Let me state a few things up front:
First, I’m grateful to the parents who support and respect us. Trust me, there are plenty of them around.
Second, our students are generally good kids who are respectful, hardworking, and academically talented.
Third, I’m all for high standards and accountability.
Now, on to the featured article…
If you’ve noticed like I have, all the talk about school reform seems to begin and end with teachers. Teacher preparation, teacher observations, teacher evaluations, teacher tenure, teacher dismissals, etc. You would think that the reason this country is in the education predicament it’s in is all because of the person in front of the classroom. Teachers are blamed for poor test scores and are used as scapegoats for low achievement, while being characterized as untalented and lazy. And that’s on a good day.
There are bad teachers. Just like there are bad doctors and bad lawyers and bad mechanics and bad referees. Being bad at what you do is very American. Just ask Isaiah Thomas.
There are lazy teachers. Just like there are lazy accountants and lazy carpenters and lazy talk show hosts and lazy cashiers. Being lazy is very American. Just ask anyone who watches The Weather Channel.
There are also great teachers. Just like there are great baseball players and great politicians and great public relations specialists and great landscapers. Being great is what defines America. Just ask me George Washington, whose birthday we celebrate today.
Teaching is no different than any other profession. Except that teachers are bashed constantly, blamed for everything, and disrespected daily. When it comes to school reform, or what some experts are now calling ‘so-called school reform’, holding teachers to a higher standard is a good thing. It cannot, however, be the only thing.
We need to hold our elected officials accountable for tackling school reform but not addressing the issue of poverty. In an op-ed piece for Hearst Connecticut, Joseph A. Ricciotti, the director of the teaching internship program at Fairfield University, says it’s easier to blame teachers than to deal with poverty issues. I might add that it’s also more politically correct.
We need to hold parents accountable. Parents who don’t parent and parents who parent too much. Some parents wouldn’t know or wouldn’t care if their child got an F. Some parents cry foul at a B+. Some parents wouldn’t know or wouldn’t care if their child was doing drugs. Some, well, remember the Greenwich Time article on teen drinking?
We need to hold students accountable. What’s more important, a cell phone or a cell membrane?
We need to hold society accountable, too. We live in a culture that’s obsessed with celebrity. A society that fawns over Justin Bieber, but ignores the struggling kid from the inner city.
A society that says that no matter what happens, we’ll just blame the teachers.
Publius: the letters I have from my former students, their parents, and my colleagues all speak to my abilities as an educator. I can understand why you’d have a hard time believing what I say. You don’t know me personally, you don’t know the circumstances of my employment, or the administration behind my firing. But rest assured, my chosen profession was one in which I made a difference in the lives of students who meant everything to me. If anything, I vastly underestimated the impact I had on my students. It wasn’t until after my firing that I realized what a network of support there was for me, one that is still encouraging me to get back into the classroom. I have no delusions about my weaknesses as a teacher; there was plenty I could have done better. However, when I look at the evaluations I received, when I look at my personnel files, I am still at a loss as to why I was targeted. I am one of those teachers who should not have been let go, and the only people who suffered for it were the students who still could have benefitted from being in my class.
Charles, much of this discussion comes down to what the basic purpose of a school system is. Is the basic purpose to maximize fair treatment to adult employees of the system? Or is the basic purpose to maximize the educational level of the students?
If fair treatment of adult employees is the primary goal, then your arguments about using test results as part of an evaluation system are appropriate. Yes, some teachers teach in areas that are not tested, and therefore will be treated differently than teachers whose subject area is tested. Yes, there are nuances of student ability distribution that may affect a teacher’s test results if the methodology is not adjusted to consider that distribution.
But are we losing sight of the goal here? Are we focusing on the teachers instead of on the students? In fact, just as student ability is distributed over a range, so is teacher ability. Some teachers are better teachers than others….which means some teachers are worse than others. As long as those differences are within a relatively narrow range they are acceptable…just as student differences within a narrow range are acceptable in honors classes. But what if we review test scores for various teachers and find one or two teachers whose students’ scores are one or two standard deviations below the mean, and that result is consistent across classes and years? Is that information we should ignore? Isn’t that unfair to the students assigned to those teachers? Which unfairness is more important?
