Archives for the month of: September, 2014
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New York Educators Struggle to Make Sense of Teacher Evaluations

By dianeravitch
September 14, 2014 //
84

Educators in Néw York are trying to make sense of the state’s evaluation system. The formula is supposed to consist of observations (60%); state scores (20%); and local assessments (20%). Yet the results don’t line up with common sense or common knowledge.

Some principals seem to be giving higher observation scores to teachers they want to protect because they believe they are valuable and don’t want to lose them

“In Scarsdale, regarded as one of the best school systems in the country, no teacher has been rated “highly effective” in classroom observations. It is the only district in the Lower Hudson Valley with that strict an evaluation. In Pleasantville, 99 percent of the teachers are rated as “highly effective” in the same category.”

Charlotte Danielson, whose rubric is the basis forest teacher evaluation systems, called these results “laughable.”

“Pleasantville schools Superintendent Mary Fox-Alter defended her district’s classroom observation scores, which use the Danielson model — saying the state’s “flawed” model had forced districts to scale or bump up the scores so “effective” teachers don’t end up with a rating of “developing.”

What is truly laughable is the effort to turn the art and craft of teaching into a scaled metric, like weighing apples at the supermarket. What is essentially a matter of human judgment, based on experience and wisdom, cannot be measured and graded. Its results will always be flawed, and the very act of measuring the unmeasurable will change teacher behavior to conform to the scale. If all we want is higher scores, this might be a good way to get them. If we want inspired teaching, it is not.

Categories New York, Teacher Evaluations

Annie Tan Explains What’s Wrong with TFA

By dianeravitch
September 13, 2014 //
25

The most potent criticism of Teach for America comes from recruits who joined the corps, then discovered they were ill-prepared for the challenges of a high-needs classroom.

This letter from Annie Tan was posted on the blog “Cloaking Inequity,” which is Julian Vasquez Heilig’s blog.

She writes:

“I have had my gripes about TFA from sophomore year of college. Learning about the neoliberal education reform movement, lack of teachers of color in the profession, TFA’s support of charter schools, funding from questionable sources who may have ulterior motives in education other than the education of all students, factored into my criticism of TFA. I didn’t want to be a savior in education- I just wanted to teach. But I guess I did fall into a savior mentality as I joined- I thought I was going to be so much better, that I was going to save my students. I was very smug about it, until the realities of the first year beat me down.”

Annie taught in a Chicago charter school where most of the other teachers were TFA. It bothered her that the charter had displaced a beloved neighborhood public school. Parents realized that few of the teachers would stay for long. Annie came to see that she was not a savior.

Categories Teach for America

Peter Greene Explains How Education Got Politicized

By dianeravitch
September 13, 2014 //
40

Peter Greene has been following the conversation at EducationPost, the blog funded by Broad, Walton, Bloomberg et al for $12 million, he says that the new spin from reformsters is that education is too politicized. He agrees but asks how it got that way. Who took the decision making power away from educators and gave it to legislatures, governors, the President, and Comgress? Not educators.

Peter Greene knows who did it:

“As it turns out, I think I have an answer for this one. Asking why the Common Core are wrapped up in politics is like asking why human beings are so involved with blood.

“The Common Core were birthed in politics. They were weaned on politics. And every time they have looked tired and in trouble, they have been revived with a fresh transfusion of politics.

“When David Coleman and Gene Wilhoit decided they wanted to standardize American education, they did not come up with a plan to sell such a program on its education merits. They called on Bill Gates to use his money and power to convince state governments to legislate systemic changes to education.

“The states signed on to a Memo of Understanding (a political tool for out-politicking politics) and many of them did it before there were even any standards to look at. This was a political move, using the political power of legislatures and governors’ offices to impose rules on educational systems– in many cases, before educators in particular states even knew that such a systemic overhaul was being considered.

“Common Core’s Pappy, No Child Left Behind, was a creature of politics, right down to its spin-ready title. It was created to put a glossy shine on bipartisan action for the kids. Educators (and other people with rudimentary math skills) pointed out early on that the NCLB end game of 100% above average was ridiculously improbable, but the political shininess plus the political notion that future politicians would find a political solution drowned out good sense. Because, politics.”

