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Has anybody been talking about a 10% pay cut for next year's salary? That is what my district is offering (they call this an offer....) even though none of the other districts in the area have demanded such draconian cuts. Our salaries are definitely NOT anymore that the other districts near us.
The headlines in the paper are all about how Obama will improve the quality of teachers and ensure all Americans get a quality education. How would you go about it? What is broken that should be fixed? How would you fix it? How should colleges change the way they prepare teachers? Will Merit Pay help?
The NEA has already developed Email "letters"...just enter your email and click on the letter. Tell Congress to get the job done properly. [link removed]
[link removed]
I was visiting a school recently where I had the opportunity to observe instruction. I also spoke with the school's mentor. I was surprised because the way, according to the mentor, that the school teaches is as follows: teach skill, do state standardized test sumlation materials, grade materials, re-teach/re-test those below state standard.
...See MoreI was visiting a school recently where I had the opportunity to observe instruction. I also spoke with the school's mentor. I was surprised because the way, according to the mentor, that the school teaches is as follows: teach skill, do state standardized test sumlation materials, grade materials, re-teach/re-test those below state standard.
The mentor explained that they use these simulations all year (or until the test has actually been taken). As I observed I noticed a considerable amount of coaching as to how to answer these tests.
Is this ethical? Should students be doing these testing simulations all the time?
Josh Waitzkin (the inspiration for the movie "Searching for Bobby Fisher) has some great insight into No Child Left Behind.
I would like to see schools funded federally, rather than state by state, district by district. We need national learning standards, funding, salaries (with COLAs), nationally normed and standarized testing, teacher education standards, national curriculum options, even standard building plans for new schools. Within the curriculum, building plans ...See MoreI would like to see schools funded federally, rather than state by state, district by district. We need national learning standards, funding, salaries (with COLAs), nationally normed and standarized testing, teacher education standards, national curriculum options, even standard building plans for new schools. Within the curriculum, building plans etc - there should be a range of choices. Bringing in the best we have as a nation for ALL schools in all areas of the nation would be a much better option than what we now have.
Wouldn't it be helpful to have a national media resource center where teachers and students could access video clips, interactive internet programs, activboard flipcharts etc to support curricular needs. Wouldn't it be a better use of money to have one set of standards for the nation and put the publishers into a frenzy to meet those standards with the best quality materials?
It seems like such a huge waste of time and money for each state and district to reinvent the wheel, year after year, when it would be so much more efficient to have a central think-tank. So much of my time as a teacher is now spent inventing curriculum, assessments, revising materials/curriculum to align with our standards etc.
I would like to see teachers having a huge impact on the national education decisions that are made. Perhaps "merit pay" could be related to training or achieving National Board Certification. Basing merit pay on student achievement is not logical. There are too many variables. Teachers do need to be held accountable, but they also need this to be a fair system with equal opportunity for all.
High need schools should have lower class size and highly effective teachers. All schools should have a reasonable class size.
There should be clear boundaries as far as what public schools will provide and what the responsibility of parents and community will be in supporting those schools through volunteering, attending training/workshops, and student behavior expectations.
There needs to be a consistent way to address behavior issues - that hold children, families and schools accountable as well as provide support for changing that behavior. When those efforts are tried, those students need to receive education in a different environment than the regular public school. It is not cost effective or energy effective to let severe behavior issues drain the regular classroom.
Imagine having teaching conventions across the nation where we come together to improve our schools as a nation - learn from what is working well and from our failures to bring about change. There is a lot of diversity in our country, geographic, cultural, economic, etc - but that doesn't mean that we can't have common learning, professional, building, curricular, etc standards in education. We would need a range of choices that meet those standards, but that is possible.
NCLB is not causing the drastic change in turning around the education system that we all wanted. There is sufficient evidence that it is not narrowing the achievement gap between whites and minorities. In fact, standards are being lowered in many states. NCLB lacks any guidance on how to raise achievement levels and is relying upon a decentralized...See MoreNCLB is not causing the drastic change in turning around the education system that we all wanted. There is sufficient evidence that it is not narrowing the achievement gap between whites and minorities. In fact, standards are being lowered in many states. NCLB lacks any guidance on how to raise achievement levels and is relying upon a decentralized strategy in which states must determine the best approach in educating children and meeting the AYP standards. The accountability system should focus and give more credit for progress rather than just using proficiency. Those schools that are starting further behind are not getting recognized for moving students up several grade levels if they do not meet AYP for that year. For fear of getting labeled as failing, I believe teachers are put under intense pressure so they resort to teaching to the test, cutting out those subjects not tested. This is only resulting in producing children who lack the higher cognitive skills necessary for the 21st century world. I think the accountability system also should be adjusted to measure what is and isn’t working so we can appropriately give funding to those schools in greatest need. Rather than punishing those schools in need, we need to support them and provide them with successful remedial services. Most importantly, there needs to be more emphasis put on teachers, parents and the community as a whole to support the schools. Those students in lower socioeconomic areas are at a disadvantage because they are not getting support at home which affects learning at school due to several factors such as poor attendance, neglect, tough home situations, etc. We need to create more programs that will support those around our students in the home and community to instill the importance of education in the children.
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