I have a pretty good idea what public education and public schools are about today, though my perspective may be somewhat different than yours.
Yes, student ability levels vary greatly….er, just as teacher ability levels very greatly. But students are graded based on their objective performance on tests. Are teachers?
Publius,
Are you aware that students are not all alike? That even in an honors course – especially considering we’re in an era of open enrollment – student ability levels differ greatly?
“A classroom teacher with responsibility for class management and grading homework has the same salary as a specialist who teaches a few students at a time, and never takes work home.”
Never takes work home? That could not be further from the truth. And whether it’s a class of 30 or 3, classroom management and grading are part of a teacher’s job.
Do you realize the realities of public education and public schools today, and what teachers of all subjects and levels are dealing with?
When I was young, and complained that my brothers got more vegetables or less dessert than I did, my mother’s answer was “Keep your eyes on your own plate”. That advice has aided me throughout my life in far more than eating.
IF we have a valid measure of a teacher’s ability to convey learning to students, why should we worry more about whether it is “fair” because that same measure can’t be equally applied to every teacher? That seems to be putting concern for equal treatment of teachers above delivering a quality education to students. But unfortunately that is part of the zeitgeist of American public school education. Whatever the circumstances, we can never differentiate in any way between individual or groups of teachers. Shouldn’t each teacher be more concerned with his/her own level of quality, rather than looking at someone else’s plate?
So the union supports a contract that gives every teacher the exact same salary, based on degree and years served. A classroom teacher with responsibility for class management and grading homework has the same salary as a specialist who teaches a few students at a time, and never takes work home. A math or science teacher, very much in demand in the private sector and sometimes a DSA in education, gets the same salary as a comparably degreed and experienced elementary teacher, in plentiful supply. A generally acknowledged excellent teacher is paid the same as one that is marginally competent.
Education may not be completely comparable to business, but the concept of supply and demand doesn’t exist in education. Pay more to teachers in short supply? Oh, no, you can’t do that. It would be unfair to the teachers in great supply. Not good for the students? What is fair for the teachers is more important than what is good for the students.
Charles, why not have the teachers of students in high school honors classes be evaluated in part by having their students take the SAT subject tests in their individual subjects? For honors biology or honors chemistry or honors pre-calculus, have students take those tests and see how each teacher’s students did on those specific tests? Doesn’t that make sense? And for students of honors English, why not have them take the subject test for English literature and see how well they do relative to other teachers? Make sense? Are you willing to do that?
And how does your view of tests jibe with your opposition to having students enroll in honors and AP courses in the first place? Of course, teachers of AP classes have an automatic measurement: their students’ performance on those national exams. If one teacher’s students earn high average scores and another teacher’s students perform poorly, would you agree that the latter teacher probably did a poor job?
And Melissa, I would point out that the evaluation system that Governor Malloy wanted to introduce, and that was accepted in New Haven included both standardized test scores and in-class evaluations by outside experts. If a teacher was found to be substandard, he or she was given advice, additional training and re-evaluated over time. If the teacher improved to an acceptable level, then he was kept on. However if the evaluators continued to rate the teacher as substandard, the teacher was let go. Does this sound unfair to you?
“As for teachers who teach subjects not tested, they can be evaluated as they are now. Why do educators have the attitude that every teacher has to be treated exactly the same?”
Totally unfair. We’ll let some teachers off the hook, and the rest will be held accountable. That’s one area where the standardized test argument fails.
Melissa, I am sorry your teaching career did not work out. Not everyone is well suited to the career they choose. Apparently, your administrator determined that you were unsuited to your career. You believe you were a “good” teacher. Is it possible your opinion of your own value is not objective?
Everyone likes to believe they do their job well. But we know everyone doesn’t. Some percentage of people, in every walk of life, do their jobs poorly. People are not the best judges of how well or how poorly they perform in their jobs.
Frankly, I have a hard time believing you were not given reasons for being fired, unless you didn’t have a full contract. i suspect you were given reasons, but didn’t accept them. But you might want to ask some of your colleagues to give you a frank and candid analysis of what your failings were, so you can consider what career path would be more suitable.
Both responses to my comments about using tests as PART of an evaluation process reflect a simplistic response to current simplistic test standards. Of course, it would be inappropriate to compare the results of tests for an honors class to the results for a lower level class.
