This school year I am fortunate to be able to teach an elective in our high school - Intro to Personal Finance. Being back in the classroom, even though it's only for 45 minutes a day, is revitalizing. The kids are just great! Their curiosity, desire to learn, and eagerness to pepper me with questions has kept me learning, too.
Throughout my coursework for my MBA, I was regularly reminded that there was much about money that I had never been taught. I am fortunate that being stingy with a nickel comes naturally to me and that my parents did impart budgeting skills and reinforced the idea of saving. But, I never learned about the real value of money...how you can use your money and how you can leverage the money of others to help you (and others) make more money. My goal for my students is that they will leave my class prepared to successfully navigate the complex decisions associated with their own personal finances and know a bit about how money works in the world.
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the most amazing conference, with a horribly long name - The PwC and Knowledge@Wharton High School Seminar for High School Educators on Business and Financial Responsibility. 150 high school teachers of personal finance, economics, and business were selected from a pool of applicants to attend (all expenses paid - thanks PwC!) the event on Penn's campus. We heard from Wharton profs, PwC execs, and fellow teachers. I've been to plenty of conferences in my day, and this was hands-down the best. The purpose of the seminar was to provide teachers with background knowledge and new ideas, and to encourage more financial literacy education in our schools. There were no end-of-course deliverables...no state reports due at the conclusion like other conferences and courses, it was really a chance to just sit back, soak up some knowledge, and learn from the best.
One would think that educators would relish this opportunity; to have a weekend with food, hotel, and travel all paid for and be able to learn. We are teachers, right? One would think and hope that as teachers we recognize the value of new knowledge. And, one would think that if we teach a subject, we therefore are interested in the subject and would want to know more about it. Reasonable hypothesis?
Incredulously, there were teachers who through their actions proved this thesis incorrect. Rather than listen attentively to the speakers, there were teachers spending hours shoe shopping on-line, playing Bedazzled on their iPad, editing photos on their computer, chatting on-line, taking a nap, and texting non-stop. I wanted to scream. I wanted to call out these ungracious dopes. Not only could the speakers see this inattentiveness, but so could all the program's sponsors and organizers who stood at the back of the auditorium ready to attend to any need we might have had.
Did I mention that some of these profs have worked directly with US Presidents, the FBI, global leaders, etc.? And, that PwC has committed $160 million to this cause? Really people...you just ignore them and do something you could have done sitting on your lazy ass at home...taking up conference space that others wanted!?!
If this were the Muppets, this would be the part when Kermit's face crumples in response to Miss Piggy. You know the face...it's the one when he just can't believe what he's seeing or hearing from her. That's how I felt seeing these supposed professionals just disregarding the opportunity unfolding right in front of them. I left the conference both invigorated by the experience, and disgusted by some of my peers.
But then I heard something that mitigated that disgust. A fellow teacher at the conference shared that he had been close to deciding that this year would be his final year of teaching. He was worn down by the requirement to teach subjects that weren't his area of certification. The pressure of having to act like an expert in a content area when you're not is a real stressor for teachers. They are forced into this situation by understaffed schools and it's just not good for students or the teachers. He commented that participation in this conference was causing him to rethink his thoughts about leaving the profession. Good teachers shouldn't feel like they need to leave the profession because of poor administrative or budgetary decisions. That he found the conference invigorating is wonderful. I am glad for him and for his students, and hope he really does stick with it. He's the kind of teacher we want in our schools; the others mentioned above...not so much.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
One Size Does Not Fit All
Stick with me on this blog, please. It may seem at first that this is a real estate blog, and then I delve into individual learning styles, but the real point of this blog is that current standardized testing cannot be used as a tool to assess all teachers' abilities to teach.
The house across the street from ours was for sale. For a few months, there was a For Sale sign on the front lawn. At the beginning of December, the For Sale part of the sign was gone, but the agents' info part - the bigger part at the bottom - was still there. Right after Christmas, the sign had a top again. It read Sold. I noticed the 3 versions of the signs. My older son noticed the 3 versions of the signs. My husband and younger son didn't notice that the top part had been missing, or when the Sold sign went up. They were both surprised when I told them that the house had sold, even though the sign had been up for days. When I asked them, neither had noticed that the original top of the sign had been missing for 3 weeks.
