...education policies in Finland concentrate more on school effectiveness than on teacher effectiveness. This indicates that what schools are expected to do is an effort of everyone in a school, working together, rather than teachers working individually.
Or, as Hillary Clinton put it, "It takes a village." I suspect that it's a part of the plight of many immigrant parents who live in isolation from an ethnic/cultural community, to feel like asking, "What's wrong with you?" of their kids, because they keep noticing that things their kids don't know things that they "should know." My parents expected me to know many things I would've picked up in my environment, had I grown up in the same one my parents did. This kind of knowledge is illustrated in Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes when the city born lads see a cow for the first time, and onlooking adults wonder if they are mentally deficient. "What are Cows!? Cows are cows!"
Another example of this kind of knowledge: When my family engages in activities, like going somewhere, we generally imagine what all of the others are doing and optimize our activities to minimize crossing paths and causing each other wait times. This isn't something we were ever explicitly asked to do. My sister and I just picked it up from our parents. In stark contrast, an ex-girlfriend of mine would instead only perform narrowly delegated tasks and discharge whatever task I delegated as quickly and directly as possible, without regard for how that would impact my activities, even if that would mean covering a cutting board I was using with another ingredient. Apparently, her father would punish initiative as a matter of the principle of obedience, and order around his family like robots.
Yet another example of this: in Japanese homes, people are expected to remove their shoes and arrange them in a neat and orderly array, optimized for exiting with a minimum of fuss and socks contact with the foyer floor.
Also very significant, in Finland: "teaching is regarded as an esteemed profession, on par with medicine, law or engineering." In the US, teachers are regarded as occupying a class between the working and professionals, esteemed lower than professions like medicine, law, and engineering. It says much about our society's priorities, that we say, "Those who can't do, teach."
becoming a great teacher normally takes five to ten years of systematic practice. And determining the reliably of ‘effectiveness’ of any teacher would require at least five years of reliable data. This would be practically impossible.
This is somewhat the inherent dilemma of hiring for any skilled profession. Mentoring is probably key here.
Or, as Hillary Clinton put it, "It takes a village." I suspect that it's a part of the plight of many immigrant parents who live in isolation from an ethnic/cultural community, to feel like asking, "What's wrong with you?" of their kids, because they keep noticing that things their kids don't know things that they "should know." My parents expected me to know many things I would've picked up in my environment, had I grown up in the same one my parents did. This kind of knowledge is illustrated in Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes when the city born lads see a cow for the first time, and onlooking adults wonder if they are mentally deficient. "What are Cows!? Cows are cows!"
Another example of this kind of knowledge: When my family engages in activities, like going somewhere, we generally imagine what all of the others are doing and optimize our activities to minimize crossing paths and causing each other wait times. This isn't something we were ever explicitly asked to do. My sister and I just picked it up from our parents. In stark contrast, an ex-girlfriend of mine would instead only perform narrowly delegated tasks and discharge whatever task I delegated as quickly and directly as possible, without regard for how that would impact my activities, even if that would mean covering a cutting board I was using with another ingredient. Apparently, her father would punish initiative as a matter of the principle of obedience, and order around his family like robots.
Yet another example of this: in Japanese homes, people are expected to remove their shoes and arrange them in a neat and orderly array, optimized for exiting with a minimum of fuss and socks contact with the foyer floor.
Also very significant, in Finland: "teaching is regarded as an esteemed profession, on par with medicine, law or engineering." In the US, teachers are regarded as occupying a class between the working and professionals, esteemed lower than professions like medicine, law, and engineering. It says much about our society's priorities, that we say, "Those who can't do, teach."
becoming a great teacher normally takes five to ten years of systematic practice. And determining the reliably of ‘effectiveness’ of any teacher would require at least five years of reliable data. This would be practically impossible.
This is somewhat the inherent dilemma of hiring for any skilled profession. Mentoring is probably key here.