Teaching

Audio-visual materials have enhanced teaching since the beginning of the last century. As a student in Montreal in the 50s and 60s, I remember what a treat it was to listen to a recording or radio broadcast. Those aids were a welcome change from our very formal, British-style lessons taught by teachers who lectured and expected you to memorize reams of tables and facts. Here's a chronology of when the various devices were introduced into classrooms.

Audio-visual aids such as recordings and film projectors have been used in K-12 classrooms for decades. Here's a brief history of their use:

• Phonographs: In the early 1900s, phonographs were used in classrooms to play recordings of music and speeches.
• Film projectors: In the 1920s, film projectors became available and were used to show educational films in classrooms.
• 16mm films: In the 1930s, 16mm films became the standard format for educational films, and schools began building libraries of educational films.
• 35mm filmstrips: In the 1940s, 35mm filmstrips were introduced, a series of images printed on a long strip of film accompanied by an audio recording.
• Slide projectors: In the 1950s, slide projectors became popular in classrooms, allowing teachers to display images and information on a screen.
• Overhead projectors: In the 1960s, overhead projectors became widely used in classrooms, allowing teachers to display written and visual material on a screen in real time.
• Video cassette recorders: In the 1970s, video cassette recorders (VCRs) were introduced, allowing teachers to show pre-recorded videos in the classroom.
• Digital media: In the 1990s, digital

A couple of years ago when tenure for professors began to look like a thing of the past, I remember thinking that tenure for K-12 teachers would probably be next on the chopping block. And so the rumblings which I thought I heard off in the distance were indeed the precursor of a serious storm. With that in mind let's explore the issue and try to understand what is happening with the concept of teacher tenure in the United States.

The California decision

The judge in the case certainly came down hard against teacher tenure. I am not a lawyer but it seemed to me that the root of his judicial displeasure was the way the California statutes had been written. To understand where those laws originated, you have to go back in time to the early part of the twentieth century and indeed even earlier. Back then teachers could be fired when ever a school board or administrator decided. Essentially teachers had no due process. Teacher protection in the form of tenure was a German idea which began to take hold across the United States back in the 1920s and 1930s. Tenure also curbed another abuse of the teaching profession which was interference from politicians. Teaching positions were considered patronage plums that politicians handed out.

In my opinion tenure for public K-12 teachers was a necessary protection a hundred years ago. But as with

My late father-in-law, Dr. James Garnett Lyne, used to refer to what he called 'mass mediocrity' whenever he discussed education. Like me, he was a product of a public school education. Neither of our parents could afford a private school education.

What did he mean by 'mass mediocrity'? He was referring to what he feared would be the result of a general lowering of standards in our schools. He argued that the less qualified teachers were, the less they were paid and the less demanding high school curricula were, the more we as a society would descend into 'mass mediocrity'. Dr. Lyne has been gone for 45 years. Yet his prescient words still haunt me. You see, back then, I had no clue what he was talking about. None. That scholarly father-in-law of mine was given to many well-reasoned pronouncements. I figured that this was just one more and filed it away in my memory bank.

This video from Toastmasters International offers five tips for effective public speaking.

Graduates lack basic business skills

In my own daily life and work, I am well aware of what high school graduates - both public and private school graduates - bring to the table. The lack of basic business communication skills is appalling. And I don't think that Twitter and texting is the reason. I remain convinced until somebody can show me otherwise that most high

Does a dead language have any place in a 21st-century curriculum? Is it useful? Is it relevant? Does it have value as an enrichment to the core curriculum? I think it does and for the following reasons.

1. Latin offers young people a glimpse into the life and times of the ancient Romans.

Yes, they can read about ancient Rome and watch videos. They can learn about expansion of the Roman Empire under Julius Caesar. All that information is readily available. But it is filtered information. The whole point of learning a language is to be able to read source materials. I don't want somebody telling me what Julius Caesar said. I want to read it for myself. I want to understand what Caesar said, why he said it, how he said it - the works.

With that assumption in mind, it makes sense to allow students to experience the language by learning how to speak it. Perhaps Latin may be a dead language in the sense that it is no longer the lingua franca of commerce and world affairs. On the other hand, Latin is a beautiful sounding language that will delight young listeners.

I will disclaim that I learned Latin back in the 50s and 60s when it was taught in the rather old-fashioned way languages were taught back then. You learned endless conjugations and declensions. You struggled with Latin's nuanced sense of tense. Et cetera. It would have been rather dry and dull had it

As a nation, we spend billions on K-12 educational technology So, the question about whether all this spending is improving outcomes is a fair one. Has technology, in fact, improved educational outcomes?

Pros

Technology has freed up administrative time.

Electronic grade books save time for teachers. Computerized tests and quizzes save more time. The software which allows students to master skills in maths, sciences, and languages are huge time savers. Email and blogs make communications with parents and administration instantaneous and very efficient. And the tools just keep getting better and better. The less time a teacher has to spend on administrative tasks, the more time she theoretically can spend on lesson preparation and other purely teaching-related tasks.

Technology has opened new worlds.

iPads and wireless networks have liberated teaching. We can teach anywhere, at any time. That flexibility is what makes teaching exciting and relevant. Decades ago, you livened up your class by taking them outside on a beautiful day to sit under a tree and teach your lesson. The lesson was usually successful because you had your students' undivided attention. You piqued their interest with the change of venue. Exposing young people to the world around them locally, nationally, and abroad is an essential part of a teacher's job.

Technology performs that function instantly and without creating logistics issues like taking a class outdoors does. Your history lessons come alive as you make