Return-Path: <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id g11IGSu27447; Fri, 1 Feb 2002 13:16:28 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 13:16:28 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <LAW2-F35REmOZXNU79I0000aa44@hotmail.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Eileen Eckert" <eileeneckert@hotmail.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-4EFF:2025] teacher skill development X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Status: O Content-Length: 2139 Lines: 35 Andres says that, "Most adult educators lack the knowledge and background to provide any kind of education, period." In a later e-mail, he says that programs rely on "untrained" teachers and don't support them. A few people have taken exception to his statements but their arguments, read closely, actually support Andres' criticisms of the adult education system. Bonnie and Mary Lynn both acknowledge that their professional development is on their own time; it happens because they, as individuals, take the initiative. Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but it seems to me that implicit in those statements is the acknowledgement that programs and the ABE system are not supportive of teachers' learning and development. Smith, Hofer, & Gillespie make exactly this point in their article from the June issue of Focus on Basics. Barry Sheckley found the same thing in an evaluation of Washington State's professional development system for ABE. Nowhere does Andres say that the background and knowledge needed to be an effective teacher can only be gained through formal education and training programs in ABE, and I don't see his remarks as an insult to any of the teachers who give countless hours learning on their own. But why should each teacher who learns have to go it alone? "Take responsibility for learning" is not an endorsement of isolation but of self-determination. I see Andres' comments as a truthful (though maybe just the tiniest bit exaggerated, but a cynic is a frustrated idealist) portrayal of a system that hails collaborative, lifelong learning yet too often leaves its members to sink or swim on their own. >From everything I've heard, the research and development process of EFF has been a wonderfully supportive way for teachers to learn. Now it seems EFF is turning to training workshops, which, when they're over, may leave teachers as isolated as ever, with little support to implement and practice with EFF. _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
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