It seemed to me that these changes would be hard to miss. The sign was directly across from our house, and easily visible when we'd drive to our house - from either direction.
This got me thinking. How was it that two smart guys could not notice something that seemed so completely conspicuous to me and Jacob? Individual differences. That's how. Everyone sees things differently. People like different things and accomplish similar tasks or goals through different methods.
Everyone learns differently, too. What might seem obvious to a teacher and half the class might not even be on the radar of the other half. One student learns best by listening; another by seeing; and yet another by doing. Many educators have caught on to this concept in the past decade or so. Classroom lessons and assessments include strategies and methods that allow students to learn and demonstrate learning in a variety of modalities.
So how is it then that standardized tests are administered only one way- paper and pencil - and typically only assess a few subjects, leaving many untouched? Every state has different assessment requirements for its public schools. In Pennsylvania, the annual standardized tests for grades 3-8 and 11 include reading and math. Writing and science get assessed three times during a student's 13 years from K to 12. PA's testing is fairly rigorous compared to other states' assessments. Some states don't evaluate writing or science, focusing exclusively on reading and math. What about history, foreign language, the arts, technology, etc? Why is writing only looked at 3 times, but reading is assessed 6 times? Isn't history important?
Politicians, education reformers, and many fed-up taxpayers advocate merit pay for teachers. I agree. Teachers and all school personnel should be paid based on performance, not just how many years they've been in the classroom. However, proponents of merit pay often include in merit pay a component that ties a teacher's students' standardized test scores to that teacher's salary increase. This post is not going to explore the many areas of concern regarding standardized testing, i.e. testing biases, the effects of outside influences on a student's progress or lack of progress, teaching to the test, and adults cheating for high-stakes tests. My focus is that the current system of testing just doesn't cut it for inclusion in merit pay.
Why? Many reasons. The tests are subject specific and leave out a good percentage of the subjects that a student learns at school. If there's no history assessment, what test results would be used for the history teacher's merit pay? And, there's no standardized testing in the primary grades (K to 2). What test results would be used for the 1st grade teacher's merit pay? And how about those Spanish teachers, art teachers, vocational teachers, special education teachers, etc?
If the tests don't include all subjects and all grade levels (and I am certainly not advocating for more standardized testing!), the merit pay systems that include tying standardized test results to individual teachers' raises overlook the fact that the education provided by many teachers isn't ever assessed via current standardized testing.
Back to my theses...current standardized testing cannot be used as a tool to assess all teachers' abilities to teach. Even without exploring the many areas of concern tied to standardized testing, it's simply not equitable to all teachers in a school or a district.
There's a posting on the Freakonomics' website debating the concept of teacher merit pay. Interesting reading if you've stuck with me this long.
The house across the street from ours was for sale. For a few months, there was a For Sale sign on the front lawn. At the beginning of December, the For Sale part of the sign was gone, but the agents' info part - the bigger part at the bottom - was still there. Right after Christmas, the sign had a top again. It read Sold. I noticed the 3 versions of the signs. My older son noticed the 3 versions of the signs. My husband and younger son didn't notice that the top part had been missing, or when the Sold sign went up. They were both surprised when I told them that the house had sold, even though the sign had been up for days. When I asked them, neither had noticed that the original top of the sign had been missing for 3 weeks.
It seemed to me that these changes would be hard to miss. The sign was directly across from our house, and easily visible when we'd drive to our house - from either direction.
This got me thinking. How was it that two smart guys could not notice something that seemed so completely conspicuous to me and Jacob? Individual differences. That's how. Everyone sees things differently. People like different things and accomplish similar tasks or goals through different methods.
