By: Ken Banh
When we think of teachers, we think of the smart men and women who pass on their knowledge and skills every year in order to provide future generations with the knowledge they need for their lives.
However not everyone teaches with equal quality. As they are human as well, some teachers are more engaging and better at teaching in certain areas than others.
The weakest of the bunch are the incompetent teachers. These teachers aren’t as good as the rest; the damage they can do can be critical. This problem can plague any school and no school is immune.
To solve this conundrum, there are two options: either dismissing teachers or giving them the chance to improve through help.
First things first, it is important to find the root of the problem.
There are many reasons for a teacher underperforming, such as the teacher being stressed as they are merely human. Their stress can come from a variety of avenues such a family member at home or being overwhelmed at school according to “Coping With Incompetent Teachers” by Education Week.
Most of the possible reasons come from the classroom. In WH Magazine’s article What Makes a Teacher Ineffective, they state that a teacher without a realistic set goal is doomed to fail. As well as the ones who are motivated by their own desires and not the students.
A lack of knowledge, communication, and control in their field are also possible factors in an underperforming teacher.
There are also obvious reasons for why an incompetent teacher is teaching terribly. Engaging in illegal and unprofessional actions such as abuse and apathy can easily harm a student’s learning. These aspects make up the worst kind of teacher, one who is both bad at teaching as well as being a despicable human being.
In an interview with a veteran teacher, Mr. Calbreath—who has been teaching for 17 years—he states that a poor teacher for him is a teacher that leaves students to teach themselves with the book.
As a student of about three and a half years at Yerba Buena, I find that teachers that overwhelm students with assignments are rather poor. Teachers that aren’t self conscious about their teaching style are part of the problem. They are unable to make changes to their style as they are oblivious to what damage they are doing.
For example, currently in one of my classes I was recently subjected to a barrage of assignments. This onslaught of work was due to my teacher desperately trying not to fall behind schedule by making the usual classwork into a homework assignment. She did this while also still giving out the usual homework.
As a result I had a pile up of assignments in class while also having to deal with other assignments from my other classes. This caused me to fall behind —as I dealt with as much as I could—while also running on low sleep as a consequence of the change.
In my sophomore year, I had a similar experience in another class, except I got buried in a mountain of tests. Other students I knew who were fairly good at the subject were forced to go through great lengths to get a passing grade. When a classmate once asked for help on an assignment, the teacher’s response was to “look it up on the internet.”
Because of this kind of teaching, I ended up failing and was forced to retake it for my junior year.
The damage an incompetent teacher can cause is catastrophic. A student’s grade for the class might be lower or even a failure, resulting in the GPA can taking a massive hit.
Also, if a student were to get anything below a C letter grade in a class then their A-G is cancelled out. The A-G permits a senior high school student to be able to immediately go straight to a four year colleges as a CSU or a UC. If it is destroyed then a student cannot go and are forced to go to a community college before they can reach a four year college. While there is nothing wrong with going to community college and then transferring to a four year, some students prefer heading straight to a CSU or a UC rather than spend two years at a community college.
This means that a single incompetent teacher can derail a person’s entire plan and their future. Which is infuriating to see as it is not entirely the student’s fault for the low grade.
While it is important to focus on the negative qualities of teachers, It is crucial to recognize what makes the best perform so well.
In my opinion, a great teacher is able to connect to their students emotionally and is understanding of their situation. Teachers that know their limits and know when to pull back on having to give assignments are the signs of a great teacher.
On a survey, I asked a sample of 20 students on what makes a good teacher and some responded with, “A good teacher takes time on a lesson, regardless if the class is behind their other classes. He or she makes sure that each student is up to date with the rest of the class, and if a student is behind, they take time to help that student separately.”
Mr. Calbreath weighs in and states that, “teachers need to be very clear, explain clearly, they need to be able to inspire the kids, kids should be able to explain to other kids.” An engaged class is an efficient class.
In the end there are two fates an incompetent teacher will face if they were to be at the mercy of their employer, a chance to improve themselves or dismissal.
While it is hard to dismiss a teacher, if accomplished the effects can be good. Incompetent teachers can be best dismissed or at least investigated if the school were to get enough complaints from the parents, as they have the most power in that situation.
However, some people are more merciful and wish to have teachers have a chance to redeem themselves. On my survey with 20 participants, only 40% of them wanted them to have a second chance compared to 55% who wanted them dismissed. The other 5% was unsure of what to do with the teachers.
Personally, I would prefer to give them a chance at redemption. Teaching can be hard and it can be difficult to connect with every student. It would be most fair to give them a second chance as everyone has the capacity for improvement, even if it may seem hopeless for some. Dismissal should only be reserved for those who go through attempts of improvement but show no signs of being a greater teacher, or at least have a more cohesive attitude towards students.
In the end, incompetent teachers, while somewhat uncommon, can be devastating to students.
When the teacher is failing, it is the duty of students to fight for their learning by finding a solution either through getting the teacher to go through remediation or their dismissal. The effects of an incompetent teacher is deadly and such an injustice cannot be allowed to persist. Especially since the students of today are the creators of tomorrow.
