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Monday, March 21, 2011

Do I Have to be a “Great” Teacher? | Mr. Teachbad's Blog of Teacher Disgruntlement

Do I Have to be a “Great” Teacher? | Mr. Teachbad's Blog of Teacher Disgruntlement

Do I Have to be a “Great” Teacher?

Be forwarned: This post is all over the place. But, for what it’s worth, it accurately reflects my mental state. And that’s all I can do. God help us.

Question: What do you call the guy who finished medical school at the bottom of his class?

Answer: Doctor

What is it with all of us teachers suddenly having to be “great”? Where I come from, I was taught not to show off. The ultimate goal for we Midwesterners was always understood to be “quiet adequacy.”

What if I am content to be “pretty good” or “unobtrusively a little above average”? Is there a place for me?

And can’t you only be “great” if somebody else sucks? Isn’t this a relative measure? You can only be smart if somebody else is stupid, right? Smart people need stupid people.

Wait…wait….the tests! THE TESTS! If everybody does well on the tests, all the teachers can be