He concludes:

“At no point in all this reformy baloney have we seen the spectacle of bottom-up reform, a reform movement driven by teachers and other educators saying, “Hey, we have some ideas that are so revolutionary and so great that they are spreading like wildfire strictly on their educational merits!”

“No– Common Core and its attendant test-driven high stakes data-glomming VAMboozling baloney have come from the top down, by politicians using political power to impose educational solutions through the political tools applied to the political structure of government. Why do people get the idea that all these reformy ideas are linked? Because they all come from the same place– the linkage is the political power that imposed them all on the American public education system.

“Look. We live in the real world and politics play a part in many things. But for some reformsters to offer wide eyes and shocked dismay and clutched pearls as they cry, “Oh, but why does it have to be so political!” is the height of hypocrisy. It’s political because you folks made it political, every step of the way, and it’s not humanly possible for you to be too dumb to know that (particularly at a site like Education Post that is larded with career political operatives). So if you want to have a serious conversation about any of this, Step One is top stop lying, badly, directly to our faces. I can’t hear you when my bullshit detector alarm is screaming in my ear.”

Categories Common Core, Duncan, Arne, Education Industry, Education Reform, NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Race to the Top

LA Times: Will Deasy Survive the iPad Fiasco?

By dianeravitch
September 13, 2014 //
37

Howard Blume and Teresa Watanabe of the Los Angeles Times describe the storm clouds gathered around Superintendent John Deasy. The problem is rooted in the peculiar bidding process for what will eventually be a $1.3 billion effort to give a computer to every student and staff member. Released emails showed that Deasy and his close associate Jaime Aquino (a former employees of Pearson) were in discussions about the bidding two years before the bidding began. After this revelation from the emails, which seemed to imply favoritism for Apple and Pearson, Deasy canceled and restarted the bidding.

 

Then Deasy asked for a release of all emails between board members and technology companies. Not exactly a way to build relationships, especially when four of the seven board members are not exactly Deasy supporters.

 

Deasy’s supporters say he is being targeted unfairly. Eli Broad says he is the best superintendent that he has seen in the half-century he has lived in Los Angeles.

 

Will he survive? Is his credibility compromised? Will he shift the blame to the board? Stay tuned for what is becoming a long-running drama.

 

 

Categories Education Reform

Jeannie Kaplan: School Starts Too Early

By dianeravitch
September 13, 2014 //
44

Jeannie Kaplan says that the best reform would be a later start to school. Why? Because teenagers biologically need to sleep later, and she has the research to prove it.

She writes:

“American teenagers suffer from a lack of sleep. Middle and high school students are chronically affected by this health risk. Obesity, depression, absenteeism and tardiness rise, academic performance and public safety fall due to sleepiness. Last month The American Association of Pediatricians (AAP) released a study documenting the severity of this epidemic. And to its credit, the AAP has proposed a solution: start middle and high school later in the morning. While most secondary schools start between 7:15 and 8:15, the AAP recommends a start time of no earlier than 8:30 for middle and high school. No surprise to those who have experienced and/or studied teenagers’ sleep patterns. Some secondary schools even offer classes during something called “zero” period which is an even earlier start to the school day and occurs before first period which as we have seen is often too early for students to be alert and “ready to learn.” One unintended ironic consequence of “zero” period is the actual amount of learning that goes on – close to zero because the students are so sleepy and tired. The optimal level of sleep necessary to be high functioning teenagers? Eight and a half to nine and a half hours per night. Where the later start time has been implemented, behavior and atmosphere at school improves.

Categories Students

Paul Karrer: Who Will Stop the Mandates and the Madness?

By dianeravitch
September 13, 2014 //
14

Paul Karrer, who teaches in Castroville, California, writes a scorching review of what is laughingly called “reform.”

He begins:

“Arne Duncan and his patron President Barack Obama have gotten themselves in a bit of an educational bind. Big news came out of the White House on Aug. 21 but a lot of America missed it. It seems a collision course of: 1. sunsetting of the year 2014 and the imbecilic impossible fatwa of No Child Left Behind (the obscenity of schools held accountable for testing without a morsel of input for poverty); and 2. a large push by teacher unions to dethrone he of the basketball — Sir Arne Duncan.”

