By some strange coincidence, Teacher Appreciation Week coincides with National Charter School Week.
Bear in mind that almost 90% of charters are non-union, that charters may fire teachers at will, that charter teachers do not have tenure, that many charters are known for high teacher turnover due to the stress of longer school days, and that many do not hire certified teachers. In some states, like Ohio, charter teachers earn half as much as public school teachers, because the charter teachers are typically younger and less experienced.
Just thinking about that when I read President Obama’s proclamation.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
You know, for a lifelong Democrat, I never thought I’d say this, I’ll never vote the Party line again until somebody with a brain is running. Christ I may switch parties……. And to think I voted for this guy twice.
I know just how you feel. After the mayoral primary here in NYC, I will switch to Independent. Obama was just the lesser of 2 evils, but now he is messing with Social Security and Medicare and that scares me just as much. Read Game Change to learn just how manipulative the Dems are. Obama was anointed as a way to get rid of Hillary.
Hindsight is 20-20, and I was on the Obama bandwagon. Now I so wish Hillary had received the nomination. This old dog is learning new tricks.
We need a new party that represents the 99%. Both parties represent the 1%.
absolutely.
Yes.
I know how you feel tuppercooks and schoolgal. I just submitted the following as a comment on the White House web site:
“Dear Sir:
Why do you hate public school teachers so much? Did you have any idea that this is Teacher Appreciation Week already? Why did you proclaim this week to be Charter School Appreciation Week? You must not have any conception of charter schools and how they do not work for children.
By the way, I sat frozen for many hours on a stone monument next to the WWII Memorial for your first inauguration. I was proud that we had finally elected an African American for President. But with your assault on public schools and their teachers these past 4.5 years, I will be changing my political party from Democrat to Independent.
Public School Teacher
Beautiful.
Thank you for that email. But Obama’s legacy will not only be the ruination of public ed, but the ruination of the Democratic party. What gave rise to the Tea Party?? Why did Pelosi and Obama tell Congress to vote for Obamacare even if it meant losing their seats? They not only lost their seats, but the Tea Party won them. Obama and Axelrod didn’t take this group seriously which proves how out of touch they are. Now if teachers could only start a new political group. The Chalk Party…..and run for office.
Hillary’s daughter hosted the Education Nation tour. Aren’t you a little skeptical of Hillary? I am. If I hear her utter the word “choice” in education I will not vote for her.
Absolutely!! I no longer trust any politician. And Hillary has a close alliance with Randi Weingarten. We already know Randi is on the Reform Bandwagon. So why would Hillary even consider changing course.
Instead of going independent, I hope you and others will join the Green Party, America’s only non-corporate political party. Greens in Illinois stood on the front lines during the CTU strike and stand firmly against privatization. Be part of the solution, not the corporate dominated problem.
The most insulting part of that proclamation is when he says charter teachers can be innovative (which btw is bull because many have scripted lessons) and share what they learned with the public schools. Public school teachers would love to be innovative, but Duncan won’t allow it.
This is the 2nd year in a row he has made this proclamation without recognizing it’s also National Teacher Appreciation Week. Both he and Duncan love turning that knife deeper into the backs of public schools and their teachers. This is why it was wrong for both unions to endorse him before getting one thing in return—RESPECT!!
Jose Vilson piece on Teacher Appreciation Week is the best blog post I’ve read on Teacher Appreciation.
In addition to the “innovation” at the charter schools, Success Academy Charter Schools seems to think that 2 to 3 years experience for a Lead teacher is good enough for kids…
Here’s an bit of their currently posted help wanted ad at:
http://www.simplyhired.com/job-id/ampgestnyw/open-house-jobs/
Open House: Lead Teacher
Company: Success Academy
Location: New York, NY
Date Posted: May 08, 2013
Greetings! Success Academy invites you to attend one of our open houses coming up in just a few weeks! If you are a teacher with 2-3 years of experience join us to Meet and Greet with current Success Academy teachers and leaders.
How many years’ experience do you need to be a lead teacher at a NYC public (i.e. non-charter) school?
@flerper-25 minutes is usually sufficient.
Yes, Miss Marianne, and this “2 to 3 years experience” hiring is, unfortunately, holding true for some public schools, as well. Additionally, I would warn these teachers not to expect to stay many years, either–tenure is becoming a term of the past, and many districts (states) do not want to give teachers enough years to be eligible for a pension.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, y’all!
