[Arjay51]

Why do you, if you do, think that our colleges are turning out more instructors than teachers?

[Mader]

Are you asking if our graduates/teachers are not passionate about their subject matter?

Or are you asking if they are not passing on the love of learning?

[Arjay51]

	Originally Posted by Mader To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Are you asking if our graduates/teachers are not passionate about their subject matter? Or are you asking if they are not passing on the love of learning?

No, I am asking why our colleges are turning out instructor who instruct what to learn instead of teachers who teach how to learn.

[rain]

seems like such a generalisation. i tend to think that vocational schools have value if they instruct students on the specific technical field. philosophia, or a love of knowledge is something that isn't really taught, but which one discovers for herself.

[Arjay51]

	Originally Posted by rain To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	seems like such a generalisation. i tend to think that vocational schools have value if they instruct students on the specific technical field. philosophia, or a love of knowledge is something that isn't really taught, but which one discovers for herself.

I don't disagree with what you state. However, I was referring primarily to the educators that the colleges are turning out and the generalized education they are prevalent in.

I am just uncomfortable with the lack of true teachers being turned out.

[Mader]

learning how to learn needs to come long before college.

yes, I found many of my college instructors were boring, boring because they were bored.

[Alderamin]

Public school teachers in the US are considered "professionals" on the surface for propaganda purposes, but are actually treated by school administrators and school boards as hired laborers who are there to carry out the admin's wishes... or else.

[TigerL]

I've had some excellent teachers from elementary through university - they were not only knowledgeable about their subject matter but also about different methods of teaching and willing to try out creative methods.

However, I was mostly in special programs throughout my education and these programs had a smaller class size, paid their teachers a higher salary, allowed them the freedom to use whatever materials they wanted, limited students based on testing, etc. I recognize many programs do not have these benefits for their teachers.

On the college level, colleges do not pay their instructors much (as opposed to what students think when they see their tuition bill) and promotion is not based on teaching but research/ grants. There are some small liberal arts colleges that concentrate on teaching but they can be expensive tuition-wise. Some community colleges also have good teachers. There are many things which motivate good teachers but having a decent income/ benefits package wouldn't hurt. Talented people often have other options.

[thecolouramanda]

School is like a factory. The students are on the conveyor belt. The teachers are the workers. Good workers would have higher production. And at the end, more than half of the products are rejected, and yet production still goes on.

[Alderamin]

Factories have control over the quality of the raw materials they are given. Schools don't.

[Monte314]

Teachers impart information; instructors impart skills.

[ctclough]

I haven't read the other posts, but I think that the ability to teach and inspire is more of a talent and natural ability. One can't become an excellent teacher, if you're not wired that way, through any amount of education. An educated non-teacher will be the sort to be self-centered, rather than student-oriented. They will worry more about their pretty lesson plans than whether they are actually creating a love and mastery of their subject in their students.

[Necrosis]

I have only come across maybe 3 teachers/instructors whatever you want to call them that really were superior. The NYC public school system is horrible. The teachers are underpaid and have to deal with tons of bs from the students. No one learns anything. It takes someone with a great passion and dedication to motivating their students to really inspire them and teach them how to learn. Those are rare.

In college, most of the professors were TA's. If you couldn't learn the stuff on your own you were screwed. The majority were only there to do their own research.

I can't put my hands on a definition between the two, but the system is not very well managed herw.

[mcantrim]

Wow! I feel bad for a lot of you! I was fortunately enough to attend a school (Stetston University) where I was taught by professors - not graduate students or instructors - who were really excited about their subjects. They encouraged me to think, to disagree with them and to form my own opinions, and that has made all the difference in my life. Learning is, and should be, a life long adventure! It should also be fun.

[Pachystima]

	Originally Posted by Arjay51 To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	No, I am asking why our colleges are turning out instructor who instruct what to learn instead of teachers who teach how to learn.

I think that you may be overgeneralizing a bit here. How many instructors/teachers have you been exposed to. Even if you have had contact with over 100, it is a pretty small sample for the sweeping generalizations you are making about millions of teachers of one sort or another.

Moreover, you are totally unclear as to the sort of teacher to which you are referring. Are you just complaining about teachers/instructors that are unable to get through to you? Are you saying that you think that it is a deliberate policy of our colleges to produce poor teachers, or instructors/educators or whatever it is that you don't like? Are the instructors/teachers to which you are referring the products of colleges of education or are you complaining about the professors who teach in the nations universities?

While I agree with you that there are a lot of poor teachers loose in the world, I also think that your perspective is too narrow to support your opinions.