Education

auto or pedestrian fatalities because everyone's driving behavior and walking behaviors are so well controlled.

Woops.

I have no idea why you think teachers do not use database management. I use Eduphoria daily. It breaks down my students, the school's students, and the district's students by age, test scores, both state and local, including the exact topics and answers gotten right and wrong, income level, at-risk factors for failure, language ability, including written, verbal, and listening, special programs of any type, and lots more.

Let's suppose that I give a unit exam to my senior economics students. I can find exactly which topics (described in the TEKS standards for each subject) that my students did well in, or need help in, not only from my class, but how they did on the same topic in their US History course, or World History course, or any other social studies course. I can track that the group of students who attended Ms. Womack's World History class at Ector Junior High 3 years ago did poorly on the concept of out-migration processes then, and still are now, if they had Mr. White's US History class last year, while those who had Ms. Griggs last year for the same course have mastered the concept. I know who needs remediation, where, and have a flag for other students as well.

I meet weekly with two different PLC groups - my fellow economics instructors and my fellow US government instructors. We write common lesson plans detailing exactly which SEs are covered, what we will do if some students do not master them, what we will do if some students do master them, how are we differentiating our instruction for the various groups identified in Eduphoria, what assessment tools we will use for which students, and what standard will be satisfactory to move to the next set, and what we will do to remediate and/or reteach those who are not ready to move on.

We use every instructional method and material under the sun. I use a projector, a Smartboard, a TV and DVD player, student computers, lecture, foldables and other manipulatives, peer tutoring, pair-sharing, a sign-language aide for my deaf children (we are the regional school for the deaf for 22 districts), a special education teacher full time in my classroom, an online component for some lessons, before and after school one on one tutoring, interactive notebooks, and anything we can find in order that our students who are 85% eligible for free and reduced lunches, 20% special ed, 5% homeless, 25% English Language Learners of various abilities, can succeed.

You go right ahead and get the two advanced degrees that I have in education (forget my double major bachelor in English and Economics), pass the 4 exams required at more than $3,000 out of your pocket, do the free semester of student teaching, and then, after three decades in the classroom, feel free to think that some little Show and Tell presentation for 1/8 of 1 day of a 180 day school year is some type of educational experience that made a damn to anybody at all.

Education is an organic, cooperative experience that is not an assembly line, deals with all comers, and is the most exhausting, most tiring, most challenging and most exhilarating career anyone can choose. I've taught more than 7,000 students over the years, and I hear from hundreds of them annually, in person, through letters, email, and yep, even Facebook. I live in the neighborhood where I teach, and I am teaching many children of my former students now. In no case did even on thank me for any particular content of instruction, but instead, have encouraged me and thanked me for showing them ways to process and use critical thinking and evaluation in order to get the things they want, and most of all, personal satisfaction and happiness with themselves.