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Thursday, March 28, 2013

'Why Do We Teach?' - Bridging Differences - Education Week

'Why Do We Teach?' - Bridging Differences - Education Week:


'Why Do We Teach?'

Today, the blog conversation between Deborah Meier and Eric "Rick" Hanushek concludes.
Dear Rick,
Your last blog post reminded me of a childhood challenge my brother put to me. It went something like this: "Would you rather be rich or famous?" It would betray our childhood friendship to tell you what our answers were. But it has something to do with what we are arguing about.
I was intrigued by your acknowledgement that you are dissatisfied with the kind of people who become teachers. So who are you looking for? Answer? People with the highest test scores from prestigious colleges. But many of those "best" graduates went on to make billions while messing up our economy and getting bonuses (merit pay?) that are clearly undeserved and enormous severance packages when they jumped ship. (I've had students who went to jail for less harmful activity than many bankers engage in routinely.)
Is it possible that there can be something called "too much"? Was it worth the lives of so many Egyptians to