Comments on: City’s Common Core rollout ramps up today with teacher training

By: ASTRAKA

ASTRAKA — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 01:56:00 +0000

“If you’re scared of what makes good teaching, then you shouldn’t be teaching should you.”

You sound so intelligent! In fact you seem to me to be an experienced teacher who has mastered the art of teaching thanks to doug lemov! Your ability to distinguish tangible descriptors and especially the intangible ones will make you an excellent teacher. Keep up the good work! How many years have you been teaching?

By: F2loyal

F2loyal — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:01:00 +0000

You are wrong. The Danielson model is explicitly- in the language of the DOE- for formative development purposes. You don’t want teachers to have a tool by which they can better their craft? Silly rabbit. Your comment shows a lack of intelligence. You can’t manage kids behavior? Don’t teach- what did you think you were going to encounter when you walked into a room with 5-18 yr olds (whatever grade you teach)? Robots? Please. As much as there are tangible descriptors of good teaching sir, there are also intangible ones: google doug lemov. If you’re scared of what makes good teaching, then you shouldn’t be teaching should you.

By: Jdbalthazar

Jdbalthazar — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:43:00 +0000

100% My Union dues are wasted. The UFT might as well be abolished. They do nothing now, have lost much of their political clout and most importantly are simply selling us out for extra dues from extra employees. WE GOT NO TEACHERS CHOICE BECAUSE MICHAEL MULGREW NEEDED SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS TO MOVE THE UFT CHARTER SCHOOL AND HE SAID TO CHRISTINE QUINN- GIVE ME THAT AND TAKE I WONT FIGHT FOR TEACHERS CHOICE.

THE UFT SUCKS< I HATE YOU!

By: Jack Farrell

Jack Farrell — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:15:00 +0000

The Common Core Standards are as much about how students learn as what they learn. This makes them demonstratively different from prior standards which focused only on what students know and can do. These are text-based standards which assume students can read and understand grade-level calibrated text without scaffolding. They assume an independent reader who will be ready for college and career, deep and complex reading tasks.

By: Tiredofyou

Tiredofyou — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:14:00 +0000

How are lawyers evaluated??? How are trolls evaluated?

By: el flerpo

el flerpo — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:31:00 +0000

how should teachers be evaluated?

By: NYC Educator

NYC Educator — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:33:00 +0000

Interesting you would see that as an improvement. Obviously you did not care for the previous system. Therefore it’s tough to see how retaining 60% of it is much of an improvement. The fact that 20% is tied to tests, and that this as a judge of teacher effectiveness is unsupported by research or practice (according to sources like Diane Ravitch and Aaron Pallas) hardly represents an improvement. I suppose we’re left to pin our hopes on the mystery 20% yet to be negotiated.

Personally, I’m hardly encouraged that we’ve bought into the blatant unsubstantiated nonsense of the Billionaire Boys Club. Of course, as a working teacher, I lack the perspective of someone like yourself, who will be utterly unaffected by whatever happens.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:21:00 +0000

The new law is not tied to contract negotiations, although some of implementation details require negotiations under PERB rules … the 20% that is locally negotiated is the major item. Two items are currently being litigated … under some circumstances the state wants the 20% student scores to be 40%, and, if a teacher “fails” the 20% student scores section they “fail” the enitre evaluation. A lower court sustained the union.

The new law ids being implemented in the “turnaround” schools. Cuomo favored a strong teacher evaluation law and the law we ended up with was far more pro-teacher than Cuomo’s orinal plans.

By: Nnails322

Nnails322 — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:17:00 +0000

Our dept. received an article about the common core standards after a visit from an EPO representative who could not answer any questions presented to him. If this is the kind of professional development we can expect, heaven help us all.

By: Vote NO!

Vote NO! — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:10:00 +0000

I do believe a new evaluation system is contingent upon a new collective bargaining agreement being negotiated. The UFT would be every foolish to negotiate any new evaluation without clear safeguards such as a detailed action plan for any teacher rated “ineffective” to protect them from abuse.

