Dewey Meets Zettl

I have yet to get back to writing on my third book. It is with me every day - even at night when I can't sleep, I start resolving issues yet to develop.

Instead, I have been struggling to write a lecture I will deliver at Ohio University on January 29 -- 50 minutes with a 20 minute Q & A to follow. Of course, I have not been working on it every day, but when I have, it is not writing easily.

It will be delivered at McCracken Hall to the College of Education Faculty and Students who attend. It is titled "A Classroom Teacher in Commercial Television: Dewey Meets Zettl," and details some of the things I took with me from the classroom when I changed careers.

I taught American History to eighth graders for three years -- 1964-67. While I enjoyed my time in the classroom, I was annoyed by the lack of merit pay increases. All teachers do not achieve equally, but I was among the best (said with an honest face, Dear Reader.) Yet even though I innovatively worked my hump off, I received the same raise each year as the teacher next to me who simply had students answer the questions at the end of the chapter. When done, his students could study other subjects or sleep -- as long as they were quiet.

In this Blog, I have not been shy about criticizing the Obama Administration, but in mid-year 2009, the President and the Secretary of Education announced their new Education initiative. It is called "Race to the Top," and has four main points:

• Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;
• Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
• Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
• Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

While it would be fun to discuss each of these points, I draw your attention to the third point. Note the word "reward." Here we are 46 years after I started teaching and someone in authority has finally come out in favor of "merit" which has been the bane of the Teacher's Union. In an Administration where Unions are given favorable status over others, this seems to be a stake aimed at the very heart of today's union principles. I encourage this kind of thinking, Mr. President.

Now, Mr. President, let's talk about where the Jobs are!

“Man is not logical and his intellectual history is a record of mental reserves and compromises. He hangs on to what he can in his old beliefs even when he is compelled to surrender their logical basis.” ~~ John Dewey, American Philosopher, 1859 - 1952

"The television camera converts whatever it 'sees' (optical images) into electrical signals that can be temporarily stored or directly reconverted by the television set into visible screen images. " ~~ Herbert Zettl, Professor Emeritus University of San Francisco