34years - Tumblr blog

[34years]

Pay Teachers Less to Improve School Efficiency - hmmm!

As I was reading through education news on several of the news sites I regularly visit, I came across an article on a report by GEMS Education about the release of of their Efficiency Index for 30 nations worldwide. Looking at costs for teachers and then at educational outcomes, the report places the USA 19th. Taking top honors was Finland with Brazil coming in at the bottom.

According tho the report, to increase efficiency the USA could increase class sizes and reduce teacher salaries. One of the authors of the report says these are things that could be done, not necessarily what should be done.

I was bothered by a part of the report that states that, while paying teachers too little could keep potentially great teachers from entering education, paying teachers too much could encourage complacency. Applying this line of reasoning to other professions, then paying exorbitant health care costs would lead to complacent doctors, or paying CEOs of major companies millions of dollars could decrease their performance. This is a bad message and taints the validity of the report and the conclusions that are being drawn from it.

[34years]

Retire/Rehire: Is It A Problem?

I was talking with a former colleague the other day and asked her if she had any news about any of the people we had taught with. She told me a few things and then mentioned that two long-time teachers had left teaching behind, not out of choice, but because they were told their contracts were not being renewed. However, their leaving is not about tenure, it is about another practice - retire/rehire.

In Ohio, where we taught, an educator could retire after 30 years of service, at any age, with a full pension (now it is 35 years and you have to be 60 years of age). After three months, educators could return to teaching, administration, etc. while still collecting their retirement pension. There was a series of articles in one of the state's newspapers about this practice, which was termed "double-dipping." The gist of the articles was that this was an abuse of a public pension and should not be allowed. Some states do not allow public employees to collect both a public pension and a paycheck by returning to their previous position, Ohio did.

In my experience, I've found it beneficial to students to have a great teacher retire and then return to the classroom for a few extra years. The alternative might well be retirement and the loss of this teacher's impact on any future students. I know of several instances of very good administrators who were allowed to retire, then return to their jobs. What about substitute teachers? Some of the best substitutes I have known were great teachers who retired and came back to sub. One sub was so well loved I had a class give him a gift when they graduated.

So, should educators be allowed to retire, then return to their previous position full time? Should teachers be allowed to collect a pension and then become substitute teachers? Is so-called double-dipping ethical?

Oh, the two teachers who were non-renewed - they had retired two years previously after many years of exemplary service, then come back on a series of one year contracts. I think my former district is starting to phase out their previous policy of retire/rehire. Good or bad, I'd like to hear what you think.

[34years]

Whither Higher Education

I was talking with a neighbor who has young children and he told me his financial planner said he would need approximately $300,000 in a college fund for his kids. I was shocked at the number and it led me to think about what I had been reading about higher education over the past several years.

I was a student in the early 1970s, at a state university, and tuition was around $1000 per year (not counting room and board). My parents paid the tuition and I graduated debt free. Fast forward to my oldest daughter attending a state university in the early 2000s. Her tuition came to about $12,000 per year, also not counting room and board. From what I've read, the average student graduates with nearly $30,000 worth of debt. We hired a young lady into our department about ten years ago and she had a $60,000 debt. What a crippling start to adulthood!

Is this going to continue? The cost of going to school is rising much faster that the rise in wages for an average person. The dream for many was to get an education and improve upon the life of your parents. Is this dream gone? What can be done.

A couple of thoughts come to mind as I think about what is going on with higher education. Perhaps we should re-examine what level of education is necessary in today's world. States are currently rethinking Pre-K education in order to get students ready for school. What if states mandated K-16 education? After all, we keep hearing about need for an "educated workforce" for tomorrow's jobs. Of course, requiring an extra four years of school with also mean increased taxes to pay for this universal requirement. So, good luck getting new taxes in today's political climate. Another thought might be to place more reliance on blended education and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course). These courses should cost less for students to take due to the reduced need for brick and mortar spaces. This could also mean the end for many smaller colleges for whom the cost of maintaining a campus would become financially untenable. Another question I have is whether the current system of degrees is really adequate, but some of the proposed solutions, such as badges, or certificates, don't really seem to be the solution.

Colleges, universities and the degrees they confer have been around since the Middle Ages. Small colleges, scattered throughout most of our states have been in existence for nearly 200 years. We have witnessed the rise of for-profit colleges such as The University of Phoenix over the last couple decades. The model for higher education is changing. I'm not sure where it is going, but the current model is pricing itself out of existence. I hope whatever replaces it is affordable and available to all our citizens, giving them the skills necessary to provide for themselves and to contribute to the greater good of society.