That is super common in charters. The staff has tremendous turnover so three yrs is about the max on the staff. It’s all a charade.
Do you have a link for the Jose Vilson piece on Teacher Appreciation Week? Would love to see it. Thanks.
Due to having the world’s most ancient browser, I can’t link directly to the article from my work computer, but it’s the next to last link here: http://cps299.wordpress.com/ (BTW, this blog itself is well worth a read, even for non-CPS folks.)
Here is Jose’s piece. Please don’t just share it on your FB page, but print it out and share it with all your staff. We can do the same with posts from Diane. If teachers are not aware, we can make them aware.
http://www.good.is/posts/if-america-s-serious-about-appreciating-teachers-here-s-what-it-takes
“(which btw is bull because many have scripted lessons)”
I am very curious about this – how can I get my hands on such a script, preferably for a math lesson?
Do you really want a scripted math lesson?? They are horrible. Elementary level have used Trailblazers and Everyday Math, I hated these lessons. There was no continuity between concepts.
The best way to teach a math lesson is to first understand the concept yourself. There are so many fun activities I used to use before I had to tie my hands on this crap.
I completely agree with you on how math should be taught!
However I would still like to have a copy of the actual script that some teachers are forced to use, so that I can give concrete examples when trying to explain to other parents how bad things are.
PLEASE TAKE THIS POLL FOR MY BOOK “TEACHING IN 2013”. THANK YOU. I NEED 1000 PEOPLE AGAINST THESE RIDICULOUS TESTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH MY BOOK AND WITH THE PUBLICITY! PLEASE! THANK YOU!
DO YOU AGREE WITH STANDARDIZED TESTING FOR CHILDREN?
_______I’M A PARENT AND I DISAGREE
_______I’M A PARENT AND I AGREE
_______I’M A TEACHER AND I AGREE
_______I’M A TEACHER AND I DISAGREE
_______I AGREE
______I DISAGREE
Please send your answers to garychatty@aol.com, privately.
https://apps.facebook.com/polldaddy-polls/?view=poll&id=7053790
I HATE TO BE A TWIT, BUT IN THIS CASE I DO AGREE WITH YOUR OVERALL GOAL SO I WILL OFFER SOME FREE ADVICE. IF YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY, YOU SHOULD REALLY STOP TYPING IN ALL CAPS.
ron- you crack me up!
Yeah, charter schools “allow” teachers to be more “innovative.” Seriously, how is a non-certified teacher going to “innovate” learning or education?
I keep telling everyone there is NO innovation in the classrooms. The “innovation” involves figuring out how to funnel money to the CEO.
Reading the announcement, I felt that teachers had been slapped in the face. If the President and Arne Duncan want to salute Charter Schools, doing so during Teacher Appreciation Week shows an amazing insensitivity to or ignorance of the impact of charter schools on the education of our children and on the professional stature of teachers in this nation. Shame on you, President Obama and on the advisors who created this recognition during this week. Actions speak louder than words. The timing of this action strengthens my view that this administration is not supportive of public education and that it plays to the for-profit reformers.
Can we start a National Write the POTUS and Sec. Ed. an Admonishing Letter Week?
All kidding aside, what would happen if tens of thousands ( if not millions) of teachers, parents and administrators took the time to write the higher ups? Imagine truck loads of hate mail coming everyday for months on end. All it would take is the price of a stamp and a little time each week.
Petitions, letter writing campaigns, good old (real ) grassroots lobbying, public shaming of senators, billboards exposing the lies etc….
Why are we not doing this now? What exactly are our unions doing?
I can only speak for NYSUT- Other than paying lip service to teachers and allowing them to vent in “Tell it Like it Is ” forums, not much is happening. Our fearless leader Dick Ianuzzi cut a backroom deal last year with the Cuomo administration to allow the APPR crap to be implemented. The wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round (over
teachers….)
Bob: Been there, done that!! We had an email and letter writing campaign and a weekly phone call campaign state by state. These were advertised here and on many ed Facebook pages. The result of the letter writing campaign (many of those letters were reposted by Diane) was a form letter extolling RTTT. So taking the “nice” road is not the answer. It’s time for a mass protest!!
Charter schools seem to be the only issue with bipartisan support. President Obama’s education policies are a huge disappointment.
