Monday, February 27, 2012
Discussion Questions: Contemporary ed reform
There is A LOT going in educational reform these days. For this week's discussion questions, prompt thinking on the ballot initiative you read. If possible, link to relevant articles/citations for other educational reforms affecting teachers, students, and communities.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great Teachers Great Schools is a campaign in Massachusetts that focuses on initiating education reform in the field of teaching. The main concern for the group is that future teachers and teachers in the state will be hired based on their performance of meeting criteria set by guidelines in their proposed initiative, rather than seniority.
ReplyDeleteNew Haven Paves the Way for a New Kind of Cooperative Education Reform (February 21, 2012 | New York Times) Excerpt:
“This meant that less emphasis would be placed on seniority and weak teachers could be laid off.”
Question 1: While this may be a good idea upon first glance, what are some of the issues that a school would have to address if all the teachers and staff were essentially neophytes in the classroom/school?
**Think about the times when you have sat in on department meetings, staff meetings, professional development sessions, etc., would these be as effective if led by inexperienced members of the teacher profession?
Teacher Evaluations Need to Drive Staffing Decisions in Massachusetts
(January 30, 2012 | Blue Mass Group) Excerpt:
“Unless key changes are made to state law, there is still no promise that all school districts will be using them as a benchmark for teacher placement anytime soon.”
Question 2: With a call to place performance first and bring respect to educators as professionals, the entire state of Massachusetts needs to use the same criteria when evaluating teacher performance. Thinking one step further, how could we try and push to have such proposed guidelines followed by all 50 states in America?
*Think of the issues that the Common Core is having in not being passed unanimously amongst all 50 states.
An Initiative Petition for a Law: An Act Promoting Excellence in Public Schools--
SECTION 6. Section 42B: But if 2 or more of such teachers are of equal certifications, merit and ability, including results of performance standards, seniority shall be the deciding factor.
Question 3: Why within this proposed alteration to the initiative is seniority a deciding factor, is it not exactly what they are trying to avoid?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Teachers, Great schools initiative is a push to improve the performance of Massachusetts' teachers thereby providing all students with access to effective and engaging educators. By placing performance first, districts remove the fog of seniority and, instead, retain teachers who can best help to close the achievement gap. The proposed question will also make the guidelines and evaluation materials “clear, consistent, and fair,” transforming often messy state requirements into an accessible format so that teachers understand what and how to improve in their classrooms. One of the important issues, in my opinion, with this type of reform is the presence of teacher unions and whether or not their existence is a help or a hindrance to the development and improvement of our nation’s education system. These unions were created to protect teachers but are now often seen as a roadblock to reform. Do you agree? Do you think these organizations are a major factor in slowing reform or are there larger problems, like legislation and funding, that overshadow the rules and requirements of unions?
ReplyDeleteEducational reform is something taking place and being discussed all over the United States; at the center of our nation is Washington, D.C. not only as the legislative and memorial hub but also as one of the worst performing public school areas in the US. In an attempt to battle the alarming statistics and performance scores, Michelle Rhee (the former superintendent) waged a radical fight against teachers unions, tenure, and poor performing educators—here’s a clip from Oprah that describes her basic attitude and her reception:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_C0CYScOwc
She was met with unrelenting criticism, as well as high praise, for her radical approach to “weeding out” the area teachers and principles. Though she is not longer the superintendent, one crucial step she created was an evaluation system known as IMPACT which is fairly similar to the ballot question Great Teachers, Great schools is working towards (http://www.dc.gov/DCPS/In+the+Classroom/Ensuring+Teacher+Success/IMPACT+%28Performance+Assessment%29/An+Overview+of+IMPACT )
Though teachers unions were largely against her work and her approach, this system was put in place and even appreciated by many DCPS teachers as it creates clearer guidelines and helpful mentors and programs. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoaidrMJ6wk) .
Do you think a radical approach to education reform, as Rhee supported, is necessary? Or, is educational reform something that takes time, small steps, and patience?
Finally, there is a bill being pushed by D.C. council chairman Kwame Brown that would require all DCPS high school students to take at least one standardized college admissions test and apply to at least one college or high educational institution: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-wire/post/brown-wants-to-require-college-admissions-preparations/2012/01/03/gIQAv15eYP_blog.html .
He believes that creating a push toward forward and future thinking will help area schools see the bigger picture and work towards collective success. I thought I would include this controversial topic as a point for discussion as well.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2011/07/for_second_year_dc_to_dismiss.html
Deletethat's another link for IMPACT that helps explain it more.
Great Teachers Great Schools has proposed An Act to Promote Excellence in Public Schools tries to ensure that only competent teachers are education Massachusetts youth. By requiring that all schools use the same evaluation process, teachers who have only survived getting fired because of their seniority or their place in a teacher's union, will now be held accountable for their low achieving students and bad teaching skills. However, is there anything to hold the administration accountable for the poor hiring decisions they've made or even why the students aren't succeeding in schools? Those who determine class size, funding, and resources should be evaluating just the same. If we hold teachers accountable, which is a necessity, why not hold administrators and district leaders accountable?
ReplyDeleteIn the article entitled 'The New Haven Experiment', it is said that this city is basing "roughly half of a teacher's evaluation" on standardized tests. Standardized tests don't seem to measure how much a student has actually learned. Won't this create more 'teaching to the test' rather than expanding a student's ability to problem solve and think critically? It seems as though the only concrete way of knowing whether or not a teacher is competent is to evaluate their teaching practices, just as the Act in Massachusetts is proposing.
The ballot initiative proposed by Great Teachers Great Schools looks at performance first before seniority. In addition to focusing on teacher performance, they stress the need to update policies that "don't respect educators as professionals." This idea of having more respect for the teaching profession is an interesting one. Do you think the amount of, or lack of respect that teachers get in the United States plays a role in the quality of the teachers that the school systems are hiring today? Would it help raise the bar for teachers to reach higher standards if society held teachers in higher regard?
ReplyDeleteThis also makes me think about the role that respect shown towards students, plays in the performance of a particular student. Would more respect shown for a student and his/her capabilities bring about better results and more engaged students? Would it have the same effect on teachers?
Great Teachers Great Schools proposes an initiative that would help close the achievement gap between students. The reform would require that teachers be thoroughly assessed on their ability to successfully educate their students. Additionally, the initiative would make the hiring, promotion, and retention of teachers based on their performance in the classroom rather than how long they have been educators.
ReplyDeleteThe need for this reform is clearly evident when looking at the achievement gap of different schools, neighborhoods, and groups of students. What are some possible reasons for these differences? How might the larger culture be influencing the achievement gaps? In addition to more qualified teachers, what other reforms must we also see in order to ensure that all children are receiving the best education possible?