[34years]

An Attack On Teachers

I recently read an article Shortchanging Teachers in the blog eduwonk, which was a synopsis of Shortchanged, a report from TNTP (formerly known as The New Teacher Project), which criticized the current practice of teacher salary schedules and their reliance on years taught and degrees earned. Of course the recommended solution is a change to a system which rewards actual teacher performance. Sounds rational, and yet...

Back in the 1980s there was a push to eliminate salary schedules and move toward rewarding teachers with "merit pay." As with the current recommendation to reward teacher performance the problem remains - how do you measure teacher performance in an unbiased way. Is a high-performing teacher one that students like? Is it the teacher who teaches the AP course and his/her students perform better than the national average? What about the next year when the students don't score quite so high? Is it the teacher's fault or just the mix of students in each class? What about using value-added measures to evaluate teachers? Oops, that really doesn't work to well either.

Another item mentioned in the article which rubbed me the wrong way was the criticism of compensation for advanced degrees - what? It seems we all want our sons and daughters to attend colleges where they will be exposed to the musings of scholars who possess advanced degrees. Wouldn't it make sense that parents would want the same for their K-12 sons and daughters. I felt my subject-area knowledge and teaching ability increased as I took my graduate courses. If a teacher is more knowledgeable and has added skills, doesn't that deserve compensation?

There is another part to the article which concerned me. Supposedly, research shows that 40 percent of teachers with more than seven years experience are not as effective as a brand new teacher. My experience, both personally and mentoring teachers for a number of years is that this statement is garbage. Lifelong learners, which many teachers are, do not remain the same or regress in what they do. A first-year teacher may excel in enthusiasm, but I have seen very few who had the educational knowledge of a veteran.

The bottom line with this article is that TNTP has a political agenda, and that is to reduce the public teaching profession to one of entry level workers who can be easily replaced. There would then be no teacher unions and no advocacy for public education. Public schools would be replaced by for-profit private schools and teacher pay would fall, as teacher would have no job security and could be replaced every few years. Oh, and did I mention, TNTP was founded by Michelle Rhee. Educators, be very careful!

[34years]

Why Educators Can't Police Themselves

Every now and then I read something posted by an educator noting that education is a profession and asking why educators are not allowed to police themselves. Doctors police themselves, lawyers police themselves, why not educators?

Educators aren’t allowed to police themselves because education, and especially curriculum, is too important and too valuable to allow it. Valuable to whom, you may ask. Well, how about politicians? Control what is taught and you control how a generation is shaped. For example, in 1957 the Soviet Union launches Sputnik into orbit. Our government responds by telling the nation there is a shortage of engineers and educators are not doing their jobs. In 1983 “A Nation At Risk” is published, based on inconclusive data, and Americans are told their educational system is failing. No Child Left Behind begat a new wave of high-stakes testing to the detriment of schoolchildren everywhere, and Race To The Top sought to use students’ standardized test scores to evaluate teachers.

What is interesting about all of these supposed reforms is that they employ few, if any, practicing educators when drawing their conclusions and making policy recommendations.

Unlike doctors or lawyers, educators, teachers in particular, are trivialized and deemed unimportant when it comes to making educational policy. The only organizations with political clout, The National Education Association and The American Federation of Teachers, have been systematically attacked as backward-thinking anachronisms. The recent attacks on tenure only adds to the reduction of influence wielded by educators. 

Let us hope that one day educators will be seen as true professionals whose input will help drive future educational policy to the benefit of more than special interests.

[34years]

Misunderstanding Teacher Tenure

I was at a party at a friend's house when the topic of education came up among six of us while on the lanai. I listened to to conversation and after awhile it turned to tenure. As the only educator in the group I listened as the misinformation about tenure being job security for life was mentioned. I responded that tenure is really the granting of a continuing contract and that it does not guarantee job security for life, but does give the holder the right of due process. I also informed the group that tenure is not granted for everyone and that where I taught (Ohio) a teacher must have taught for three years in a district and hold a Master's Degree before being eligible. One of the group kept asked how "bad" teachers are gotten rid of. I responded that having tenure does not exempt a teacher from following the rules set forth in a district's teacher handbook, or from being evaluated by the administration. I further explained that most administrators will work with tenured teachers who need help; after all, the district has made an investment in these people and hopes to reap the benefit of their expertise. I also mentioned that due process requires certain steps to be followed by the administration before a tenured teacher is terminated and that, in my experience, often there was incomplete paperwork or poor documentation as a primary reason why a tenured teacher is not dismissed. I concluded by telling the group that teachers and tenure had become politicized by those who wish to end public education and replace it with for profit private schools, and that they should be very leery about what they hear in the media about the subject.