Everyone learns differently, too. What might seem obvious to a teacher and half the class might not even be on the radar of the other half. One student learns best by listening; another by seeing; and yet another by doing. Many educators have caught on to this concept in the past decade or so. Classroom lessons and assessments include strategies and methods that allow students to learn and demonstrate learning in a variety of modalities.
So how is it then that standardized tests are administered only one way- paper and pencil - and typically only assess a few subjects, leaving many untouched? Every state has different assessment requirements for its public schools. In Pennsylvania, the annual standardized tests for grades 3-8 and 11 include reading and math. Writing and science get assessed three times during a student's 13 years from K to 12. PA's testing is fairly rigorous compared to other states' assessments. Some states don't evaluate writing or science, focusing exclusively on reading and math. What about history, foreign language, the arts, technology, etc? Why is writing only looked at 3 times, but reading is assessed 6 times? Isn't history important?
Politicians, education reformers, and many fed-up taxpayers advocate merit pay for teachers. I agree. Teachers and all school personnel should be paid based on performance, not just how many years they've been in the classroom. However, proponents of merit pay often include in merit pay a component that ties a teacher's students' standardized test scores to that teacher's salary increase. This post is not going to explore the many areas of concern regarding standardized testing, i.e. testing biases, the effects of outside influences on a student's progress or lack of progress, teaching to the test, and adults cheating for high-stakes tests. My focus is that the current system of testing just doesn't cut it for inclusion in merit pay.
Why? Many reasons. The tests are subject specific and leave out a good percentage of the subjects that a student learns at school. If there's no history assessment, what test results would be used for the history teacher's merit pay? And, there's no standardized testing in the primary grades (K to 2). What test results would be used for the 1st grade teacher's merit pay? And how about those Spanish teachers, art teachers, vocational teachers, special education teachers, etc?
If the tests don't include all subjects and all grade levels (and I am certainly not advocating for more standardized testing!), the merit pay systems that include tying standardized test results to individual teachers' raises overlook the fact that the education provided by many teachers isn't ever assessed via current standardized testing.
Back to my theses...current standardized testing cannot be used as a tool to assess all teachers' abilities to teach. Even without exploring the many areas of concern tied to standardized testing, it's simply not equitable to all teachers in a school or a district.
There's a posting on the Freakonomics' website debating the concept of teacher merit pay. Interesting reading if you've stuck with me this long.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Parents And (Not Versus) The School
A guy once said to me, "Damn parents get in the way of educating these kids." Those of you who work with me can probably easily guess the speaker. While his comment was mostly said in jest, there's some truth to it. Twenty years ago, when I was first teaching kindergarten, I would have argued against the comment. My reply would have been a dropped jaw; and I would have defended parents and how necessary they are to a child's success. I'm older and a bit wiser now and realize nuance is needed when describing the parent/school relationship. Parents certainly are an important component to a child's education, but on some occasions the parent's actions make developing a positive home/school relationship a challenge.
Below is a short list of nutty things I have seen parents do or say. I include this list so those not involved in education can get an idea of some of the things not related to actually educating kids that schools have to handle.
1. Bang a u-turn in the middle of a school driveway to butt ahead in the dismissal line...in front of 50 sane parents patiently waiting their turn. Then while refusing to get back in their place in line say to a school administrator, "I'm going to hit you" (with her giant SUV).
2. Inform the school, "Johnny won't be coming to kindergarten there. We let him choose his school and he picked the other one." Johnny is 5 years old for crying out loud!
3. Arrive at school to pick up a student without the parent pick-up placard. Then refuse to show ID to office staff (the simple alternative when you don't have the placard), and tell school staff in front of the student, while pulling away from school "I'm not going in and showing ID, you can just keep him."
4. Shove a grandmom, with a walker, out of the way in order to get a seat at the winter concert.
I'm fortunate that the parents at my school are overwhelmingly supportive of our efforts and not, as a group, senseless or impractical. I'm continually amazed at their good spirits and generosity. However, it only takes a few loons and interactions like the ones above to make educators start to question why they remain in education. How can a teacher be expected to create a home/school partnership beneficial to the student when the "home" just doesn't understand the role of a parent?
