Tony Mullen, Teacher of the Year, Offers Core Knowledge for Teaching
Guest post by Tony Mullen.
You may have read 2009 Teacher of the Year Tony Mullen's classic post from a few years ago, Teachers Should Be Seen and Not Heard. Today I am sharing a short essay heshared with his classmates at Mercy College.
Millions of teachers and students will be returning to school this week to begin another year of teaching and learning.
Millions of teachers and students will be returning to school this week to begin another year of teaching and learning.
This year will be more challenging for both teachers and students because we have become a nation obsessed with standardized test scores. Curricula and lesson plans will be modified to accommodate Common Core Standards and the federal government will be hoping that U.S. students outperform Finnish students on math and science tests.
Academic standards are a critical component of quality teaching and student learning, and the adoption of a uniform set of national standards could transform American education. Sadly, America's teachers and parents and students had little input developing a common core of national standards, but they will be held accountable for the results of this latest federal education initiative. Politicians come and go and point the finger of blame at every point on the compass, but teachers are doers and know what is best for their students. That is why this generation of teachers will work harder to fulfill new federal education mandates but, unlike politicians and bureaucrats and policy makers, teachers will not forget what is most important to each and every child.
I tell our current and future teachers that whatever uniform set of academic standards eventually makes its way to their classroom doors the following set of core knowledge must be included:
Mission Statement
What I teach is not as important as whom I teach.
What I teach is not as important as whom I teach.
Math Standards
a2 + b2 = c2 is a useful math concept, but understanding that the sum of all a child's
a2 + b2 = c2 is a useful math concept, but understanding that the sum of all a child's