So, let’s see if we can find a method to address that: Suppose instead of comparing two different sets of students, we compared the SAME students to themselves. We compare their results at the beginning of the year to their results at the end of the year. Did they make significant progress? Or did they stay in place or fall back? Surely, you agree that virtually ALL students should show significant progress after a year of teaching. Could there be a class that is particularly difficult? Sure. But most teachers have 5 classes each year. Were all of them particularly difficult? How about using the scores over more than one year? Say, over three years? Go back to my post on the high school Spanish teachers. Were ALL of Miss A’s students better students than Mr M’s? Or was Miss A just a better teacher?
Remember, this isn’t just about high school. The CMT tests given at the elementary and middle school levels are more process oriented than specific knowledge oriented. They are given every year,in each category, so it should not be hard to measure progress of individual students’ progress over a year. The current score reporting system does not follow same students progress, but I know the state DOE is working on providing that format.
As for teachers who teach subjects not tested, they can be evaluated as they are now. Why do educators have the attitude that every teacher has to be treated exactly the same?
Questions for you, Publius:
I teach two honors courses. If my students score higher on standardized tests than students in “lower” classes, does that make me a better teacher? That’s one issue with evaluating teachers by standardized test scores.
Also, no one has yet answered my question: What about teachers who teach subjects that don’t get tested? How will they be evaluated if standardized tests are used to evaluate teachers?
Jumping back into the discussion a bit late, but in any case…
Publius: I was a teacher. Emphasis on “was.” As in, I “was” fired. I was not yet tenured, and thus my contract was not renewed and the ones responsible for my firing did not have to give me any reason for it. I loved my job, and I was good at it. So why was I fired? Good question. I still don’t have an answer for it.
Why am I bringing this up? Because I was one of those teachers who didn’t teach to a test. It’s actually more difficult to measure whether or not a student can think critically than it is to score a test. A good teacher will tell you that you can’t “hide behind subjective standards like “creative lessons” and “critical thinking skills” because they are easy to claim success in and hard to prove ineffectiveness.” True critical thinking isn’t waxing lazily philosophical on minutiae. Teaching true critical thinking is a process, one that requires nuance and technique. It is very easy to tell if a student hasn’t been taught how to think critically. Any teacher worth her certificate can tell immediately if a student knows how to respond to a thoughtful, abstract question. By relying on test scores for evaluative purposes, you are removing the nuance and replacing it with something that is largely out of the teacher’s control. For example, take a great teacher who has students who need improvement, and a bad teacher who happens to get a strong class. It’s not hard to imagine that in some districts, the one whose test scores are higher is going to look like the better teacher. That’s what it means when teachers say that these test scores inhibit real learning. Test scores don’t measure thinking ability. They don’t measure what is done in the classroom on a daily basis. Do we have to do away with them completely? No, but the system is in desperate need of revamping. The tests need to reflect a better understanding of the diversity in our classrooms, and a longer reach to access all students. The way things stand right now, that isn’t happening.
I think it’s undeniable that testing in this country has become a train off the rails. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t taught this way, but school wasn’t all about the tests when I was growing up. It was about learning how to think, even if you couldn’t slap a grade or score on it. I don’t think of my education as a series of tests. My former students come back to me and tell me that all the importance on the CAPT and SATs and similar tests did nothing to prepare them for the rigors of college. So really, why are we using them? Is this honestly the best we can do?
When I was in high school, many generations ago, there were three teachers teaching Spanish. One of them (Mr. M) was head of the Foreign Language Dept. One year he decided to give a “departmental test” to all Spanish students. The results were interesting. Every class of Miss A performed well above every class of Mr. M. The lowest scores of Miss A’s classes were equal to the highest scores of Mr. M’s.
That was the last year they gave a departmental test. I guess he figured his teaching was “more creative” and that wasn’t measured by the tests.
I understand. And you’re right, most teachers are anti-test. I’m not one of them.
““Tests?” “Why is school all about tests?” Gee, Charles, it sure was for me. Wasn’t it for you?”
Sorry, you made it seem like that was directed at me. I just wanted to be clear that I understand the role and value of standardized tests.