Parents - here's what you can do to help:
1. Be rational. Ask for explanations when something seems stupid to you. Don't assume that the school or the teacher is simply out to make your day more miserable.
2. Read the information sent home or emailed out by your child's school. The school doesn't spend hours putting together communications about irrelevant stuff. Assume that if it's important enough for the school to compose and distribute, it is important enough for you to review.
3. Follow school procedures. Again, don't assume that the school or the teacher is simply out to make your day more miserable by asking you to do something. School procedures and rules are almost uniformly in place to ensure the safety of the students, which includes your own child.
4. Be polite. There's an idiom about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar...not that anyone really wants flies, but you get the idea. Be nice, treat school staff with respect and kindness and respect will come back to you.
Teachers and school employees, here's what we can do:
1. Speak in regular English, not education jargon. Parents get intimidated when we start throwing around terms like NOREP, NCLB, IEP, brain-based instruction, etc. Think about being at the doctor's office when the doctor is explaining something to you. You want the doc to use real words, not medical mumbo-jumbo.
2. Assume that every parent wants the best for his/her child. Don't assume that a parents is disinterested because he/she was a no-show for a conference or missed their child's presentation. There are plenty of valid reasons that cause plans to change, and some families don't have a support system in place necessary to mitigate the negative impacts of life on their child. Remember to extend a helping hand to families who struggle with the parent/school relationship. Explain things, provide reminders, demonstrate grace, and keep the best interest of the student in mind at all times.
3. Invite parents to be a part of the classroom and the school's activities. Not just author's teas, plays and concerts, but the everyday stuff. Parents who participate in their child's school are showing their kids the value they place on education, and it's easier to have a relationship with a parent who you see or talk with regularly.
4. Be polite. (see #4 above) Be nice, treat parents with respect and kindness and respect will come back to you.
Basically, as long as schools are going to be educating kids...the parents are part of the package. A valuable part of the package. Let's treat them as such, and always keep the best interest of the kids in our minds...no matter how loony the action of an individual parent.
Below is a short list of nutty things I have seen parents do or say. I include this list so those not involved in education can get an idea of some of the things not related to actually educating kids that schools have to handle.
1. Bang a u-turn in the middle of a school driveway to butt ahead in the dismissal line...in front of 50 sane parents patiently waiting their turn. Then while refusing to get back in their place in line say to a school administrator, "I'm going to hit you" (with her giant SUV).
2. Inform the school, "Johnny won't be coming to kindergarten there. We let him choose his school and he picked the other one." Johnny is 5 years old for crying out loud!
3. Arrive at school to pick up a student without the parent pick-up placard. Then refuse to show ID to office staff (the simple alternative when you don't have the placard), and tell school staff in front of the student, while pulling away from school "I'm not going in and showing ID, you can just keep him."
4. Shove a grandmom, with a walker, out of the way in order to get a seat at the winter concert.
I'm fortunate that the parents at my school are overwhelmingly supportive of our efforts and not, as a group, senseless or impractical. I'm continually amazed at their good spirits and generosity. However, it only takes a few loons and interactions like the ones above to make educators start to question why they remain in education. How can a teacher be expected to create a home/school partnership beneficial to the student when the "home" just doesn't understand the role of a parent?
Parents - here's what you can do to help:
1. Be rational. Ask for explanations when something seems stupid to you. Don't assume that the school or the teacher is simply out to make your day more miserable.
2. Read the information sent home or emailed out by your child's school. The school doesn't spend hours putting together communications about irrelevant stuff. Assume that if it's important enough for the school to compose and distribute, it is important enough for you to review.
3. Follow school procedures. Again, don't assume that the school or the teacher is simply out to make your day more miserable by asking you to do something. School procedures and rules are almost uniformly in place to ensure the safety of the students, which includes your own child.
4. Be polite. There's an idiom about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar...not that anyone really wants flies, but you get the idea. Be nice, treat school staff with respect and kindness and respect will come back to you.
