Something to think about. . .

Well, it's that time of year.  We are all headed back to school.  As usual I've been reading. . .

If you have email and belong to any organizations, you get notifications, newsletters, right?  Well, I have received an email that is really more than a notification, it is a newsletter.  I don't always read the entire newsletter, but really pick out the articles that interest me.  So, a "hot" topic mentioned in the title to one of the articles piqued my interest.  I am including a link:


http://neatoday.org/2012/05/16/bullying-of-teachers-pervasive-in-many-schools/?utm_source=neatodayexpress&utm_medium=email&utm_content=bully&utm_campaign=1207

While reading the article, I kept questioning myself, have I experienced this?  The answer is yes, at all levels.   I have witnessed examples of this between others and aimed at myself.  New teachers are much more "attractive" targets for the bully, because they don't have tenure and are afraid to speak up.  Teachers with experience and multiple degrees are becoming targets, due to the cost of employing teachers with experience.  In this situation, no one wins.

Value added evalutions

The more that I read about "value added" evaluations, as promoted through Race to the Top, the more concerned I become about the welfare of the quality of education in America.

I am concerned that Race To The Top is more about money and political clout than quality education for our children.  There are too many questions for us to implement these "innovations" across the board.  There are too many instances where abuse and mishandling of funds could exist.  There are too many instances of political partnerships with philanthropic organizations and the possible existence of graft and control for profit.  There are just too many questions.

Do we need some reforms?  Yes, but we need to be cautious.  Lack of funding is straining our schools to support our students.  As I said in my last post, one proven method of improving student learning is student teacher ratios.  The lower the ratio, the more success and learning for the student.  It is pretty easy, and no "for profit" organizations would be involved.

Please read the articles at these links and see what you think.

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2012/07/the_gates_foundations_leverage.html

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2012/07/the_gates_foundations_educatio.html


On a more positive note, I have recently read an article about schools extending their day.  This makes sense, and I will follow their progress.

http://www.ednewscolorado.org/2012/07/16/40526-dps-launches-extended-learning-pilot

I am familiar with PEBC (Public Education and Business Coalition).  I have attended professional development with PEBC  consultants.  I have found PEBC to have sound practices which engender rigor in learning for students.

Conversations need to re-focus. . .

I had some data brought to my attention today.  Since I was not sure who had compiled the data, I decided to go to the one source that would be most accurate, the US Census.  This is the report I found.  I think we need to change the conversation in eduction to "what we can do" rather than "what we can't do."  It is a paradigm shift.  It changes how we approach our issues.

http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p20-566.pdf

I also think we should start talking about the success we have had over the last decade.  Is all this uproar (i.e. teacher effectiveness, test scores, accountability) about who can have the largest part of the money pie?  I have witnessed personally a lot of waste in finances.  With the advent of Bill Gates and Race To The Top, is the uproar over who gets the cash?  I have seen many people paid many dollars for "new" educational practices that are not all successful, and some that are just not practical.

Again, when are they going to ask the people who do the job what is best to help the students succeed?  Research for many years, and practical experience have given us the answer over and over again.  Smaller classes, more teachers.  Done.  Hmmm, that didn't cost much.

Effectiveness of teachers. . .

I have been involved in discussions on measuring teacher effectiveness.  I am still not convinced on the best way to measure the effectiveness of teachers.  There are a tremendous amount of variables, it would have to be an extensive amount of work.  Basing effectiveness on one facet such as test scores is not viable.  You will never get the whole picture from one measurement.

I just read an article, that yes, and yet again, my profession is compared to other professions. . . hmm.  Apples and oranges?  Although this article did make some valid points, the most major one is that of teamwork.

It is worth reading and thinking about.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hunter-gehlbach/teachers-should-be-evaluated_b_1643211.html

Ok, so someone else is aware!?!

I came across this article on Yahoo news.  Ms. Bloom has apparently written about the state of education and what we, as a society are saying to our young people.  The article is well worth reading. . . .

http://lisabloom.com/site/lisas-books/swagger-excerpt/

I think the second paragraph pretty much sums up how it really is . . . not just perception.

OH MY! Arousal sensors!!!!!!!

I just read an article about a sensor that is being tested in schools this fall.  The sensor is supposed to inform teachers about which students are engaged in the lesson.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/sns-rt-us-usa-education-gatesbre85c018-20120612,0,3007501.story


EPIC FAIL! 

What are we doing to education?  How in the world can we get past all the gimmicks and just go back to teaching the students?  What kind of crazy train are we riding?  I don't know about you all out there, but it really makes good sense to me to try and ask the people doing the job what would truly help.

Jus' sayin'.

A word about teacher evaluations. . . .

An evaluation is a stressful and overwhelming process.  The teacher, in some cases, is required to maintain a professional portfolio to be referenced for the evaluation (this is on-going throughout the school year).  The evaluation of the teaching depends on the number of standards that the state has developed/required and the teacher needs to at least "meet expectations" on each of those standards (or a certain percentage of the standards). The lesson should include all parts that are relevant to that particular day or unit of instruction.  Copies of all materials will need to be on hand for the administrator to review and or file.  This collection of documents can be very detailed and can included pre-assessments, assessments, rubrics, activity sheets, project examples, plans for modifications and materials needed for those, transition activities, the physical lesson plans with standards and curriculum cross referenced on the document, documentation and plans for any differentiation and any materials which will be needed for those students who require that, data analysis of students' success or challenges, and any other documents as requested by the administrator.  All of this takes place prior to the observation.  The teacher is also required to complete a pre-observation form, including demographics and other pertinent information and submit to the administrators in advance of the observation.  The teacher is required to meet with the administrator and discuss the pre-observation form and the lesson that is to be observed. At this point, the administrator observes a lesson. After observing the lesson and reviewing the materials, the administrator scores the evaluation, meets with the teacher, and discusses all relevant points or issues.

I have not mentioned that in many cases, the lesson could possibly be derailed due to the students' success or lack of success in previous lessons, the observation time slot can be re-scheduled with little notice, you could be sick on the day of the observation, or any other situation that can arise at any time.  If this is the case you are probably going to have to start all over at "square one" on a new lesson.  Ergo, teacher frustration.  Teaching is not a process of "one day we do the first step and the next day we do the next step."  Lesson plans can not be written in "stone;" the plans will always be fluid if the teacher is doing his/her job right.  The fluidity is based on the students, it can be very unpredictable.  Some days you can predict, others you can not.

As a teacher, I have some issues with administrators who have or had not been in a classroom as a teacher for an extended period of time.  It is a very common practice for administrators to be placed in administrative positions with only 3 to 5 years classroom teaching experience.  As a veteran teacher, I can honestly say, that in a period of 3 to 5 years you will not have "seen it all."  I am still seeing and learning new things about education and students on a daily basis. As a veteran teacher, I have difficulty in taking advice from an administrator that has considerable less experience and in many cases less educational college/research experience than me.  These administrators rely on what they are told by others, read, or attend seminars and conferences on “what good teaching looks like.”  Weak administrators do not have the hands-on experience to actually know what good teaching does look like.  

I have had the opportunity to observe many teachers. I have seen some very good lessons.  I have seen some mediocre lessons. I have seen some elaborate “dog and pony shows” where all stops are pulled and the individual teacher is in a hyper compliance mode.  I believe, in most cases, that the “dog and pony shows” are only for the administrators’ sake and for the sake of a good evaluation.  The more emphasis which is put on compliance to “do this” and “do that” to exhibit good teaching will only encourage bitterness and burn-out; thereby defeating the purpose of mentoring a teacher toward new growth.