ballz said:
Experience is a qualification.
Ballz, the key flaw in your argument is that you’re assuming that because you been through the system, you know the system. Well, with all due respect, you are now as qualified as millions of other Canadians. So what? There are millions of educated people here in Ontario (pop of 11+ mil, lets say 9+mil); there are 120,000 teachers. So even if it’s split 50/50, I’m one of 60,000. Do you see how the stats change things a bit? Also, remember that your “experience” is one-dimensional; you’ve only seen part of the educational system.
Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m trying to be constructive here, but at times your insistence on having “qualifications” smacks of the same entitled attitude the article speaks of. This is not to suggest your opinion isn’t valid (all student opinions are valid), but the amount of weight it carries is limited because it is one-sided. For whatever reason, you feel that your educational experience was less than satisfactory. Well, some people might feel the same, but there are many others who feel the exact opposite. Often whether we “like” someone and their teaching style come down to personal preference and personality. I find that students tend to dislike teachers because of a personality conflict or an aversion to that teacher’s instruction style. From reading what you have to say and how you say it, you’re coming across as an egotistical, “I know better” student. I saying this not to be confrontational, but to point out that while you can comment, you have never taught, so your criticisms lack validity.
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: you spoke of a particular Social Studies teacher who did a poor job of teaching. Have you ever taught in a classroom? Are you a teacher? The answer is no, therefore you have no idea was it’s like to teach. Teaching isn’t an easy job; standing in front of a class, not only trying to instruct them, but also manage the classroom isn’t easy. It can be downright terrifying. I can remember being scared sh#tless at times. You are worried about what the students will think, what their parents will say and you're under scrutiny from administration. Yes, maybe you haven’t seen a teacher get fired, but I’ve seen new teachers not get their contracts renewed, or languishing as a substitute because they failed to make the grade. Last year I taught Gr.12 history for the first time (Modern Western History). Even with 10 years in the classroom, I was terrified at times. There is a lot of fear and apprehension that comes with doing something new, even if you’ve done it for a long time. The last thing you want to do is look foolish, or come across as not knowing your stuff. It didn’t help that I had not studied this material since I was in first year university (92-93). I'm now doing it for the 3rd time, but some of those feelings still linger.
So after all that, it all boils down to, for me anyway, that people can comment, can you cannot full understand or know if you’re not doing it. While I appreciate your comments Ballz, I will temper what you say with the fact that your “experience” is limited to the desk, not the blackboard.
). They're here to learn about how we do things here in Canada. I got into a conversation with Chris and Dave about how today's students are less inclined to be independent learners. They told me that in Britain there's a huge problem with students wanting to be "spoon fed." I nearly burst out laughing and replied that it's amazing how issues like that transcend borders and oceans. I mentioned how I'd heard about this article published this week about university students being immature, lazy and feeling entitled 
. It's still making me laugh as I write this.