In NYC, an evaluation system which replaces S or U probably should be developed over a more extensive period of time than this one. This was rushed through to meet a competition deadline. It will have far reaching consequences as it will result in thousands of people losing their livelihood in an economy that has NO JOBS! Those people and their families will be on public assistance at great cost to the taxpayers….Less money for education..”the death spiral continues.”

Chicago…You trust something which was tried out in Chicago? Who would want to replicate anything from Chicago? The Chicago public school system is arguably one of the worst urban public school systems in the country.

By: Miss Eyre

Miss Eyre — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:40:00 +0000

While I’m fortunate to work for an administration that collaborated with us to create our own teacher effectiveness framework, our principal was very frank with us today: the DOE is out for blood. They are looking for reasons to deny tenure and to fire people. All teachers would do well to be extra sure all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed, this year more than ever.

On that note, have a great day tomorrow!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:24:00 +0000

The “Frameworks” have nothing to do w/ pupil test scores – they are descriptors of teacher behaviors that are research based. In a 100-school pilot in Chicago teacher and supervisor ratings of teachers were congruent … currently u r either S or U and there is no standard, simply principal judgment.

In a number of state teacher evaluation is based on test scores, up to 50% … while in NYS only 20% … r u argiubng that teachers should not be assessed? If they r assessed who should be the rater and what should the rating be based on? Would u favor peer review? The system has changed, the new law is in place, final regulations are being adjudicated and the new system will emerge … the core of the law – 60% of the evaluation will be observations … if u don’t like the Danielson Frameworks state law allows for the adoption of a number of other systems, or, a locally designed system …in a year or so the new system will be in place.

By: NYC Educator

NYC Educator — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:46:00 +0000

It’s unfortunate that no research suggests student scores have any validity whatsoever in determining teacher effectiveness. I’m afraid your confidence fails to inspire. However, I certainly appreciate just what sort of boldness it entails for a retired teacher willing to risk the dismissal of working teachers, as should all.

By: Frankmaltese2000

Frankmaltese2000 — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:28:00 +0000

Danielson’s rubric for student engagement is lunacy. It’s MY fault if some of them are bored? It’s MY fault that they don’t care? MY fault that their parents don’t care?

By: Frankmaltese2000

Frankmaltese2000 — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:28:00 +0000

Danielson’s rubric for student engagement is lunacy. It’s MY fault if some of them are bored? It’s MY fault that they don’t care? MY fault that their parents don’t care?

By: el flerpo

el flerpo — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 22:53:00 +0000

please propose a fair evaluation system. thx.

By: Vote NO!

Vote NO! — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 22:45:00 +0000

“it will be a much fairer system, and, yes, some teachers may be dismissed.

There is absolutely nothing fair about an evaluation system which holds any worker responsible for so many factors beyond their control.

As far as some people being “dismissed.”..The last thing this country “needs” is any more people on the unemployment line, or collecting other forms of public assistance.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:54:00 +0000

I demur … up till now teacher ratings were solely based on principal judgment, with no agreed upon standards. Take a look at the Danielson Frameworks and her Talk About Teaching:Leading Professional Conversations …sometime down the road the UFT and the Doe will agree upon the implementation of the new law – 20% student scores, 20% locally negotiated anf 60% traditional, aka, observations … it will be a much fairer system, and, yes, some teeachers may be dismissed.

By: Frankmaltese2000

Frankmaltese2000 — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:35:00 +0000

The training at my school made it obvious that the whole pupose of this program is to find more ways to give teachers U ratings. Charlotte Danielson is living in fantasy world where all students are perfectly behaved and engaged. Her book is a load of nonsense, packed with rubrics designed to scare all of us. She claims to have once been a teacher. She sold her soul.

AND: I’ve heard that the UFT is doing NOTHING about this madness. Thanks. Those union dues sure are worth it. Is Bloomberg paying them off also?