Teachers and school employees, here's what we can do:
1. Speak in regular English, not education jargon. Parents get intimidated when we start throwing around terms like NOREP, NCLB, IEP, brain-based instruction, etc. Think about being at the doctor's office when the doctor is explaining something to you. You want the doc to use real words, not medical mumbo-jumbo.
2. Assume that every parent wants the best for his/her child. Don't assume that a parents is disinterested because he/she was a no-show for a conference or missed their child's presentation. There are plenty of valid reasons that cause plans to change, and some families don't have a support system in place necessary to mitigate the negative impacts of life on their child. Remember to extend a helping hand to families who struggle with the parent/school relationship. Explain things, provide reminders, demonstrate grace, and keep the best interest of the student in mind at all times.
3. Invite parents to be a part of the classroom and the school's activities. Not just author's teas, plays and concerts, but the everyday stuff. Parents who participate in their child's school are showing their kids the value they place on education, and it's easier to have a relationship with a parent who you see or talk with regularly.
4. Be polite. (see #4 above) Be nice, treat parents with respect and kindness and respect will come back to you.
Basically, as long as schools are going to be educating kids...the parents are part of the package. A valuable part of the package. Let's treat them as such, and always keep the best interest of the kids in our minds...no matter how loony the action of an individual parent.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thinking of summer while fighting with a still undefrosted turkey
I love summer, it's my favorite season. Jumping in the pool on a hot summer's night for a night swim; laying in the hammock reading a book while the sun beats down; heading to the beach and swimming for hours in the salt water; not having to remind my younger son to do his homework; not having to eat breakfast with my 2 kids and my husband...
In the summer, I work, but my 2 kids are off from school and my husband, a teacher, is also off. So I get to have breakfast in peace and freaking quiet. No arguing about why there's no more lunch meat or rolls for the lunch they should have packed the night before. No yelling about who's using the hot water and causing a cold shower for someone else. Just me and Olive, our one-eyed, 11-year old dog. Olive gives no grief in the morning. She's just happy someone is feeding her.
Anyway, I get it. Summer is good. I almost feel like I'm betraying my favorite time of year with this post. But, 10 to 12 weeks off from school in the summer is not good. It might be fun, but it's not something that is is good for public education. Some kids get to do amazing new things during this break. Many don't though. I think I'll be bold and say most don't. Many spend the summer wallowing with minimal supervision in front of a plethora of screens. They spend their summers loosing skills and knowledge that they gained over the previous school year. Without regular practice of the skills, the skills simply fade. And teachers waste weeks at the start of each school year reteaching stuff that students did know how to do before they ran out of school at the end of the preceding school year.
Why do we have this long summer vacation? There's no good reason. It is, as it is, simply because it has been. And change is needed.
What change is needed? Shorter summer vacations. Before my teacher friends start in on how teachers and kids need time to recharge, and the break is important, etc. Let's just say right now, yes, breaks are needed...kids and teachers require time apart. Teachers need time to re-energize. Schools need down time. But, not 10 to 12 weeks in one clip at the expense of our students' learning.
The ideal would be a more continuous school year with a number of 2 to 3 week breaks throughout the year, with no long summer break. To implement this, a retooling of the entire education, day care, summer camp, vacation, graduate school, etc. system would be needed. Too ambitious at first? Maybe. Instead, how about a shorter summer - maybe 7 or 8 weeks, and more days in each school year? This change is certainly better than keeping the status quo.
Don't envision yourself changing the system? What can you do instead? Here's the thing that everyone can do. When a kid tells you that they are heading back to school on August 15th (or any date) - don't groan. Don't sympathize with their imagined impending doom. Don't nod encouragingly and share how much you hated to go back to school. Be positive! Express gladness that they are getting educated. Ask them to share something they are excited about in the coming year. Share something about school or learning that you enjoyed. If that doesn't work (and it probably won't with a middle school child), guilt them - tell them about poor kids all over the world who don't even get an education and get to pick rice stooped over for 17 hours a day. Tell them they are lucky to be getting a free education that many in the world would fight to have access to. It may seem corny, but if we all started doing it...it might just be the encouragement that some students need to head back to school with a positive attitude for a change.
