Forum: McKinsey Report

1) The fundamental solution for a good educational system is to have the best and the brightest teachers. In order to recruit and retain them we need the compensation that other professional careers have. Teachers have their passions to teach, but unfortunately in the country we live in, simply surviving and paying for our bills comes first.
2) One of the fundamental problems with today’s education is the broad curriculum that we have. I believe that the principal of teaching something once and teaching it right is better than teaching many subjects that the students will forget once their bubble exam is done.
3) The best professional development, as with any other profession, is on hand experience. There is simply no better feedback than what you get from your more experienced colleagues and students.
4) I think that teachers need to have the freedom to adapt to their students. Being a teacher in the US means being a teacher to kids of ethnicities from all over the world; it is naïve to expect these children from various cultures to adapt to a one curriculum system. I believe that teacher freedom to adapt to their students need is fundamental in their educational success.
5) I think that teachers know their students’ needs better than anyone else and the California Content Standard is nothing but a barrier for a dynamic and adaptive classroom with their one size fits all curriculum standards.
6) The No Child Left Behind law was created with a more political rather than education agenda behind. Their policy’s over focus on standardized exams over actual learning is simply something that most teachers would be against.
7) I believe that class size is a huge factor in a student’s success. There is simply no replacement for the extra teacher to student attention that can only be achieved in small classrooms.
8) Being brought up, and knowing first hand the hardships of growing up in a poor town in Puerto Rico, I decided to become a teacher because I want to make a difference with unprivileged children since I believe that good teachers can have a lifelong positive impression on their students.
9) It was a great experience to listen and learn from a podacst. I think that this is great and free tool that teachers can use to vary and improve their curriculum.