Comments on: City releases new teacher reports it says are simpler, fairer http://gothamschools.org/2010/02/26/city-releases-new-teacher-reports-it-says-are-simpler-fairer/ Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:27:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Maria Rosa http://gothamschools.org/2010/02/26/city-releases-new-teacher-reports-it-says-are-simpler-fairer/comment-page-1/#comment-302195 Maria Rosa Wed, 20 Oct 2010 23:04:15 +0000 http://gothamschools.org/?p=33641#comment-302195 Another chipping away at tenure. Public education today is in the hands of charlatans from New York City to the U.S. Department of Education. A former prosecutor, U.S. Assistant attorney general in the antitrust division and counsel to an international media group the background of Joel I. Klein before given the reins  as Chancellor of the NYC Department of Education after Mayor Bloomberg reorganized it in 2002 under Mayoral control. Same is true in the U.S. Department of Education when President Barack Obama appointed Arne Duncan afther he won the election and both played a basketball game. Duncan is an ex-professional basketball player for the Australian Leaque. After he finished went back to Chicago and through political conections found employment in public school education in the charter school section since he had no formal credentials in education except a BS Degree in Sociology from Harvard. He later emerges as chief of staff to the Superintendent of Schools in Chicago two years later Superintendent of the Chicago Schools. Teachers unions across the country are now concerned about his policies but few challenged his appointment and supported it. The idea of basing teacher evaluation on tests scores especially in urban areas is troubling considering how little resources they have to work with in the classrooms.  I see it daily in the public schools in upstate New York, teachers in classrooms with 34 or more students of diverse abilities with few resources no aides expected to work miracles. Its shameful what is happening in public education today. What about the credentials of those in leadership positions requring others to be highly qualified when they don't meet the qualifications for their own jobs? At the root of it all is privatization of public education to allow hedge fund investors like Duncan, Bloomberg and Klein to benefit from investing in underserved community projects like charter schools to get a big return on their money through the federal new market tax credits. Another chipping away at tenure. Public education today is in the hands of charlatans from New York City to the U.S. Department of Education. A former prosecutor, U.S. Assistant attorney general in the antitrust division and counsel to an international media group the background of Joel I. Klein before given the reins  as Chancellor of the NYC Department of Education after Mayor Bloomberg reorganized it in 2002 under Mayoral control. Same is true in the U.S. Department of Education when President Barack Obama appointed Arne Duncan afther he won the election and both played a basketball game. Duncan is an ex-professional basketball player for the Australian Leaque. After he finished went back to Chicago and through political conections found employment in public school education in the charter school section since he had no formal credentials in education except a BS Degree in Sociology from Harvard. He later emerges as chief of staff to the Superintendent of Schools in Chicago two years later Superintendent of the Chicago Schools. Teachers unions across the country are now concerned about his policies but few challenged his appointment and supported it. The idea of basing teacher evaluation on tests scores especially in urban areas is troubling considering how little resources they have to work with in the classrooms.  I see it daily in the public schools in upstate New York, teachers in classrooms with 34 or more students of diverse abilities with few resources no aides expected to work miracles. Its shameful what is happening in public education today. What about the credentials of those in leadership positions requring others to be highly qualified when they don’t meet the qualifications for their own jobs? At the root of it all is privatization of public education to allow hedge fund investors like Duncan, Bloomberg and Klein to benefit from investing in underserved community projects like charter schools to get a big return on their money through the federal new market tax credits.

]]> By: Classroom as Community | Online Resources for Teachers http://gothamschools.org/2010/02/26/city-releases-new-teacher-reports-it-says-are-simpler-fairer/comment-page-1/#comment-257836 Classroom as Community | Online Resources for Teachers Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:24:52 +0000 http://gothamschools.org/?p=33641#comment-257836 [...] City releases new teacher reports it says are simpler, fairer … March 6th, 2010 | Tags: classroom community, new teachers | Category: Big Ideas [...] [...] City releases new teacher reports it says are simpler, fairer … March 6th, 2010 | Tags: classroom community, new teachers | Category: Big Ideas [...]