In the summer, I work, but my 2 kids are off from school and my husband, a teacher, is also off. So I get to have breakfast in peace and freaking quiet. No arguing about why there's no more lunch meat or rolls for the lunch they should have packed the night before. No yelling about who's using the hot water and causing a cold shower for someone else. Just me and Olive, our one-eyed, 11-year old dog. Olive gives no grief in the morning. She's just happy someone is feeding her.
Anyway, I get it. Summer is good. I almost feel like I'm betraying my favorite time of year with this post. But, 10 to 12 weeks off from school in the summer is not good. It might be fun, but it's not something that is is good for public education. Some kids get to do amazing new things during this break. Many don't though. I think I'll be bold and say most don't. Many spend the summer wallowing with minimal supervision in front of a plethora of screens. They spend their summers loosing skills and knowledge that they gained over the previous school year. Without regular practice of the skills, the skills simply fade. And teachers waste weeks at the start of each school year reteaching stuff that students did know how to do before they ran out of school at the end of the preceding school year.
Why do we have this long summer vacation? There's no good reason. It is, as it is, simply because it has been. And change is needed.
What change is needed? Shorter summer vacations. Before my teacher friends start in on how teachers and kids need time to recharge, and the break is important, etc. Let's just say right now, yes, breaks are needed...kids and teachers require time apart. Teachers need time to re-energize. Schools need down time. But, not 10 to 12 weeks in one clip at the expense of our students' learning.
The ideal would be a more continuous school year with a number of 2 to 3 week breaks throughout the year, with no long summer break. To implement this, a retooling of the entire education, day care, summer camp, vacation, graduate school, etc. system would be needed. Too ambitious at first? Maybe. Instead, how about a shorter summer - maybe 7 or 8 weeks, and more days in each school year? This change is certainly better than keeping the status quo.
Don't envision yourself changing the system? What can you do instead? Here's the thing that everyone can do. When a kid tells you that they are heading back to school on August 15th (or any date) - don't groan. Don't sympathize with their imagined impending doom. Don't nod encouragingly and share how much you hated to go back to school. Be positive! Express gladness that they are getting educated. Ask them to share something they are excited about in the coming year. Share something about school or learning that you enjoyed. If that doesn't work (and it probably won't with a middle school child), guilt them - tell them about poor kids all over the world who don't even get an education and get to pick rice stooped over for 17 hours a day. Tell them they are lucky to be getting a free education that many in the world would fight to have access to. It may seem corny, but if we all started doing it...it might just be the encouragement that some students need to head back to school with a positive attitude for a change.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Mrs. Tucholski Died Last Week
Mrs. Tucholski was one of my 4th grade teachers. I had plenty of stinky teachers from K to 12, but she was one of the best - in the top 3 from K to 12. I'm sure some of the stinky ones will show up here on Change Works at some point. Mrs. T died last week of a brain hemorrhage or something or another - very sudden and unexpected. Hearing of her passing reminded me of our most recent conversation. We bumped into each other at Wegmans (the best supermarket on the planet) a few months back. As we were catching up with each other she told me that she had been following my school. Her exact words, "you're doing good over there with that charter school, dearie." That I had pleased Mrs. Tucholski...that I had made her proud - wow! Even though I'm 41 years old and 31 years from her classroom, it felt good. She wasn't one of those gushy teachers who praise kids for simply breathing. Her praise had to be earned. It was a feel good moment, right there next to the bags of potatoes and onions. I invited her to come and take a tour, maybe volunteer, or share some of her expertise with our teachers. Wished it would have happened before she died.
Mrs. T was smart; she didn't stand still and she wasn't boring. A snazzy dresser and pretty darn tall, she stood out where ever she was. As a teacher, she kept the classroom lively and fresh. She did hands-on education before it was a buzz word. She recognized and met individual needs before the popularization of the term differentiation. For her teaching was instinctual.
