Boolean Boogey said:
Anyway, in high school I didn't dislike mathematics but I also had no interest in learning them due to how bad my teachers were. Now that I am 30 in college I wish I had paid attention and passed my classes back then.
Thank you for the opportunity to wax soliloquy on the USA science (STEM) education system. Here's the problem as far as I can see it. The numbnuts administrators have a knee-jerk reaction that some accomplished mathematician, say, is going to be a good math teacher. That's a very naive assumption. I personally would say that the last person I would want teaching me math or physics is an "expert" in the field. Why? Because their interests are not in doing the hard work it takes to instruct neophytes to learn a novel subject, they want to get on with their personal research and impress their peers. I don't wan't none of that narcissism. Give me a blue collar teacher at a community college that has an actual interest in his student learning a subject.
Here's the three archetypal forms of scholarly instruction you're likely to encounter in life (according to DiracPool's manifesto):
1) Description--This is the basest form of instruction. For example, you say that when your fingers slip, the ball you were holding falls from your hand and hits the floor.
2) Explanation--Here you say that the reason that the ball falls is that there is this thing called the force of gravity that draws the ball toward the ground. The equation that describes this process is such and such.
3) Teaching--This entails actually taking an interest in who the students are and how each of them individually have the capacity to learn the subject material. This isn't meant to be a politically correct statement, it's just saying that learning, especially STEM, subjects is not a one size fits all prospect. What I've learned over many years is that teaching a difficult subject is a difficult and serious task. It's not to be treated with a cavalier attitude. But it is. Why? Because administrators just want to dot their i's and cross their t's and get their monthly salaries and not rock the boat. How do they accomplish this? Well, of course, you hire the new hotshot postdoc from the local big university, or better yet, some older mummy throwback that somehow unfortunately for you ended up circulating into your pond. Then, as an administrator, you're safe, right? But guess who loses? The students. Because, as I stated above, the last guy you want teaching you any subject, especially math or physics, is some hotshot postdoc that thinks he's going somewhere. What you really want is a guy (or gal) who has a degree or experience in "education." Someone who has experience in and interest in "teaching" someone the subject, rather than using you (the student) as a steeping stone to their personal goals without giving a crap whether you learn anything or not.
If you're snowballed by the snow the administrators throw at you you'll think I'm full of crap and paranoid. If you've engaged in some sober contemplation on the issue, you'll likely agree with me.
