Learning problem located within student
Role of classroom teacher narrowly defined
Refer to special education for help outside the classroom
Provides little or no instructional accommodation or modification
Tends to work alone
I guess, now that I look at this list outside of class, it's not the list that I match, it's my prof's description of it. That and the fact that I don't particularly fit the other end of the spectrum, called Interventionist and described as this:
•Learning problems are result of interaction between student and environment
•Role of classroom teacher broadly defined
•Seeks out resources and supports to use within the classroom
•Provides many instructional accommodations or modifications
•Works collaboratively
I especially don't agree with the first point. Then again, I have a much narrower definition of "learning problems" than my prof seems to. It seems that, in this class, the definition of "learning problem" is something that does not allow a student to learn a concept when taught in a traditional manner and amount of time. I'm picturing an older woman with a yardstick and lots of memorization requirements. Learning differently doesn't mean having a problem. If you're a visual learner or an auditory learner or a tactile learner, that's all fine by me and I intend to include all of those types in my teaching approach. By learning problem, I mean something like an IQ below 60, or being deaf (which isn't always a disability, but in Music and Drama...), or suffering from autism or something along those lines. I'm talking about people who can't be taught the curriculum along with other students because of different capabilities. I'm worried about the educational experience of the majority of the students being negatively affected by the adaptations made for special needs students. And by that, I don't mean kids being uncomfortable around someone who might not have the best control over their speech, I mean a class where a teacher spends 40% of his/her time on one student. Espeicially in classes like Music and Drama, where it's almost always required that the instructor work with the entire class for the whole period, that wouldn't be fair.
Anyways, what got me thinking that I fit the description of the evil teacher was my prof's description of a teacher like that, talking about what they do more than what they believe. They would send a special needs student out with the special ed people. I think I just explained my position on that. They prefer to work alone, implying that they have a way of doing things and require control to execute and maintain that way. My prof said that these are often the teachers who have paper or posters convering up the window beside the door. Except for the paper part, my reply to which is that I've never had a classroom, the working alone thing really does fit me. If I know what I'm doing and I'm doing it properly, then I say leave well enough alone, rather than having extra factors (ie, people) thrown into the mix that I'll have to rethink everything for. Keep in mind, though, that the something I'd be doing is teaching, and doing it properly means that all the students learn well. So it's not that I'm a narrow-minded bitch, it's that if I need help, I'll ask for it, so go away.
Ok, so I can't be entirely nice about that one. But at least I would be not entirely nice to other adults, rather than students. ^_^
But, you know, after all this, I still have no idea why my prof used the word "pathognomonic." Are bad teachers the symptom that defines the disease? What's the disease? I thought difficulty succeeding in school was the disease. If anything, I'd say that failing students were pathognomonic to that. But, then again, I would say that a girl with no thumbs shouldn't play the saxophone, so I'm evil.
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