RI School System fires whole Staff

makes this book by former Sec of Ed, Diane Ravitch, all that more intriguing

www.dianeravitch.com/

I figured there was alot more to it than what CNN had reported. Looks like a bad situation to me.

I had the same conversation with guys on my staff this weekend- it's scary to think that my livelihood is in the hands of kids/parents/community that really don't care about me.

I think that changes had to be made to the teaching profession and educational system, but basing job status/salary on the performance of kids who reluctantly sit in class is ridiculous. How do you help people who don't want help...they want handouts?

We are among the worst in quality of education in developed countries- we're also one of the few (if not the only) who serve all age-eligible students, not just those who prove to be worthy of a free education.

All I can say is that if they think this teacher acts crazy now when they don't produce in class, wait until I start showing up at their house when kids don't perform...if it's my butt/family on the line you best believe I'm going after them

I am not a proponent of testing and I know the day President Bush was having a love fest with the late Senator Kennedy that No Child Left Behind was going to be a colossal failure.

I also know what is really hurting a lot of school districts is the unfunded or underfunded mandates which federal and state politicians are forcing upon our districts.

However, teachers as a whole are some of the largest whiners and complainers I have ever met. When I was teaching I moved grade levels 3 times and offices twice. I never complained because I saw myself as a teacher. I just did not teach 11th grade health class.

Now I know many of teachers who whined and complained because they had to move a grade level. my sister being one of the. she saw herself as a 3rd grade teacher. to which I reminded her, her diploma and license say k-8.

I do believe in school choice and I do believe parents not politicians propped up by the NEA should decide where their children go.

I also believe it is time to remove the myth that every teacher is a great teacher. just like any other job there are great teachers, bad teachers and a lot who fall in between.

I personally believe the top 10 to 15 % of teachers should be paid more then the average teachers and I believe the bottom 10 to 15% of teachers should be let go annually regardless of seniority or years of service to a school district.

impossible is a word used by those who do not want to try. there has to be a way. of course teachers unions would fight this much like the baseball union fought steroid testing.

in sales not every sales district is the same yet a salesman or woman can excel in a poor sales area.

Yeah teachers and coaches are whiners we dont need the kind of people who do tons of work for very little reward. Screw them we should just fire all the teachers in all the schools. Who needs education?

Whine, you ever seen a varsity assistant moved to junior high? Talk about Whiners!!!

Beggars can't be choosers. End of story. With most districts making big cuts no one should whine about the job that is presented to them. I have to remind my wife of that every time she comes home telling me that she doesn't want to have to changes grades again. She is lucky she isn't getting cut.

I believe there is a way to effectively evaluate teachers some one just needs to find it. If the education system was based more on more business values instead of seniority then the overall product (the students) might be better. The evaluation process could be based on students grades or improvements but also it could be based on teacher's effort and willingness to improve.

How would you measure someone's effort? I think you could potentially look at improvement, but the scale of improvement is so varied depending on their existing level of proficiency, along with any other limiting factors (english as a second language, learning difficulties, disabilities etc).
You can't compare apples with oranges under current instruments, so if someone found a flawless method (is there such thing as flawless?) then it may be of value.
No doubt there are some who work harder than others, there also some fuss more and look busier, but aren't more effective.
IMHO, ultimately people who are motivated as teachers for teaching sake, not merely as a way to collect a check, or heaven-forbid just doing a teaching job because they needed to get certified so they could be a football coach, are the ones who will be the most effective. But evaluating that...good luck.

I personally would like to improve the teaching profession by making it like doctors or lawyers. you would go to college and get your BS or DA. Then you would get your masters degree in teaching and then after serving as an intern for 1 year or passing a test similar to the bar exam you would then be awarded your teaching credentials.