I didn’t say you were against tests, Charles. My response was specifically to Melissa, who said “Unfortunately, most people want to believe that you can quantify the unquantifiable, which means that they’re going to look to the concrete (test scores) to see who’s a “good” teacher and who is not.”
But Melissa isn’t alone. I have heard from many teachers who attack the tests as an evaluative component. Melissa says people want to “quantify the unquantifiable”. She seems to favor some type of portfolio evaluation. But that gets back to a very subjective evaluation, doesn’t it? That may work well at Hampshire College or Bard, but most colleges use tests to evaluate learning, as do most secondary schools, to say nothing of the SATs.
Sorry, but I suspect some teachers choose to hide behind subjective standards like “creative lessons” and “critical thinking skills” because they are easy to claim success in and hard to prove ineffectiveness. Yes, there are problems with basing an entire evaluation process on one set of test scores, but it wouldn’t be difficult to develop a more comprehensive evaluation system that uses test scores as one measure of objective performance. But you can’t do that with teachers whose fingers are in their ears, humming “tests are destroying education”
I never said that, Publius. I’m not against tests.
I was commenting on what you said here: “Most teachers grade their students based on tests they devise. They record the results of those tests in a grade book, and at the end of a grading period, they add up the test scores, divide by the number of tests, add a factor for classroom participation, and give a grade to the student. If a parent comes in and complains that their child didn’t deserve a “C”, the teacher opens the grade book and displays the test results.”
When a teacher “opens the grade book and displays the test results,” that’s the end of the story? Conversation over? I don’t think so. You know what happens next. That’s what I was pointing out, not that there was anything wrong with what you said.
Some teachers may re-evaluate a grade based on other, subjective factors; other teachers won’t. Not very different from a teacher evaluation system that would consider objective student performance as ONE factor in an evaluation process. Why are teachers so afraid of a process that they use to evaluate their students all the time? To read some of their comments, it is as if they never heard of an objective standardized test in a school environment.
“Tests?” “Why is school all about tests?” Gee, Charles, it sure was for me. Wasn’t it for you? I understand the teaching process is complex, and any evaluation process must consider the intricacies of student mix. But I cannot understand the sudden idea that tests are foreign to a school environment, and inhibit “real learning”.
“Most teachers grade their students based on tests they devise. They record the results of those tests in a grade book, and at the end of a grading period, they add up the test scores, divide by the number of tests, add a factor for classroom participation, and give a grade to the student. If a parent comes in and complains that their child didn’t deserve a “C”, the teacher opens the grade book and displays the test results.”
Continue on, Publius. What happens next?
Wellllll, not quite, Melissa. Yes, in theory teachers “can” be fired. In the real world, however, that isn’t easily done. First, because of tenure and union protection. And second, because the entire educational process is driven by an acceptance of job protection. Even the concept of pay differentiation is taboo to the unions (teachers and administrators). If you are an educator, you can expect job protection and a consistent pay scale based not on your personal value, but on a negotiated contract, like a lineworker in an assembly plant.
You mentioned feeling “the guillotine over your head”? I assume that was hyperbolic, as was “good teachers leaving in droves”, and “kids aren’t being educated; they’re being tested”.
Yes, there is more pressure today on teachers because education has become more important, and because it is clear there are gaps in our ability to educate children to a 21st century standard. We know the gaps exist BECAUSE we test results. We no longer accept turning our heads away from failure. Some teachers claim the tests do not reflect “creativity” in the classroom. But how do we measure that “creativity”? How do we know it is working? What objective standards can we use to measure how well students are progressing?
Tests aren’t a new invention. Most teachers grade their students based on tests they devise. They record the results of those tests in a grade book, and at the end of a grading period, they add up the test scores, divide by the number of tests, add a factor for classroom participation, and give a grade to the student. If a parent comes in and complains that their child didn’t deserve a “C”, the teacher opens the grade book and displays the test results. It’s hard to argue with objective standards. BUT, judge the teachers by similar objective standards? Oh, no. That would stifle creativity.
@Marcel Silva: Don’t fool yourself. Teachers can be fired (and are fired) as well. People think tenure is some kind of magic shield that teachers hide behind, and that just isn’t the case.
Yes, there are bad workers in other fields as well. At least, they can be fired.
Apologies, meant teacher turnover rates. Brain bubble.
