Taylor Mali on "What Teachers Make"

Taylor Mali (http://taylormali.com), one of the most well-known poets to have emerged from the poetry slam movement and one of the few people in the world to have no job other than that of poet., gives his mind on what teachers make. Mali is a vocal advocate of teachers and the nobility of teaching, having himself spent nine years in the classroom teaching everything from English and history to math and S.A.T. test preparation.

He has performed and lectured for teachers all over the world, and his New Teacher Project has a goal of creating 1,000 new teachers through "poetry, persuasion, and perseverance."

Please visit http://taylormali.com for more on Mali and his New Teacher Project.

http://taylormali.com

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• slam
• poetry
• poet
• what
• teachers
• make
• taylor
• mali
• word
• poem
• rap

[JustJanaBanana]

And THIS is why I am studying to become a teacher!

[osulakers17]

I wish this guy was my professor in college

[rer9733]

Just waiting for him to comment on how much money teachers make.

[TheDrafted]

@MrSelkies

No, if a teacher doesn't have their management strategy in order, they can likely have to deal with all kinds of insane behavior issues. This is not an argument, you clearly haven't attempted to teach any grade school class.

[MrSelkies]

@TheDrafted A lawyer wouldn't be a lawyer without certain certifications, which they earned regardless of how they learned what they know - so to answer your question, yes, because you wouldn't know in the first place.

I agree with you that teachers are beneficial to kids, I never said the opposite. I was simply replying to your statement "Students cannot teach themselves by sitting with a textbook." That has nothing to do with jumping off of furniture - that's for babysitters and parenting.

[TheDrafted]

@MrSelkies

Would you hire a "self-taught" lawyer? Ever heard of pre-K/elementary/middle school students taking online classes? Are you saying that instead of hiring teachers, schools should just tell the students what to learn and administer tests? What you don't realize is that the difference a teacher makes can be the difference between a group of students working hard and learning, or the same group of students jumping off of classroom furniture and screaming.

[ehsakb181]

I am studying to be an elementary teacher and I really do want to make a difference in students' lives! :) I read some of the previous comments about how students can teach themselves just by reading a text book...well what about students who are struggling readers? Believe it or not, reading disabilities are among the most common form of learning disabilities, so if a child cannot read well, how will they learn by trying to read something they will struggle with?

[SuperTruth77]

My 25YO nephew was ridiculously fired from teaching & put on a sex offenders register FOR LIFE. True, he had sex with a 15YO girl pupil, BUT it was with the full agreement & in the presence of her mother.

She had taken the decision that a 3-way sexual encounter with a trusted professional would be the safest & best way to sexually educate her daughter. Unfortunately, she filmed the encounter (for the purpose of review & analysis) & her husband discovered the footage & went to Police.

[ClutchSaintsXLV]

So what does he make?...

[MrSelkies]

@TheDrafted Have you ever heard of something being "self-taught"? Look at some of the best musicians or artists or even lawyers who learned what they learned on their own. Also, have you ever heard of an online class in college? A class where the teacher doesn't actually do anything but provide a schedule by which you must pass in assignments, and you go and learn everything on your own? Teachers aren't there to provide knowledge, they're there to justify people getting regulated degrees.

[MrSelkies]

@osulakers17 You do? He seems like a pretentious asshole that would actually suck as a teacher.