The most important men in town will come to fawn on me/They will ask me to advise them/Like a Solomon the wise/If you please, Reb Bill Gates/Pardon me, Reb Bill Gates/Posing problems that would cross a teacher’s eyes/And it won’t make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong/When you’re rich they think you really know.

That’s a remarkably simple statement, and seems to say it all.  I’m still waiting for one solitary example of the contract to which Gates referred, which he claimed reflected a “normal” school.  And even if one is found, in some distant universe, how on earth can it be construed as “normal?”

One of the good things about having billions of dollars is no one bothers you with such troublesome questions.  I’m reminded of the song in Fiddler on the Roof, where Tevye the milkman confides, “When you’re rich, they think you really know…”

Still, one would hope union leaders and members would know better.  

He by dint of his money and willingness to spend it enormously influential in areas in which he has no practical experience or formal course of study. Thus, he is in no position to evaluate the truth of what he told, or even the plausibility. Instead, he must go by his own “common sense,” and then find people who agree with that “common sense.”

This is no different than our elected leaders, but we — as a society — have the option to remove those leaders. We do not have that option with Mr. Gates, and nor do the people of other countries. 

The reason why I am committed to education, and why I believe even our best schools have a long way to go, is that so many people make this sort of mistake. They are not thoughtful enough even to realize when their own example and reasoning undermine their conclusion. Obviously, as human beings are perfectly capable of — and prone to — reformulating our reasoning to match our desired conclusions, but Mr. Gates — a college drop out — is not even doing that.

One again, so-called reformers cannot even put together a coherent argument to support their desired programs. That’s no surprise. The shocking thing is that this particular guy not only get people who need his money to listen to him, but that he gets others to give him greater and greater platforms.

And Gates thinks that watching a recording of a great teacher is the same thing as being taught.

We don’t need to convince him that he’s wrong. We just need to convince him that he is right. That is, he was right the first time.

****************************

But this is a basic mistake that a lot of people make, especially people in very technical fields (law, IT, etc.). There is a difference between explaining and teaching. Explaining is a part of teaching, but not close to the most important part. 

Diagnosing and inspiring are much harder. Even Gates can realize how important they are when he sees them, but for some reason he forgets when he tries to come up with prescriptive solutions. 

No transformation models or closings for them. Business is completely different.

Jim,

I guess Bloomberg and Klein have not improved in their 9th year in office. Gates should inform them that they reached a plateau.

Oh wait a minute, Jim, you’re right. Business is totally different…

Don’t you think student teaching is at least somewhat akin to what you describe in Norway?

Also, I distinctly recall Circuit City following the model you described, getting rid of everyone who knew what a gigabyte was, and going out of business the following year.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/6476

The whole plateauing debate is old news. What’s been demonstrated is a strong suggestion that given silly constraints people on average find their bearings and comply to the extent that student scores on silly assessments are achieved and maintained within about 3 or 4 years time. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything regarding real teaching or real learning; it doesn’t take into consideration burnout or stress from waves of failed reforms or insane school administrations; nor does it factor in any differentials between newbies vying for tenure (and perhaps starting out — 1st year — with the worst classes possible) and veterans starting families and/or falling into the grips of school cultures, conflicts, extra responsibilities, helping out newbies or other colleagues in a jam.

Now, granted, it’s not a total waste of time to do these studies, but to go from their results to making the categorical statement that teachers don’t improve, that their jobs on the whole are of such limited skill and creativity that they all flatline after three years, is a highly provocative and revealing spectacle. (We’re talking about using human minds to work with and shape other human minds! Incredible. To compare that to menial labor or tinkering with a product . . . ) And if you believe Gates has any real sense at all regarding education, you have to conclude that it’s a willful misconstruction.

As far as making suggestions goes, Ravitch has been doing so over and over and over. The suggestions of many commenters at Gotham Schools parallel hers. I won’t get into it here. But when SO MUCH is being swept under the rug, and SO MANY voices (and suggestions) studiously ignored and steamrolled over, mere suggestions don’t seem to get very far. (Though, like I said, they’ve been made, over and over and over.) Timely exposure of gross misrepresentation is critical, and responsible.

So, I’ll agree with you, I too am wary of the push for online schooling, whether for teachers or students.  Thus, I consider you a comrade in our distrust and disapproval of the Gates Foundation and their love of online schooling.

“Online Learning Gets High Praise From Bill Gates”, U.S. News and World Report, January 28, 2010.

Got Microsoft stock?

I would not be surprised if studies bore out Gates’ statements about test scores.  On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if other studies suggested other things entirely.  I’ve seen studies on both sides of the class size issue, and I’ve seen people argue both sides passionately.  I can tell you 25 years of teaching classes of widely varying sizes informs me that I want my kid in the smallest class possible, and I want your kid in that class too.  Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein wanted their kids in classes like that, and I don’t blame them at all. 

I write what I see.  Perhaps you can produce a study that says I don’t see these things.  However, until you can, and unless you’re certain there are no contradictory studies,  there’s really no ground for your questioning what I believe.   Maybe you can read Bill Gates’ mind but I assure you you cannot read mine.  Don’t worry about what I think you believe.  I have no idea what you believe and wouldn’t presume to tell you.

I’m very interested in the contracts to which you refer.  Could you please provide links?  I looked and was unable to find them. 

I also wonder whether you actually believe some of the statements you make or if you are angry so you want to find something. Yes, your administrator can walk into your classroom anytime he wants. There are certainly contracts that do limit whether unannounced visits are allowed to be used in evaluation. Does your contention with his statement mean that when Gates says teachers aren’t usually given meaningful feedback that you disagree? At the schools I’ve worked at and visited, I know plenty of examples of administrators who pop their heads in once or twice in a semester, give the teacher some check marks on a piece of paper as their “evaluation” and that’s it.

What about your anger at his use of charts to show that teaching effectiveness plateaus fairly quickly or that a masters degree isn’t a reliable way to show effectiveness? Can you tell me in all honesty that all the teachers who got Masters went through rigorous, credible programs? When I taught at a high school in Arizona, most of the teachers going for their Masters were getting online degrees from schools with open admissions policies that have you complete some activities and send them back. I am sure that you are a great teacher who cares and works his butt off to improve his instruction. That doesn’t mean all teachers or even most teachers are constantly improving. The data of plateauing isn’t a lie. You can see a study here: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/news/press-releases/pepg-study-june-2010

Essentially, his point is that the education of lots of students is horrendous. You can’t argue with that. There are lots and lots of terrible teachers who shouldn’t have jobs or at the very least, shouldn’t be paid more than teachers who are doing better than them. Do you think it’s fair to you that you are making as much as a teacher who sits and twiddles his thumbs all day?

Now, I don’t want you to think that I believe teachers are THE problem in schools. There are plenty of other problems. There are many things that teachers are simply not equipped to handle. But Gates isn’t putting $35 billion out there to destroy teachers. You are lucky to teach in a school system with some accountability or at least one that’s working its way toward that. Is it really a problem that Gates is funding districts that move away from seniority-based pay scales? Or research into universal standards? Or innovative teacher training systems?

People are fawning over him not because he has the answer or even because everything he’s doing is productive. People are awed by him because he is setting an example that few are courageous enough to follow. He literally spends all of his time giving away his money and convincing other rich people to do the same. Is that a reason to hate him because he isn’t the world’s foremost expert? No, it’s a reason to offer advice, which can only start when we reach out, rather than act divisive.