Bob: What schoolgal said, plus what I’ve said time and again–
FORGET writing POTUS & Duncan–they DO NOT care, nor will they even see the letters, e-mails, whatever. Our tax $$ are being wasted on people who have been specifically hired (and no offense intended toward these people) to answer letters to them.
Actions speak louder than words, so act locally and make education changes starting in your community. RUN for local offices. Join organizations–numbers of people affect change.
Participate in protests, leaflet/flyer pass outs, meetings (speak up!),phone calling and door-to-door campaigning. Because…
yes, WE can!
It was no coincidence, so incredibly bold. He’s just made things crystal clear at least, now we know exactly where the big push is coming from for sure.
Someone looked it up and this was started in the Bush administration, but Obama has been rubbing it in our faces for the last 2 years.
Yahoo News did a piece on how TFA is celebrating this week in California. They are holding fundraisers to benefit themselves selling things with their LOGO. I suppose the millions and millions they have gotten from Duncan, Walton, Gates, etal isn’t enough appreciation. They are now marketing their brand.
Oh my goodness, saw on twitter that TFA had fundraisers in Chicago and New York City tonight too. That must be what it’s all about, ugh! The NYC fundraiser alone raised over $6.7 MILLION. And it will NOT go to help kids, it will all go to TFA the organization. #Screaming
Why won’t some charters hire certified teachers? Because of unions?
So teacher training is a mark against those seeking charter positions? Is that right?
Unions are part of it. But hiring TFA for instance allows a district or charter to keep salaries low every 2 years. However, charters are trying to find ways to have laws passed that allow for “alternate certification” like the 5-weeks TFA gets to qualify them.
I know many parents that are already confused by Everyday Math. You should start there by getting your hands their curriculum. Some schools are now turning away from EDM, I suppose the scores are proving this isn’t the right approach.
schoolgal: FYI–Everyday Math is good for students who are already math advanced, as well as English advanced (because there’s a LOT of reading/analysis involved), but does NOT work well with children who struggle in either area. (I actually had kids so frustrated with it that they would cry.) The methods of problem solving are often convoluted. I had the opportunity to both use it as a teacher with struggling math students, as well as a parent with a gifted student. It is one of those one size does NOT fit all programs. I know my district finally dropped it (after spending all that $$!) I think the district that my child attended also dropped it.
However, this was a long time ago, so I’m sorry to hear that it’s still being used! Note: it was conceived at the University of Chicago, for those who don’t know.
I’ve been an educator in Columbus, Ohio since university. In my 8th year, I currently earn 34,000 before taxes at a 9-12 charter school. I can be fired at any time. I have no tenure, no union, and scarce resources to teach. I also act as a librarian, though I wear no such title nor do I earn pay for wearing this hat. Students come in and depart through a revolving door of enrollment procedures I am not privy to. I’ve seen two administrators at two different charter schools resign because they were stealing. One continues his work at another charter in the city. My family needs the money I earn, so I must teach, but I just pray a public school gives me a chance.
Mr. __________: I am so sorry to hear this. Little comfort, but you must know that you ARE appreciated–by your students and by your parents. You might not want to get what you wish for–as everywhere else, the public schools are pretty much in a state of siege and turmoil–tenure–where it still exists–is not easily won, testing is the new curriculum and teacher-bashing is rampant. (So, be careful what you wish for!)
Having said that, perhaps a good fit for you would be a private or a parochial school, especially the latter. As a resource teacher, I had the good fortune–for a year–to service a student at a Catholic school. I found the experience to be a great way to start out my day–everyone–and I mean everyone–was very respectful of one another, and very dedicated to teaching and learning. The ONLY test that was given during the year was the Terra Nova, which is consumable (part of the reason publics don’t use it–VERY expensive) but, as such,easily read/utilized by all levels. (My student ACED it!)
So–just a thought for your next step. Hope this was helpful (and not discouraging.)
Happy Teachers’ Appreciation Week!
Mr. I know how you feel. My brother worked in a charter in Columbus that paid 32,000 a year and the sleazebag CEO was trying to make teachers go door to door to attract students. Of course there was massive staff turnover. He told me the CEO owns a Learjet and was going to own the building in five years. All from our tax dollars!!! By the way, that same sleazy operator took control of a down and out district in Muskegon, Michigan. Guess what? They got 8 million up front guaranteed. Thank you Obama from bringing such wonderful education standards to America. One good thing, my brother did get hired into a public school. Hopefully you will too. Teachers everywhere need to band together and put an end to this. Good luck. Charters are nightmares.