“recidivism rates”?
anonymous, part of the problem is that people are saying that teachers “blame” society, parents, and poverty. It isn’t a blame game, it’s about getting people outside of the teaching profession to understand that those factors are, in fact, very real and very difficult to overcome without the proper support. Teachers are expected to make due with fewer resources, and that’s just not going to happen. It has nothing to do with blame and everything to do with understanding what the facts are. Once you know the facts, that’s when you can fix what’s wrong, but no one wants to hear the truth. I had students from every walk of life, and not one of them was written off as unteachable because of their socioeconomic status. Maybe that was just me, I don’t know. It’s always worth a shot, certainly. But people need to understand what people are up against, which is a lot.
I am the proof of that. And all you have to do is look up the recidivism rates of teachers in their first five years of teaching. The numbers are not good. Truth be told, people should be worried that we might not have teachers to teach these kids in the next 10-15 years.
Melissa, the problem with blaming society, parents and poverty, is that teachers taking that line are saying that children from poor families, minority children can’t learn. There’s nothing to be done about them, they’re hopeless. And that’s simply unacceptable. Governor Malloy is taking a stab at reform by saying that he will not write off any child because of his economic background, that he is going to push teachers to educate, and not accept racial and economic conditions as determinants of a child’s innate ability. Maybe he’s wrong, but it’s worth a shot.
You write that “good teachers are being pushed out in droves.” Really? Where’s the proof of that? In fact, there’s more evidence that bad teachers are not being pushed out.
Anonymous, I am in full agreement that there are teachers who have become complacent, lazy, and hide behind tenure. However, the factors you mentioned (society, parents, poverty) are not only very real, but have a larger impact on a classroom than anyone wants to face. The line is “wearing thin” because it’s easier to attack teachers than it is to fix problems that have been allowed to spiral beyond anyone’s control. There are few other job sectors in which so many outside factors have a direct impact on one’s ability to do his/her job. As far as standardized tests go, no, I don’t think any teacher should be measured by those scores. There has been a staggering amount of research regarding how students benefit from these tests. Overwhelmingly, it’s being determined that these tests are actually churning out kids who can’t think.
But let’s put those issues aside for a moment. Yes, teachers should be evaluated. I can’t speak to what unions are putting forth because since I’m no longer teaching, I’m not as in the loop as I once was. Smaller class sizes would be a huge help. So would not cutting school budgets so that teachers would have the necessary supports in place to help every student, including students with special needs who have been put into mainstream classes.
You want reforms? There has to be total acceptance of the notion that the factory model of education no longer works. THAT is status quo for you. We lump kids together by age, not ability. There is so little flexibility that advanced kids are bored, and kids who have different learning modalities are sitting there not learning anything because how they learn isn’t how the teacher teaches. There are choices in courses, sure, but are there options that would help every student, or just the gifted ones? Having more AP courses doesn’t help the kid who learns better by working with his hands.
Kids aren’t being educated, they’re being tested. Good teachers are being pushed out in droves, so what you’re left with are teachers who are more than happy to teach from a script and send the kids on their way. The problem isn’t teachers being evaluated; the problem is that the system itself is outdated, and until that gets changed, nothing else will change. Keep in mind, too, that numbers only tell a portion of a story. Data can be manipulated to say whatever the users want it to say.
As I’ve said before, school reform is everyone’s problem. Right now, though, people are too busy trying to be the loudest to get any real change accomplished.
Melissa, except for the constant refrain that there should be smaller class sizes, what reforms has the teachers union put forth? What we get is a repetition of “not our problem, not our fault; it’s society’s fault, it’s poverty’s fault, it’s parents’ fault, and we teachers can’t do anything about it.” What we get from the teachers is the line that learning can’t be measured, so standardized tests, indeed, any tests, can’t be used to judge teachers in any degree. That line is wearing thin in society, and across the political spectrum.
Let’s keep in mind that the Malloy reforms include measurements of teacher effectiveness that were implemented in New Haven, and agreed to by the teachers union. The NAACP has endorsed these reforms, and that endorsement is important, because Connecticut’s academic achievement gap between white students and minorities is the worst in the nation, and it is not narrowing.
