"Building a Better Teacher"

In “Building a Better Teacher,” Elizabeth Green argues that focus should be made on strengthening the quality of teachers currently teaching rather than firing the ones that do not measure up. In this article, Green expresses the need for change within the teacher-education curriculum and calls for opening the barriers between academic and clinical instruction. Even if a teacher has a graduate-school degree, a high scoring SAT, and a great personality this does not mean they possess the skills to connect with their students. Through her research, Green expresses the different techniques that could help improve the quality of teachers currently teaching, as well as, provide the tools to first-year teachers to become successful from the first moment they step into their classrooms.
Green explains how the testing mandates in No Child Left Behind has brought to light a great deal of data, and researches are now able to measure the “value added” to a student’s performance through various factors. Researches came to realize that teachers of the same school and grade level prove very different student outcomes. According to Green, this brought on a belief to many people that teaching was “purely instinctive” and “you either have it or you don’t.” It was this belief that brought on the theory that in order to improve the quality of teaching they must fire the bad teachers and hire better ones. Along with this theory came incentives, such as the federal Teacher Incentive Fund, which finances experimental merit-pay programs across the country in an effort to bring in a new range of talent to the teaching profession. Although Green agrees that it is important to expand the quantity of teachers, she however questions if these financial incentives alone could actually improve the quality of the teachers.
The Arthur introduces us to Doug Lemov who through video research put together a 357-page thesis, also known by some as Lemov’s Taxonomy, which introduces 49 techniques to improve student test-scores. The central idea of Lemov’s taxonomy is that students will not learn unless a teacher is able to connect with their students and are able to get them to follow directions. Many educators refer to this as, “class management” which Green points out often only, emphasizes the importance of creating rules, rather than the rules themselves. The techniques in the taxonomy are meant to be simple to learn and can be used by anyone in the teaching profession. Lemov’s video footage supports his theory and proves how other teachers were able to use his techniques and raise their student test-scores. Green also introduces, Deborah Loewenberg Ball, whom video research also became the basis for a large part of the teacher-training research. Ball believed that knowledge alone does not make a teacher good and proved this through a test known as Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching, or M.K.T. However, Ball has yet to figure out the best way to teach her theory, while Lemov lacks scientific proof.
I think Green was able to open my mind and see the different factors that affect student test-scores. By observing the teachers who are surpassing the system and continuing teacher education could ultimately help in improve failing schools. As Green points out that, a teacher is only as good as they are made to be.