Regarding Obama's Education Proposals in the State of the Union Speech

The New York Times features a debate about his specific proposals. 

I lked the following text in the speech:

Let’s also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child’s success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom.  In South Korea, teachers are known as “nation builders.”  Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect.  (Applause.)  We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones.  (Applause.)  And over the next 10 years, with so many baby boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science and technology and engineering and math.  (Applause.)

In fact, to every young person listening tonight who’s contemplating their career choice:  If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child -- become a teacher.  Your country needs you.  (Applause.)

Schools of Education Require Little Writing -- Huh?

I find this very troubling.

Business people and schoolteachers build their vocations around words. But at some colleges, it is possible to earn a four-year undergraduate degree in business or education without ever doing much writing.

According to a Chronicle analysis of 10 public four-year institutions in Texas, business majors and education majors are typically exposed to only a handful of writing-intensive courses—fewer than five out of the 40 or so courses needed for a degree, on average, for business majors, and fewer than eight courses for education majors. By contrast, history majors typically take 14 courses that require 10 or more pages of writing.

. . . business and education majors reported that they study significantly fewer hours each week than other undergraduates. (On average, business majors said they studied 9.55 hours per week outside the classroom, and education majors said they studied 10.64 hours. The average for the entire pool of students in the study was 12.15 hours.)

Ms. Roksa says that it is costly for business and education majors—or any other college student—not to have extensive exposure to the kind of long writing assignments that build critical-thinking skills.

"Do we want teachers, for example, to know pedagogical theory but not to know how to think and analyze?" Ms. Roksa asked. "How much is it worth to have the subject-specific knowledge but not to have the critical-thinking skills that allow you to analyze and apply that knowledge?

I'm sorry but education majors should study more than other majors. What's more, they should want to study more. It shouldn't be a requirement, it should be a choice. I don't want a teacher who slacked off in college -- who doesn't see joy in the very act of learning -- anywhere near my child.

Is there a way we can put pressure on college's of education to increase writing requirements? If we want to raise respect for the profession we have to make sure people in the profession are worthy of it. It seems to be such an obvious requirement. Who was it this weekend who wanted to redo the curriculum at these colleges? Donna? Andrea? I can't remember, but it might be worth figuring out how to put the screws to these departments. These people make us all look bad.

the Confucian reverence for education ....

I'd recommend you all read Nicholas Kristof's piece in the NYT today. Given Shanghai's results on PISA I expect we will be bombarded with efforts to emulate their learnign system, but two things popped out at me from the article. First:

. . . the greatest strength of the Chinese system is the Confucian reverence for education that is steeped into the culture. In Chinese schools, teachers are much respected, and the most admired kid is often the brain rather than the jock or class clown.

Americans think of China’s strategic challenge in terms of, say, the new Chinese stealth fighter aircraft. But the real challenge is the rise of China’s education system and the passion for learning that underlies it. We’re not going to become Confucians, but we can elevate education on our list of priorities . . . 
Notice that the teacher is a respected member of the community, not someone who can't make a living doing something "better".

Second -- and just as important:

Chinese themselves are far less impressed by their school system. Almost every time I try to interview a Chinese about the system here, I hear grousing rather than praise. Many Chinese complain scathingly that their system kills independent thought and creativity, and they envy the American system for nurturing self-reliance — and for trying to make learning exciting and not just a chore.

In Xian, I visited Gaoxin Yizhong, perhaps the city’s best high school, and the students and teachers spoke wistfully of the American emphasis on clubs, arts and independent thought. “We need to encourage more creativity,” explained Hua Guohong, a chemistry teacher. “We should learn from American schools.”
One friend in Guangdong Province says he will send his children to the United States to study because the local schools are a “creativity-killer.” Another sent his son to an international school to escape what he likens to “programs for trained seals.” Private schools are sprouting everywhere, and many boast of a focus on creativity.

While we complain about our schools we ought not forget what we do well. American's prize creativity and our schools have reflected that. I think many of our criticisms regarding standardized testing are based on a fear that they will destroy the sense of creativity and initiative that has made us what we are. It would be a pity if in our desire to emulate what seems best in the Chinese model that we lose what makes our educational system -- warts and all -- exceptional.

And speaking of trained seals. What is everyone's take on the hubbub over the Tiger Mother?