The Malloy reforms include the use of standardized test scores for a portion of the teacher’s evaluation, but only a portion. Teachers are also being evaluated in the classroom by peers from other schools. That is the largest portion of the evaluation.
But let’s admit that the status quo is no longer acceptable. Over the past decade, Connecticut registered the second worst performance of any state in its overall high school graduation rate. Only ten states saw graduation rates decline, and Connecticut’s recorded the second biggest decline of those ten. Our state is falling in terms of the percentage of entrants to the job market with college degrees against other states.
So if teachers want to be part of the dialogue, we’re all ears. But don’t tell us that it’s someone else’s problem: society’s, poverty’s, parents’. Because if that’s the attitude, then you’ve taken yourself out of the discussion. The status quo is not acceptable.
John Dough:
I agree that teachers need to be part of the discussion. However, I would hope you’d agree that the laws being passed have been decidedly without input from teachers. Teachers are the one group no one wants to hear from with regard to educational reform. Does no one see something deeply wrong with this line of “logic”? So many people want to blame teachers, but no one wants to hear what viable, productive suggestions many teachers may have. The lawmakers would rather listen to the test creators and consultants, the majority of whom have never been full-time teachers. Our educational system is now in a tailspin because of it.
Melissa:
Thanks for your comments…at least a teacher who made some suggestions as to how they should be evaluated. I’ve never been one to say “it’s the teachers”; I just think teachers need to stop resisting accountability and start contributing to the dialogue around it. And you make a good point about administrators. I agree there is not enough emphasis on getting the most out of administrators
.
John Dough:
When you’re dealing with such a volatile variable as children, no, everything can NOT be measured. As a teacher, I had days when I was lucky that my students left the class without getting into a fight, that’s how much some of them hated each other. I had other days where my classes were like something out of an inspirational-teacher movie, but was I ever evaluated on those days? Naturally, no. Unfortunately, most people want to believe that you can quantify the unquantifiable, which means that they’re going to look to the concrete (test scores) to see who’s a “good” teacher and who is not.
Having also worked in corporate, I never felt the guillotine over my head the way I did as a teacher. There is no support and morale is in the gutter. Teaching used to be an art, but the entire culture has changed. If you’re going to evaluate teachers fairly, assess them based on how they assess their students. Have them submit assignments they gave their classes with justification for how those assignments are in line with the school curriculum. Have them submit what the students handed in for those assignments, and then discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the assignments. Assign mentor teachers to younger teachers. Make it an environment of collegiality, not backstabbing and fear.
I have to ask: where were all these accountability-demanding taxpayers when the tide was shifting in favor of teacher abuse? Where were they when mediocre administrators and lawmakers were being elected and sending these schools into a downward spiral? They all want to hold teachers accountable, but no one wants to go in and see what a teacher’s day looks like. Who’s asking what administrators do all day? How about some accountability from everyone, for a change?
FOlt:
I’m evaluated by several different methods: a 360-degree review in which my superiors and my subordinates fill out lengthy questionnaires about my performance. They are asked to comment on everything from leadership and management skills to time management practices. Also, every year I have to lay out three objectives against which I will be measured, and provide the metrics that will determine success.
I’m not anti-public school, anti-taxpayer or any of those other convenient and ridiculous labels of which you seem so fond. But I do think teachers have to accept that taxpayers want accountability for the dollars they spend. I recognize teachers have a tough job, and I’ve never been a huge fan of standardized tests. But I think teachers who rail against standardized tests as a measurement tool need to step up and tell us how we should evaluate them? Give us the metrics we should use, and don’t tell us it can’t be measured. Everything can be measured.
John Dough states “Many American companies have policies whereby the lower quartile performers are identified annually”
John all of your comments are looking for more accountability of teachers and it’s apparent that’s what you want, however unfair and unjust that is.
But, let’s look at this from my perspective. I have 13 years of industrial engineering experience from 2 aerospace firms and 12 years experience as an elementary/middle school science teacher. In my corporate experience I was a time and material employee just like 80% of Americans currently working in today’s service centered economy. I was reviewed annually “ONCE” a year at Boeing and “ONCE a year at “Sikorsky” it was rather quick and painless. You do your job here’s your raise be on your way. By the way, most of my former colleagues are still reviewed in this way as is my corporate accountant wife. Virtually zero metrics are used in the “REAL CORPORATE” world as most employees are time/material, fixed price, or cost plus employees. Commissioned and value added employees are evaluated by how much money they bring into their employers and that’s just about the only type of employee I know of who’s evaluated on metrics in the business world. So bankers, lawyers, financial industry types, and sales and marketing folks are evaluated by $$$$ and commissions are determined.
