Posts Tagged scale
An open letter to President Obama on schools, education and teaching
Dear Mr. President,
I am writing to you as a National Board Certified Social Studies Teacher who voted for your as President even despite my concerns about your approach to educational policy. You were not my first choice, precisely because I, like many educators I know, were concerned both about your approach to some educational issues and some of the people advising you. Nevertheless, we all enthusiastically supported your candidacy, in many cases before you clinched the nomination.
I will not speak for anyone except myself. Others are also writing open letters, as you can see at this website.
Tags: american school, american schools, certification, charter school, charter schools, children, college, course, courses, department of education, design, e learning, education, education and, education department, educational, educator, essay, essays, high school, instruction, international education, learning, no child left behind, of education, parents, physical education, private school, private schools, professional development, program, programs, public education, public school, public school system, public schools, quality, research, scale, school, school board, school system, school systems, school teacher, schooling, schools, score, scores, secretary of education, special, staff development, student, students, teach, teacher, teachers, teaching, teaching and learning, the school, thinking skills, website, writingRelated posts
Two teachers on using test scores to evaluate teachers
One of the more controversial aspects of the Obama Education Department’s approach has been its insistence upon using student test scores as a means of evaluating teachers for merit pay. This is in fact something Sec. Duncan has posed as a non-negotiable requirement for a state to be eligible for $4.5 billion in grants that are part of ARRA (stimulus). These funds, a part of the badly named Race to the Top (RtTP – as if the purpose of education is a race) have led Gov. Schwarzeneggar to try to change current law which that keeps test scores from being used to evaluate teachers.
I want to share an op ed in the Sacramento Bee by 2 teachers who are part of the Accomplished California Teachers Network. David Cohen, who teaches in upscale Palo Alto, is like me a National Board Certified Teacher and a member of the Teacher Leaders Network. Alex Kajitani is California’s current Teacher of the Year, and teaches at an inner city middle school in San Diego. And they clearly make the case in their title: Test scores poor tool for teacher evaluation.
Tags: certification, children, design, education, education and, education department, education policy, educational, educational research, grant, grants, higher education, instruction, learning, middle school, of education, parents, quality, research, scale, school, schooling, schools, science, score, scores, student, students, teach, teacher, teachers, teaching, writingRelated posts
A teacher explains why she is leaving
It happens all the time. People come into teaching, full of enthusiasm, sometimes accompanied by real talent. But they do not stay. After all, we lose half of those entering into teaching before they start their sixth year, the bulk of those before they start their fourth. There are lots of reasons. Some, like those entering through programs like Teach for America, never intended to make a career of it. Others find they cannot handle the pressures, or live on the salaries.
I could give you statistics, but that is often not effective. I remind you that Stalin said that the death of millions was a statistic, but the death of an individual was a tragedy. So let5’s look at a tragedy, the death of a teaching career, after the magical three-year mark, of a gifted teacher who is able to explain why she is leaving.
Tags: adult, career, charter school, charter schools, children, college, course, curriculum, education, education and, educational, learning, levels, minority, of education, program, programs, public school, public schools, scale, school, schools, score, scores, secretary of education, special, student, students, study, teach, teacher, teachers, teaching, teaching career, the school, writingRelated posts