This level of screening would separate the pretenders from the contenders. I would also increase teaching pay because of the increased level of expectation.

www.openeducation.net/2007/12/21/what-does-a-business-do-with-inferior-blueberries/


A Teacher Sets Him Straight
After Vollmer’s speech, a teacher in the audience raised her hand with a question. In an account he later published on his web site, Vollmer recounts their exchange.

The teacher began quietly, “We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream.”

Vollmer replied smugly. “Best ice cream in America, Ma’am.”

“How nice,” she said. “Is it rich and smooth?”

“Sixteen percent butterfat,” Vollmer said.

“Premium ingredients?” she asked.

“Super premium! Nothing but AAA,” said Vollmer.

“Mr. Vollmer,” the teacher asked, “when you are standing on your receiving dock and you see an inferior shipment of blueberries arrive, what do you do?” A silent room awaited Vollmer’s response.

“I send them back,” he said.

“That’s right!” she snapped, “but we can never send back our blueberries. We take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted, exceptional, abused, frightened, confident, homeless, rude, and brilliant. We take them with ADHD, junior rheumatoid arthritis, and English as their second language.

We take them all! Every one! And that, Mr. Vollmer, is why it is not a business. It’s a school.”

The best oline coach should coach oline and the best 3rd grade teacher should teach 3rd grade. Usually when someone is moved like that is because they are leaving some terrible teacher in 3rd grade instead of firing her and hiring a new 1st grade teacher they move a good 3rd grade teacher and tell her she is certified so she can do it.. Now you have a terrible 3rd grade teacher and an unhappy 1stgrade teacher.

You could be The Greatest Teacher That Ever Lived, but you can't motivate active indifference.

I personally would like to improve the teaching profession by making it like doctors or lawyers. you would go to college and get your BS or DA. Then you would get your masters degree in teaching and then after serving as an intern for 1 year or passing a test similar to the bar exam you would then be awarded your teaching credentials.

This level of screening would separate the pretenders from the contenders. I would also increase teaching pay because of the increased level of expectation.

...I am a teacher and I am all for this, but there would be a massive teacher shortage due to lack of funding.

There is an inherent issue with taking a free market approach to education. It is impossible to educate every student in every situation. We should strive for it, yes. However, to think it is possible is unrealistic.

Comparing the free market with education is apples to oranges. Let's say you are a car salesman and your quota is 20 cars a month. Great...get to work start selling! But wait let's say that you have to sell anywhere from 5 to 10 of those cars to low-income families. Okay you are really good...you pull this off...But wait now obviously these families probably had to get loans, and your manager tells you that you are responsible if they do not make their loan payments.

We can't pretend that education is a hot commodity to all. We can't pretend that all students value the diploma the same way they value the latest in technology break throughs.

Studies show that America's top students are still the best in the world. The reason why test scores world wide show a decline in achievement for United States students is because we as Americans pretend that every student is capable of an education and that every student will "get" in education.

Do not get me wrong. I believe we should strive to educate all students by providing "opportunity." There are massive problems in the current situation and everyone needs to step up. My school district is losing 15 million dollars and that is a darn shame because we will lose some great teachers. Our system needs to find a way to put in place an evaluation process that does not allow bad teachers to stay in the classroom when they are hired if they can't not improve their educational abilities. Our school system needs to hold both parents and students more accountable. And I think administrators need to take credit for the educational gap created under their watch.

I propse we create a system where teachers are evaluated 3 times a year...once by a an administrator, once by a fellow teacher, and once by possibly a school board member. Based on a cumulation of these three scores teachers will follow a process to be removed, go through teacher enhancement program, or keep their current standing as a teacher.

I propose that if a student fails a class he or she is required to attend tutoring as is the parent and that the family pays for the student to retake the course.

I propose that administrators face an evaluation process proposed by the school board and state officials. The evaluation process would take into account factor of socieo economic status as well as student achievement on test scores and graduation rates.

Accountability is the key. How we get it is the question. I just don't think we do it by taking a capitalistic approach holding strictly teachers to a standard that is unattainable.