we should be encouraging out students to think for themselves and look at the world with a critical eye. All good stuff.
But I'm questioning why I applied for the program and what exactly is my benefit for spending my valuable time in it. This past semester's course (which I'm stuck still doing work for) was not very useful. It wasn't very well structured and the consensus was each week among my classmates that I spoke with was that we weren't exactly sure what we were supposed to be learning. So what's the point? I needed that class to continue on the program, but what about future classes? Will there be the same disappointment and wasted time? I think I learned more about education reform and what's best for students by going through my blog reader than sitting in that class all semester. I think I would be even more angry if I had to pay for it.
That seemed to be what many teachers on the listserv were speaking to when they were describing their masters programs in education. That's what my colleagues and I talked about during our masters program.
I'm not so quick to write off the economists' views about masters degrees.
I think people who are serious about teaching will continually work to improve their practice. Those that are in it for summers off, well...they won't.
As far as money goes, teachers get paid squat for the amount of time they put into the job...if they choose to. I know some teachers who get to school at 7:30 (late) and leave by 2:15. Some teachers get in at 6:30 and don't leave till 5 or 6, plus the time they spend at home working on school stuff.
Some teachers completely redesign their courses each year to stay fresh and correct mistakes from last year. Others pull out worksheets copied so many times they have become blurry. Unfortunately it is those 7:30 to 2:15ers and worksheet gurus that so many outside of education point to as the norm, when there are so many dedicated teachers out there.
What kind of teacher are you?
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