[34years]

Tenure is Misunderstood

I had an interesting chat today with several people on Twitter over the need for tenure for public school teachers. One of the participants stated it was hard to fire bad teachers. Another participant felt unions protect bad teachers to the detriment of everyone. Someone wondered whether there should be tenure with a limit - perhaps five years.

I participated and responded to each of these statements. My point of view stems from my position as a classroom teacher of thirty-five years who also served as president of our local teachers union.

Yes, it is hard to fire bad teachers - who have tenure. Without tenure a teacher serves at the whim of the school board, whose will is carried by the administration. One of today’s participants stated it took four years to fire a bad teacher. In my experience it very well may take several years to fire an incompetent teacher, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Tenure grants a teacher due process, NOT job security for life. If the board wants to fire a teacher they must prove incompetence. This usually takes more than one year. Consider this, a teacher represents an investment by a school board. The person is hired, trained in the ways of the district, and given specific professional development. If a teacher is not living up to expectations, it is prudent for a district to attempt to provide help to bring the teacher up to snuff. If that does not work, and the contract is followed with proper documentation, the teacher can be terminated. We had a teacher in my department who was terminated in this manner while I was union president. I monitored the process and, as everything was followed to the letter of the contract, I had no problem with the termination. By-the-way, certain types of behavior, including felony violations of the law, can lead to immediate termination.

A college student, majoring in language arts education, wondered whether there should be a limit to tenure - perhaps five years. This one bothered me, because there has been a concerted effort by conservative elements to discredit teacher unions and tenure as protecting bad teachers. Of course the elimination of tenure would mean the end, or at least the loss of much power, of teacher unions, which tend to support liberal causes and candidates. I remembered a young teacher in our department who told me that tenure was bad and only protected incompetent teachers. I had a long discussion with her and shared several cases where I had seen tenure prevent teachers from being fired because of personality clashes with administrators as well as irate parents who disliked a teacher over some perceived slight to their child, and pressured the administration to discipline the teacher. I hope that participation in our Twitter chat helped the education student who proposed the time limit to tenure to better understand the issues of tenure and unions in education.

To my teacher educator colleagues, please continue to incorporate social media participation and the development of personal learning networks in your education of tomorrow’s teachers. A strong profession demands independent thinkers who vet their information. Participation in Twitter chats is one way to expand a young teacher’s horizons, to give them some experience interacting with current and former educators. Keep up the good work.

[34years]

If you’ve read my past posts, you know I’m very critical of those who want to privatize our nation’s schools. Please read this excellent article which underscores my beliefs.

[34years]

Public Money, Tax Credits and Vouchers in Florida

In Florida the attacks on public schools continue. House Speaker Will Weatherford wants to expand the tax-credit scholarship program which provides private-school scholarships. Corporate donors would be able to earn sales tax credits for their contributions to the scholarship program. <Tampa Bay Times>

The program is really an insidious move to reduce the need for public schools under the cover of helping poor students. Conservatives have long disagreed that poverty is the root of inequality and that some groups are impoverished due to social/political conditions. They tend to feel some people are impoverished because they do not have the drive to succeed and their access to a good education (which will lead to developing a drive to succeed) is limited by weak public schools. The solution is obvious to these people: eliminate public schools and replace them with private schools (many tied to for-profit corporations), give students vouchers from public revenues which they can use at these private schools, and exempt private schools from the high-stakes testing that is required of public schools.

Allowing all of this to happen will allow conservatives to cripple, or eliminate, public schools which helps the conservative move toward smaller government. It would also push the agenda of having schools corporatized by private businesses, the effect of which would be to give students a biased view of some subjects (e.g. evolution, climate change, size and responsibilities of government, etc.). Exempting private schools from high-stakes testing is the carrot which is dangled in front of parents to get them to accept vouchers and enroll their children in private schooling.

Will Weatherford says people against his program should speak to the 60,000 kids who like the program. What he doesn’t want to hear are the people who question why public money going to vouchers is not spent improving the existing public school. The strategy here is obvious, let public school fall into disrepair, let them fail mandated tests they are guaranteed of failing, and then propose using public money to fund private schools whose accountability is questionable and to which not all students are eligible to attend as students have to apply for available scholarships (vouchers).

