Creativity, differentiation, trying to really know and reach my students, all gone because politicians, parents, and the average Joe know more about teaching than I do...
This approach stems from a basic misunderstanding of the problem, and also of what teaching involves. A teacher can't be restricted to murmuring encouragingly in response to whatever students say, because there must be an opportunity for dialogue, and students have to get feedback on their ideas (canned, unchanging answers give no information whatever). I just can't believe that the solution for underperforming teachers is to limit superb teachers, and turn everyone into parrots. Why not just "teach" over the intercom?
It's also just hit me that this mindset is probably behind some of the enthusiasm for using Khan Academy in the classroom: a teacher can't get it wrong when all they do is press "play".