Public education needs more teachers like her - smart and caring. Too often teachers care about their students, but can't figure out how to effectively teach them. Or, the teacher is smart and knows the subject matter, but doesn't care that they aren't reaching the kids in their classes. And, because of the systems in place, these teachers get lumped in with the Mrs. Ts out there. Same time in the classroom and same education level equals the same salary...no matter that the Mrs. Ts are being impactful and the others are not.
What to do about this? Teachers need to be held to actual performance standards tied to their compensation. Teachers' salaries need to be like other professionals' salaries - the better you are, the better you're paid. If you aren't that great, your salary reflects that and if you really stink up the works, you get the boot! We can't control the starting "product" that a school receives when a 5-year-old arrives for kindergarten, and a school certainly can't dictate one pace of learning for all students. Kids are not widgets and school is not an assembly line. However, we can expect teachers to meet kids where they are and continuously guide them to acquire skills and knowledge. It's not simple, and it's not easy. That's why we need smart and caring teaching professionals whose salary is a reflection of their performance. Scattered schools across the country are doing this, and some school districts are trying as well. Here in PA, it will be quite a battle to get performance pay in public schools as the teachers' union is a pretty strong foe, but it needs to happen. We owe this to all the Mrs. Ts out there who work their butts off for their students and continue to be paid the same amount as the slacker down the hall from them.
Mrs. T was smart; she didn't stand still and she wasn't boring. A snazzy dresser and pretty darn tall, she stood out where ever she was. As a teacher, she kept the classroom lively and fresh. She did hands-on education before it was a buzz word. She recognized and met individual needs before the popularization of the term differentiation. For her teaching was instinctual.
Public education needs more teachers like her - smart and caring. Too often teachers care about their students, but can't figure out how to effectively teach them. Or, the teacher is smart and knows the subject matter, but doesn't care that they aren't reaching the kids in their classes. And, because of the systems in place, these teachers get lumped in with the Mrs. Ts out there. Same time in the classroom and same education level equals the same salary...no matter that the Mrs. Ts are being impactful and the others are not.
What to do about this? Teachers need to be held to actual performance standards tied to their compensation. Teachers' salaries need to be like other professionals' salaries - the better you are, the better you're paid. If you aren't that great, your salary reflects that and if you really stink up the works, you get the boot! We can't control the starting "product" that a school receives when a 5-year-old arrives for kindergarten, and a school certainly can't dictate one pace of learning for all students. Kids are not widgets and school is not an assembly line. However, we can expect teachers to meet kids where they are and continuously guide them to acquire skills and knowledge. It's not simple, and it's not easy. That's why we need smart and caring teaching professionals whose salary is a reflection of their performance. Scattered schools across the country are doing this, and some school districts are trying as well. Here in PA, it will be quite a battle to get performance pay in public schools as the teachers' union is a pretty strong foe, but it needs to happen. We owe this to all the Mrs. Ts out there who work their butts off for their students and continue to be paid the same amount as the slacker down the hall from them.
Monday, November 7, 2011
An introduction
As a kid and teen, writing was nothing but a chore...a terrible chore; one that included 2 dreaded tasks - spelling things correctly and handwriting neatly. That's what school taught me was important about writing. Nothing about conveying your message to the reader; not sharing something you are passionate about. What a waste. Then came Dr. Machon's writing class in college. He kicked my butt and taught me to stop worrying about things that an editor can take care of...just be a writer.
This blog site allows me to be just that, a writer. I hope I convey my message in a manner that shares my excitement for the good that change can bring to public education, and of course, I do hope you enjoy reading this. Maybe you'll even promote some change after reading it.
This blog site allows me to be just that, a writer. I hope I convey my message in a manner that shares my excitement for the good that change can bring to public education, and of course, I do hope you enjoy reading this. Maybe you'll even promote some change after reading it.
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