[34years]

Educator Actions Affect Us All

Sometimes educators do the dumbest things, and their actions hurt the image of educators everywhere. How about the Mesa, AZ kindergarten teacher who made a female  kindergarten student remove her shirt in class because she hid her face in her shirt while he was admonishing his entire class? What was he thinking? Then there is the administration of a private school for girls in Concord, CA which allowed a menu featuring fried chicken, cornbread, and watermelon to be served in “honor” of Black History Month. It’s the 21st Century, who in our connected educational environment would let this happen? Just over a week ago news came out that the Salt Lake City, UT school district threw out school lunches for 40 children because their parents were behind on their payments. Nothing like taking out the neglect of parents on their children. There are also accounts of children not being allowed to bring asthma inhalers to school, even though this is a violation of the law in all 50 states. 

The point here is that individual educators and their decisions can have an impact on the public’s perception of all educators, and too often these perceptions are negative. For young teachers just starting out, think before acting. Don’t lose your temper. Students react best to reason. For administrators, be sure your policies are not in conflict with the law. Don’t make policy based on an isolated event. Be sure students are aware of school policy. Remember, news organizations are always on the lookout for stories of educator stupidity. Let’s not spoon-feed it to them.

[34years]

The Educational Disconnect

We (as a nation) really have no idea what we want out of our schools. Naturally, professional educators are confused, and tend to throw up their hands in disbelief or utter words that should not be used near their students.

Today, I read the article in Slate (http://slate.me/1i1hRBF) where the author states public money is being used to fund a workbook that denigrates evolution and promotes creationism. First thing that struck me was okay, this is a violation of the Constitution. Then I thought here are states (Indiana and Arkansas are also doing this) promoting religion over science, yet they support the push for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education. What is going on here?

[34years]

This is a great blog that provides an excellent outlet for teachers. I can see that you promote a collegial, well supported learning environment for good teachers. I am a 18 year teacher trying to leave private school teaching for the public school sector. Private school has few avenues to achieve good standards. . . .I look forward to reading more and following. . .I am incorporating as much as I can into my blog. Have you read the new book by the Lubienskis, The Public School Advantage?

This is a book I am not familiar with. I have educator friends that teach/have taught in private school settings, but my experience is only in the public domain.

[34years]

Skill Sets and Situations

Sometimes the best prepared teacher gets into a situation in which they fail, and perhaps that is due to no real fault of their own. It may because teacher skill sets may not match properly with the situation in which they are placed. I taught in a school system that was very diverse racially, culturally, and religiously. We had students (a few) who qualified for free lunches and we had students who drove Mercedes to school each day. I remember one year we had students from fifteen different countries in a graduating class of 180. Hiring teachers who would be successful could be a bit of a challenge. One teacher hired by the social studies department had impeccable qualifications; an undergraduate degree from Brown and a graduate degree from Harvard. He lasted one year with us. The two problems he faced were problems controlling students and a problem with organization, as he was teaching five classes with three preparations. He is now at a private school, teaching a homogeneous population of upper-middle class students with two preparations and four classes. His skill set did not work with us, yet he was successful in a different setting. A friend taught in an urban school system in a major city. He had trouble relating to the students and received consistently poor performance reviews. He left and how teaches as an adjunct professor at two different universities. He is happy and successful. So, what is the lesson here? Teachers need to have skill sets that match well with the communities and school in which they are going to teach if they are to be successful. Failure in one situation does not necessarily mean there will be failure in a different situation. Administrators need to be judicious when hiring and candidates need to look at potential job situations objectively. Educators can also prepare themselves for specific job situations. When I lived in Cleveland, Cleveland State University geared its college of education toward preparing teachers and administrators for work in an urban setting. Conversely, educators looking for jobs in a rural setting should prepare themselves with the skills and knowledge that will lead to success through further education and self-education. One size does not fit all when it comes to preparing teachers and administrators. If the skill set brought into a situation by and educator does not fit, either the educator (hopefully with assistance from the school district)makes changes, or the educator will fail in that specific situation. The message to educators is this - market yourself to situations where your skill set will allow you to have success. If you find yourself in a situation where you are outside your comfort level, seek help, and prepare to make changes to your skill set to give yourself the best possible chance of success.

[34years]

What are your thoughts on Special Education & what would you suggest on where it could be improved ? And what educational books about special ed could you recommend that gives an in depth & honest look into the system?

I'm afraid I am out of my element when it comes to Special Ed.