When we think of teachers, we think of the smart men and women who pass on their knowledge and skills every year in order to provide future generations with the knowledge they need for their lives.
However not everyone teaches with equal quality. As they are human as well, some teachers are more engaging and better at teaching in certain areas than others.
The weakest of the bunch are the incompetent teachers. These teachers aren’t as good as the rest; the damage they can do can be critical. This problem can plague any school and no school is immune.
To solve this conundrum, there are two options: either dismissing teachers or giving them the chance to improve through help.
First things first, it is important to find the root of the problem.
There are many reasons for a teacher underperforming, such as the teacher being stressed as they are merely human. Their stress can come from a variety of avenues such a family member at home or being overwhelmed at school according to “Coping With Incompetent Teachers” by Education Week.
Most of the possible reasons come from the classroom. In WH Magazine’s article What Makes a Teacher Ineffective, they state that a teacher without a realistic set goal is doomed to fail. As well as the ones who are motivated by their own desires and not the students.
A lack of knowledge, communication, and control in their field are also possible factors in an underperforming teacher.
There are also obvious reasons for why an incompetent teacher is teaching terribly. Engaging in illegal and unprofessional actions such as abuse and apathy can easily harm a student’s learning. These aspects make up the worst kind of teacher, one who is both bad at teaching as well as being a despicable human being.
In an interview with a veteran teacher, Mr. Calbreath—who has been teaching for 17 years—he states that a poor teacher for him is a teacher that leaves students to teach themselves with the book.
As a student of about three and a half years at Yerba Buena, I find that teachers that overwhelm students with assignments are rather poor. Teachers that aren’t self conscious about their teaching style are part of the problem. They are unable to make changes to their style as they are oblivious to what damage they are doing.
For example, currently in one of my classes I was recently subjected to a barrage of assignments. This onslaught of work was due to my teacher desperately trying not to fall behind schedule by making the usual classwork into a homework assignment. She did this while also still giving out the usual homework.
As a result I had a pile up of assignments in class while also having to deal with other assignments from my other classes. This caused me to fall behind —as I dealt with as much as I could—while also running on low sleep as a consequence of the change.
In my sophomore year, I had a similar experience in another class, except I got buried in a mountain of tests. Other students I knew who were fairly good at the subject were forced to go through great lengths to get a passing grade. When a classmate once asked for help on an assignment, the teacher’s response was to “look it up on the internet.”
Because of this kind of teaching, I ended up failing and was forced to retake it for my junior year.
The damage an incompetent teacher can cause is catastrophic. A student’s grade for the class might be lower or even a failure, resulting in the GPA can taking a massive hit.
Also, if a student were to get anything below a C letter grade in a class then their A-G is cancelled out. The A-G permits a senior high school student to be able to immediately go straight to a four year colleges as a CSU or a UC. If it is destroyed then a student cannot go and are forced to go to a community college before they can reach a four year college. While there is nothing wrong with going to community college and then transferring to a four year, some students prefer heading straight to a CSU or a UC rather than spend two years at a community college.
This means that a single incompetent teacher can derail a person’s entire plan and their future. Which is infuriating to see as it is not entirely the student’s fault for the low grade.
While it is important to focus on the negative qualities of teachers, It is crucial to recognize what makes the best perform so well.
In my opinion, a great teacher is able to connect to their students emotionally and is understanding of their situation. Teachers that know their limits and know when to pull back on having to give assignments are the signs of a great teacher.
On a survey, I asked a sample of 20 students on what makes a good teacher and some responded with, “A good teacher takes time on a lesson, regardless if the class is behind their other classes. He or she makes sure that each student is up to date with the rest of the class, and if a student is behind, they take time to help that student separately.”
Mr. Calbreath weighs in and states that, “teachers need to be very clear, explain clearly, they need to be able to inspire the kids, kids should be able to explain to other kids.” An engaged class is an efficient class.
In the end there are two fates an incompetent teacher will face if they were to be at the mercy of their employer, a chance to improve themselves or dismissal.
While it is hard to dismiss a teacher, if accomplished the effects can be good. Incompetent teachers can be best dismissed or at least investigated if the school were to get enough complaints from the parents, as they have the most power in that situation.
However, some people are more merciful and wish to have teachers have a chance to redeem themselves. On my survey with 20 participants, only 40% of them wanted them to have a second chance compared to 55% who wanted them dismissed. The other 5% was unsure of what to do with the teachers.
Personally, I would prefer to give them a chance at redemption. Teaching can be hard and it can be difficult to connect with every student. It would be most fair to give them a second chance as everyone has the capacity for improvement, even if it may seem hopeless for some. Dismissal should only be reserved for those who go through attempts of improvement but show no signs of being a greater teacher, or at least have a more cohesive attitude towards students.
In the end, incompetent teachers, while somewhat uncommon, can be devastating to students.
When the teacher is failing, it is the duty of students to fight for their learning by finding a solution either through getting the teacher to go through remediation or their dismissal. The effects of an incompetent teacher is deadly and such an injustice cannot be allowed to persist. Especially since the students of today are the creators of tomorrow.