I'm can see both sides of this issue.
From the student's side: Yes, there are teachers who live by worksheets, and worksheets alone. That can be very boring for students.
Also, I have to say that it seems as if many people entering K-12 education today do not come with the training and background that a K-12 teacher once had to have.
When my mother started teaching she had a strong background in education in addition to her subject area, which is math. She took both math and education courses to complete her BS degree.
Today, a lot of people in K-12 education can go through an Alternative Certification Program (ACP), pass the test and become a teacher. I'm not knocking it, it just seems as if ACP teachers may not have enough education courses to really be prepared to teach.
From the teacher's side: This is a teacher who could be under a lot of pressure to produce students to pass standardized tests issued by the state, the school district, and the school itself. This is what is happening in Texas and HISD now.
At a high school here in Houston where one of my friends is a science teacher, the students take some type of standardized test about every 3 - 4 weeks. And they are different standardized tests measuring slightly different outcomes for the same subject. In her case, science.
This particular teacher has probably gotten burned out.
Also, at my friend's hs, there are a lot of people who are going through the Teach For America program. These are people who are going to be at that school for a year or two, then move on. So, they may not be that invested in teaching.
Overall, there is probably more to this than we know.
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