[34years]

Hi I don't want to ask you any question I just wanted to tell you that a lot of the people who work at Wal-mart don't talk politics with their customers so for him to talk to you about it was very strange and wrong. But I want to thank you for setting him straight and without being rude about it. I love history and politics in general and not everyone knows about the 22 amendment because they don't stay in school long enough to learn or have been out to long. Lighthouse__Kat

Thank you for the comment. I think most adults forget much about the history of our country that they learned in school. I'm always amazed at how few adults acknowledge the rampant abuses under Jim Crow that occurred only a few decades ago. Too many have told me that the Civil War gave slaves their freedom and equal rights - end of story.

[34years]

Education For The 21st Century

Reading various commentaries about what should be taught in our schools in order to provide the best opportunity for student success in the 21st Century has got me thinking. It seems there are at least three primary areas that education should address: National/State/Local Needs, Economic Needs, and Personal Growth. Of course there could be other needs, perhaps many others, but properly addressing these three should give students a boost toward success.

By national/state/local needs I am referring to concepts such as “citizenship” which is already a core part of school curricula. The Common Core is promising as far as a national goal of what should be necessary of all students on a national level, but it is constrained by the numbing effects of politicians wanting it endlessly evaluated through the use of high-stakes tests, certainly not the way most educators would like to measure progress. State and local needs are similarly important in addressing the concerns of both polities, but there needs to be some sort of watchdog that will keep purely partisan requirements under control, especially those that do little good for students and their education long term.

Our country is undergoing a transformation from an industrial to a post-industrial society and this has created stress on our educational institutions. What sorts of jobs are we preparing workers for? What skills will be necessary in 2020 or 2030? This stress can be seen in recent controversies such as whether cursive writing should continued to be taught or should all students be taught to code. Educators, and especially politicians need to step back and think about the impact of their decisions years down the road.

Personal growth is an area which often gets forgotten when discussions of what is best to teach in preparing students for life in the 21st century. We must help students develop their creative sides, for this is where the “next great idea” will be developed. Educators are starting to let students have more choice in what they will study and how they will study it. Educational technology will allow teachers to do these things in ways that could not have been imagined twenty years ago.

I have great faith in educators. They will get it right, given time and if there is not too much meddling by narrow-minded politicians with an agenda.

[34years]

The Digitally Literate Teacher

Digital Literacy

I was reading my Twitter list of “Key Educators” and came across a question, “what does it take for a teacher to be digitally literate?” I thought about this for a bit and came up with a list of competencies which would make a teacher digitally literate in my opinion. This list is not intended to be complete, merely a start for teachers interested in enhancing their digital literacy.

Being literate in SEARCH skills is something in which all teachers need to be accomplished. Searching involves not only knowing a few of the major search engines, but being able to use their advanced features and understanding their limitations. Being able to effectively evaluate the various sources which are found is also a necessary part of a competent search.

Having a SOCIAL MEDIA presence is something which digitally literate teachers need to develop. This presence could include various social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Flickr, blogs and web pages. While these are given only as representatives of the many social media resources available, they are meant to show some areas which a social media presence can take.

DISTANCE EDUCATION is becoming a requisite for the digitally literate teacher. This term covers not only being able to facilitate a connection with another classroom, but knowing how to find and attend relevant webinars and group meetings with other educators anywhere in the world. Distance education is a subset of the term “collaboration” with which educators are constantly being bombarded.

All teachers need to be familiar with, and competent in, the use of PRESENTATION TOOLS which could include the ubiquitous PowerPoint, Prezi, Smart Boards, and the use of appropriate video and audio tools.

More and more teachers are making use of PERSONAL LEARNING NETWORKS (PLNs) and these teachers are tapping into the greatest of all educational resources - each other. All aspects of Social Media can be put together according to the needs and interests of an individual teacher to create a comprehensive gateway to constant learning and self-improvement.

As teachers mine information with their digital tools they find they need a way to CURATE the relevant data they uncover. Placing important links to this data and sharing those links is an important part of being a digitally literate teacher. Tools such as Diigo, Tumblr, and simple web pages can give other educators and students access to this information.

When I was a student in the early 1970s there were professors who told us we needed to become lifelong learners who were constantly questioning the status quo, searching for the truth. While I know many teachers feel overwhelmed by the demands of their jobs, I have found many who have embraced the goal of being lifelong learners. With the rise of the internet and the ease of use that technology has brought to our ability to search for and find answers to our questions on both a personal and professional level, there are no excuses for teachers to not become digitally literate.