]]> By: Michael M. http://gothamschools.org/2010/02/26/city-releases-new-teacher-reports-it-says-are-simpler-fairer/comment-page-1/#comment-257020 Michael M. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:56:51 +0000 http://gothamschools.org/?p=33641#comment-257020 I must tell you that I did NOT get A's from some of my best teachers, nor were they the ones from whom I learned how to methodically approach standardized tests (and do better on them than I deserved, at least based on my mediocre classwork, let alone my aversion to homework). But what I got from those teachers was inspiration, and an appreciation of the pursuit of excellence. NONE of which show up on standardized tests. ALL of which I rely on daily. By the way, how are creativity, curiosity, and citizenship measured by the widget-minded value-added MEASURE ONCE CUT TWICE crowd? Would they dare suggest that any given individual teacher's ability to "add value" is the same in all schools, with all student populations... as opposed to a product of school and population? As if these are mutually independent variables. Got correlation? "Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” -- William Butler Yeats I must tell you that I did NOT get A’s from some of my best teachers, nor were they the ones from whom I learned how to methodically approach standardized tests (and do better on them than I deserved, at least based on my mediocre classwork, let alone my aversion to homework).

But what I got from those teachers was inspiration, and an appreciation of the pursuit of excellence. NONE of which show up on standardized tests. ALL of which I rely on daily.

By the way, how are creativity, curiosity, and citizenship measured by the widget-minded value-added MEASURE ONCE CUT TWICE crowd?

Would they dare suggest that any given individual teacher’s ability to “add value” is the same in all schools, with all student populations… as opposed to a product of school and population? As if these are mutually independent variables. Got correlation?

“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.”
– William Butler Yeats

]]> By: leonie haimson http://gothamschools.org/2010/02/26/city-releases-new-teacher-reports-it-says-are-simpler-fairer/comment-page-1/#comment-256988 leonie haimson Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:53:16 +0000 http://gothamschools.org/?p=33641#comment-256988 It is far more intellectually honest to include 3-4 years of data to make these assessments -- something that those in charge of the school progress reports still refuse to do. Question: did they reveal the formula used? If so, what is it? If not, why not? I FOILed this almost a year ago and have not still received it. Did they change the formula? does it still include class size at the classroom level and the school level as factors to determine how effective teachers are? It is far more intellectually honest to include 3-4 years of data to make these assessments — something that those in charge of the school progress reports still refuse to do.

Question: did they reveal the formula used? If so, what is it? If not, why not? I FOILed this almost a year ago and have not still received it. Did they change the formula? does it still include class size at the classroom level and the school level as factors to determine how effective teachers are?

]]> By: pogue http://gothamschools.org/2010/02/26/city-releases-new-teacher-reports-it-says-are-simpler-fairer/comment-page-1/#comment-256969 pogue Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:02:11 +0000 http://gothamschools.org/?p=33641#comment-256969 Should I hang the green, "Performance category" chart next to my "Terror Threat Level" chart, which is hanging next to my Houston Astros Throwback jersey, (circa 1986)?  Suffice it to say, my walls are getting very colorful. Should I hang the green, “Performance category” chart next to my “Terror Threat Level” chart, which is hanging next to my Houston Astros Throwback jersey, (circa 1986)?  Suffice it to say, my walls are getting very colorful.

]]> By: JF http://gothamschools.org/2010/02/26/city-releases-new-teacher-reports-it-says-are-simpler-fairer/comment-page-1/#comment-256933 JF Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:19:21 +0000 http://gothamschools.org/?p=33641#comment-256933 Am I the only person repulsed by the phrase "value-added"? Is someone going to argue that good teachers are motivated by wanting to "add value" to the lives of their students and want to be working in a system that evaluates our efforts with this mindset? Are our students ever thought of as human beings and not just an aggregate of test scores in the efforts to improve out schools? Am I the only person repulsed by the phrase “value-added”? Is someone going to argue that good teachers are motivated by wanting to “add value” to the lives of their students and want to be working in a system that evaluates our efforts with this mindset?

Are our students ever thought of as human beings and not just an aggregate of test scores in the efforts to improve out schools?

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