Comments on: Nearly 100 schools sign up for Gates-funded teacher quality study

By: Carol J. Carter » The Impact of Teachers

Carol J. Carter » The Impact of Teachers — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:07:28 +0000

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By: Mary B.

Mary B. — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:03:11 +0000

Teacher quality is the work of all – teachers, parents, school administrators, local boards, citizens, unions, business, etc. Those who equate teacher’s success/quality with students scores have not been in the classroom. This is not to say that there are no poor quality teachers. They are in abundance. But where did those teachers come from? Someone taught them, someone hired them, which makes teacher quality a collective responsibility. Kudos to The BGF for taking a deeper look at the issue of teacher quality in relation to their context of practice. I eagerly await the result of the study.

By: dkzody

dkzody — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:51:28 +0000

I am not in NY, but I would love to be a part of this study. I am a big believer in project-based learning, and my students do well on standardized tests. There is a correlation. Students learn well when the teacher is high energy, highly motivated, and provides lots of learning experiences.

By: John E. White

John E. White — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:58:35 +0000

Why don’t we learn a bit more about the research methodology before we get so judgmental? Once, I was the Chief Negotiator for a union in a large school district. It bothered me greatly that our “successful” contract resulted in significant salary increases, making the absolutely worst teacher in my building the highest paid teacher in the district. At the same time it didn’t give us more shared decision-making. That’s the way the system worked then. Pay us more and we’ll shut up about the real issues, such as general funding, poor leadership, etc. We never got as exercised about equity issues for our students as we did for ourselves. If teachers can have a meaningful and influential voice in defining teacher quality and developing the means by which we minimize mediocrity in the profession, and acquire some power, I am all for it. Teachers must become more intellectual, political, and confrontational. You can’t do that merely by bitching in the teacher’s lounge.

By: Mike C

Mike C — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:49:31 +0000

….because the union and the status quo are SO GREAT at improving teacher quality. Give me a break. At least the “corporate/philanthropic/academic complex” is trying to innovate something that might actually work.

By: Michael Fiorillo

Michael Fiorillo — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:15:43 +0000

Anonymous seer,

You are absolutely right: the entire purpose of this is to draw the union into signing on to the pseudo-science and ideological biases that drive the corporate/philanthropic/academic complex that is engineering the hostile takeover of the public schools.

That the UFT should be participating in this is a disgrace, and that the membership is skeptical demonstrates its common sense and intelligence.

By: Anonymous seer

Anonymous seer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:56:43 +0000

My prediction: the so-called “findings” of this million dollar study will confirm the ideological biases of the Gates foundation: that teacher “quality” varies tremendously, that classroom evaluations are highly correlated with student test scores, and thus it is acceptable to use test scores alone to judge teachers. There will be little examination of what classroom conditions lead to or enhance good teaching. The UFT will regret its involvement. You read it here first.