I was embarrassed for him reading it.
President Obama may prefer charter schools over public schools if he pleases, but the statements he makes on his educational initiatives are just poorly informed.
No mention of for-profit charters, when 80% of Michigan charters are for-profit and there’s a huge K-12 education industry now in Ohio and Florida. This is just fact. It’s not a matter of opinion. There are no for-profit public schools. This is a HUGE difference.
No mention of the national charter chains and the EMOs, with this nonsense of small neighborhood charter schools “innovating”. There’s nothing small or innovative about the national chains, and there’s nothing imaginative about uniforms and having children walk in lines in the hall along a piece of tape or remain silent until they’re addressed. My father did all that at his public grammar school in Pennsylvania, and he’s almost 90 years old. This isn’t “new”. It’s old.
President Obama either doesn’t know what he’s talking about or is deliberately deceiving people, because his statements just have nothing to do with reality.
I honestly wish he’d stop talking about education completely. It’s obviously not an area of interest for him.
I’ve thought the same thing about Obama. I’ve really begun to think he is just an empty suit. These people never talk to real teachers or educators. What would he know. He dines with super wealthy people and other people who are out to make profits off of children. The man is clueless.
He knows excatly what he’s doing. It’s just difficult for people to believe that he is intentionally destroying the public schools. He cares about himself and the money he plans to make when he leaves office. That’s it.
I have to say, too, I get a huge kick out of the fact that charter employees are organizing, even it is only 10% and even if charter operators fight it tooth and nail despite their claims that they aren’t anti-labor.
Amusing.
I also really like the fact that lawyers for charter schools argue that charter schools are NOT public but instead PRIVATE when they’re petitioning courts to deny the right of their employees to organize. They’re public when it comes to funding, but private when it comes to employee rights. Some racket they have going!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/02/1175897/-Labor-board-decides-Chicago-charter-school-is-really-private-subject-to-private-sector-laws
Huge issue, whether charters are public or private, yet this court case got virtually zero media attention. According to charter school lawyers, charter schools are private! Who knew? Not President Obama, apparently.
And I am not one to poo poo these ideas. Maybe not enough emails were sent when Diane launched that campaign. But the response I got from the WH was horrible.
This is why I think the next campaign has to be people oriented-with large numbers–across the USA so the media would have to report on it,
I’m currently doing my student teaching at a charter school, and I already hate it after being there for only three days. They treat the kids like they are in the military and there is no creativity. All they care about are the data scores.
I would also like to add that it is an all-boys charter school, and they only get 10 minutes for recess. I hope one day that all charter policies are discontinued and the schools are dismantled…
Is it for profit?
It’s a non-profit charter.
Are you sure it is non-profit? Some say they are non-profit but funnel money in created ways. I’ve worked in a school like that and morale is super low and turnover super high. It is not a proper education. Does it involve minority children?
OK I wish he would just go now and move to his dream home in HI. He’s done, what does he care now? It’s going to be a long 3 years. 3 more YEARS!!
Reading these comments reminds me why educators are still my favorite people. We are, by nature (most of us) kind to a fault. No one mentioned that although Obama appears to heart charters, he knows he will never, ever have to consider sending his kids to one.
By the way, he also hearts drones that terrorize Muslim countries, updating his “Kill lists”, unchecked military spending and endless, pointless Pentagon waste, and illegal detention of innocent people in Guantanamo who are now committing suicide by starvation.
“School Privatization Week?” Another perplexing proclamation from the President we never thought could be so tone-deaf.
Now we know.
One one hand, HispanEduca is enormously disappointed with President Obama’s charter week proclamation while completely ignoring teachers, evidence that he is not really supporting public education.
On the other, not disappointed at all, in fact, almost knew it was coming, given the fact that the person he appointed as Secretary of Education was, 1) neither successful nor committed to education at his post as Chicago’s Education chief, and 2) all this time Duncan has just been getting ready for his well-paid and powerful (even more so than being DOE’s Sec) role as, first, a BOD member of a “nonprofit” education organization that is making millions with the standardized testing frenzy practice claiming it is “helping people achieve education and workplace success,” to land an even more profitable appointment.
Next time a President appoints a DOE’s Secretary, let’s give the candidates a standardized test.
Dan,
I am not sure if your comment is serious or a joke.
Amazing!!! Many public school teachers aren’t even allowed to have fundraisers.