Now, as a public school teacher I am evaluated bi-annually by my supervisors and have numerous disruptive, surprise walk throughs by district personnel. My monthly district assessments are reviewed by supervisors, district personnel, and board of education members. All of this information is collected and analyzed. If the district doesn’t like the direction my classes and scores are heading you can be damn sure I’ll hear about it. If my district scores remain low we are put on a reform plan and shown the door. Not fired, but shown the door. Most teacher firings are very quiet. They’re not really fired but exited. Now you want to add state scores from more meaningless assessments to my evaluation plan.
What’s your agenda JOHN DOUGH? Are you one of those anti-public school, anti-taxpayer- voucher/charter guys? Or are you really concerned about the direction of public education?
Now tell me how your evaluated. I’m willing to bet it’s not even close to what teachers go through.
What’s scary to me is the assumption that education and business could be classified as the same thing. They are not, not by any stretch of the imagination, despite the efforts of Arne Duncan and his ilk. People want to make education a business, which is where all these problems started in the first place. It drives me crazy.
It’s scary how out of touch some people are when it comes to understanding the modern day public school. That includes the demands placed on teachers, the make-up of the student body, and the school in general.
Have to agree with Charles. Education and business, despite this country’s best efforts to make them into the same model, could not be more dissimilar. They do not involve the same populations, the same psychology, nothing. Whatever system of evaluation they come up with, it will require nuance and understanding of the balance of a classroom. And it cannot be put together overnight. It needs time and input from people who actually know what they’re doing, not policy makers and lobbyists.
You can’t compare education to business. When you do, the conversation ends.
I’ve asked serious questions about using standardized tests to evaluate teachers. None have been answered.
So student results on standardized tests are not useful in evaluating teachers. Ok, let’s say you are correct. How, then, would you evaluate teachers and create a system that routinely weeds out the weak performers? Many American companies have policies whereby the lower quartile performers are identified annually, and many are given specific remedial programs to help improve. If they don’t, they are gone. So how would you implement a similar program for teachers?
Anonymous: I also don’t have children. In my life, however, I helped raise one, and in my teaching career, I became a stand-in mother to kids whose own mothers were too wrapped up in their own lives to bother being there for their children. Teachers see the effects of poor parenting on a level that most people don’t. I had students whose parents were Ivy League-educated, and believe me when I say that in quite a few cases, that had no bearing on the type of parents they turned out to be. I lost count of all the “tremendously well educated” parents who berated and pressured their kids into emotional breakdowns, some of whom have come home from college with no plans on going back because they can’t handle it. Or are their teachers at fault for that, too?
Instead of castigating teachers for speaking up about how many student troubles begin at home, how about parents start turning the spotlight inward and asking themselves why their kids are starting fights, or not doing their homework, or acting out in myriad other ways? “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you”? How about not acting blameless about a problem that is so much greater than just the teachers? If a school is a part of a larger community, then the entire community has to be willing to take both credit AND blame for when a school succeeds or fails. It is as simple as that.
“We need to hold parents accountable. Parents who don’t parent and parents who parent too much. Some parents wouldn’t know or wouldn’t care if their child got an F. Some parents cry foul at a B+. Some parents wouldn’t know or wouldn’t care if their child was doing drugs. Some, well, remember the Greenwich Time article on teen drinking?”
For a guy who doesn’t have kids, you sure have a lot to say about parenting. The fact is that the parents of the kids you teach are tremendously well educated; in fact, more than twice the percentage of Greenwich adults hold college degrees as the national average. And an even higher percentage hold graduate degrees than the national average. So be careful about blaming parents, Charles. Indeed, more and more of those “don’t care” parents are opting out of the public school system altogether, the system of which you are a part. And keep in mind that those Greenwich parents you relentlessly scapegoat are paying you and your peers one of the highest average teacher salaries in the country. So remember that old adage about “not biting the hand that feeds you.”