Renewing the teaching profession

The success of an educational system inevitably depends upon the judgement and ability of those who teach... It is in the classroom that the pupil experiences the educational process; if the interaction between teacher and child is not effective, even the most sound federal, state, or local policies will be useless. Reducing objectives for the schools and revamping the curriculum will improve public education only if teachers are of high quality.

Economically, too, teachers are the critical component of the system. About 85 per cent of all salaries in education go to teachers – 65 per cent of the total budget. To be productive and, in a sense, to invest public funds wisely, schools must recruit, retain, and reward corps of competent professionals, imbued with high standards of performance and capable of commanding the respect of their "clients" – their pupils, the parents, and the public.

In 1983 "declining teacher quality" suddenly became an issue for the American media. A number of negative trends affecting the profession are often mentioned; low pay, declining prestige, decreasing academic ability among the teachers themselves, poor working conditions and inadequate training are among the troubling complaints. Yet why so much concern now? After all, these problems, which result from an interrelated set of historical circumstances, have been building for years.

One reason for the present intense scrutiny of* the teaching profession is that trends in student enrolment are changing once again. After declining over the past decade, enrolment will increase by 2 million from 1985 to 1990. Moreover, from 1970 to 1982 very few new teachers were hired, so that the average teacher is older and is close to retirement**. In the 80s teaching will be one of the fastest growing professions. The student population is changing as well as growing; these new teachers will confront a higher proportion of pupils from disadvantaged*** and single-parent homes. By 1990 about two-thirds of the national student population will come from such households.

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* the present intense scrutiny of– (зд.) особо пристальное внимание сегодня к

** is close to retirement – скоро уйдут на пенсию, близки к пенсии

*** disadvantaged– (зд.) неблагополучный

There is an even more significant reason for looking closely at the teaching profession: fundamental changes in the labour market for teachers. Taken together the circumstances surrounding the work force in education compel a rethinking** of the very concept of the teaching process.

The Changing Labour Market

Women make up two-thirds of the total work force of teachers – and 80 per cent of all elementary school teachers. The dependence of the teaching profession on women is a major cause for concern, because the vast expansion of occupational choices*** for young women has correspondingly decreased the supply of superior teachers. Women who achieve high scores on academic tests have disappeared from the school employers' personal files**** over the past 15 years because teaching– like nursing, librarianship, and social work– is no longer one of the few places for them to go. Management, law, medicine – all the opportunities are open to them today.

The bright young woman who taught English 15 years ago is now carrying an attach case and heading for an office.

New opportunities for women affect teacher quality in another way. Women who withdrew from teaching to raise families once constituted a vast reserve army of teachers who could be called upon as their children grew up. But today, about 70 per cent of women between the ages of 25 and 65 are already employed, meaning that the reserve army no longer exists. Education must compete on its own merits as a desirable occupation.

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* compel a rethinking – вынуждают пересмотреть

** expansion of occupational choices– увеличившийся выбор профессий

*** personal files– картотеки работников

Assignments:

1. Find in the text the English for:

испытывать на себе, бесполезный, важнейшая составная часть, заработная плата, общий (суммарный), вкладывать (средства), нанимать (брать на работу), награждать, завоевать уважение, упоминать, падающий (снижающийся), достаточная подготовка большая тревога, совокупность обстоятельств, сталкиваться с, рынок труда, рабочая сила, основная причина, достигать высоких результатов, возможности, умный (способный).

2. Form the nouns from the following verbs:

to depend, to judge, to retire, to experience, to interact, to improve, to invest, to reward, to perform, to respect, to concern, to result, to enrol, to change, to choose.

3. Arrange A and В in pairs of synonyms:

A. to recruit, productive, competent, bright, standard, interaction, child, household, total, pupils, fast, declining, reason, occupation.

B. decreasing, to hire, effective, communication, efficient, lid, overall, students, level, quick, cause, family, clever, profession.

4. Arrange A and В in pairs of antonyms:

A. useful, adequate, success, effective, poor, negative, fast, advantage, significant, superior, to appear, to increase.

B. ineffective, to decrease, useless, slow, positive, insignificant,todisappear, failure, inadequate, rich, disadvantage, inferior.

5. Speak on the main reasons for the decreasing of the quality of teaching in the USA nowadays.

6. Say whether we have the same problems and suggest effective measures to improve the situation.

TEACHER'S WORK

Teaching brings many rewards and satisfactions, but it is a demanding, exhausting, and sometimes frustrating job. It is hard to do well unless you enjoy doing it. Teachers who do enjoy their work will show this in their classroom behaviour. They will come to class prepared for the day's lessons and will present lessons in a way that suggests interest and excitement in promoting learning. When students do achieve success, the teacher shares in their joy.