So Duncan made his statement about testing “sucking the oxygen” out of teaching, a typical Duncanism in which he denounces the policies he promote and still enforces.

Says Karrer of Duncan’s fancy step:

“Is it a complete flip flop? No, it is a little greasy middle-of-the-road weaseling meant to gain favor from Obama’s once-upon-a-time education supporters and to patch the rebellious hemorrhaging of his pet bamboozle Race To The Top and its ugly stepsister Common Core. Ever since Obama initiated his slash and burn policy regarding public education with pro-privatization, the green light to pro-charter corporations, his relationship with publishing-testing companies, and his knee in the groin and knife in the backs of teachers with rigorous evaluations based on kids’ test scores, he’s been trusted about as much as a pedophile at a playground by those who once-upon-a-halo included him in their sacred prayers.”

Karrer says time is running out for the Age of Test and Punish. More and more people are speaking up and the public is catching on to the failure of test, test, test. The momentum is growing. Time is running out.

Categories Duncan, Arne, Federal Waiver, NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Poverty, Teacher Evaluations, Testing

Bob Braun: Finally, Some Heroes in Newark: The Students

By dianeravitch
September 13, 2014 //
24

Bob Braun has been writing about the abusiveness and insensitivity of Cami Anderson’s “One Newark” plan. He has written that it has disrupted the lives of children and families, with no goal other than to sweep away neighborhood schools and impose charter schools. Newark has been under state control for nearly 20 years. In short, the people of Newark have had no say in the governance of their city’s schools, and now Chris Christie and Cami Anderson have decided to turn them over to private management.

Braun reports that the real heroes in this struggle for democracy are the high school students of Newark. While most of the adults seemed resigned and ready to bow to authority, the high school students went into the streets to protest. A group of them chained themselves together, sat down in the city’s main thoroughfare, and blocked traffic. The newly elected Mayor Ras Baraka tried to protect the students. He ran for office as an opponent of Cami and “One Newark,” but he has no power to stop her.

Braun wrote:

“Newark’s public schools will be saved from privatization only if supporters are willing to take risks. Yesterday, Newark finally saw some risk takers–the high school students and handful of adults who blocked Broad Street for eight hours, refusing in a very adult way to give up their lines despite an effort by police to plow through, and a mayor who risked criticism for not arresting the students.

“The children are doing what the adults are not doing because the adults are too scared to do it,” said Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson about the siege of board headquarters at 2 Cedar Street organized by the Newark Students Union. The school board member spent most of the day monitoring the protest.

“But did it make a difference? Will the risks taken by the students and Mayor Ras Baraka–the courageous actions taken yesterday by both –hasten the end of Anderson’s tenure? Will it quickly end the “One Newark” plan that has brought so much pain to so many city families?

“Maybe not. But this is what they will do: They will keep the fight alive, keep the light shining, in the face of the inertial forces that would try to gloss over the pain Anderson is causing and bring on a complacent, apathetic business-as-usual attitude that will allow Anderson to continue her plans unimpeded. Without the students, Anderson would be free to act without, not just restraint, but even without notice.”

Braun wrote:

“They’re coming for you.

“They’re coming for you in Wisconsin. In California. In New York–and, yes, in New Jersey. In places like Newark and Paterson–ask Paterson teachers about the great contract they “won” from the state-operated district. And. remember, the Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), the people who almost made Shavar Jeffries mayor, believe tenure and other protections are the dam that “must be burst” to reform education.

“Think about it. Those are Democrats. They might eat your rights elegantly with some fava beans and a little Malbec–but they will do it every bit as effectively as the Koch Brothers who would just as soon have public employee union leaders jailed and shot.”

The kids were heroes. It is a very small gesture on my part to add them to the honor roll as heroes of American education. They are standing up for public education. They are standing up for democracy.

Categories Honor Roll, New Jersey, Newark, Students

Teaching in the Schools of Ferguson, Missouri

By dianeravitch
September 13, 2014 //
19

Inda Schaenen is an eighth grade English language arts teacher at Normandy Middle School in Ferguson, Missouri. She writes in Education Week about how students were affected by the death of Michael Brown and how she as a teacher was affected.

School started nine days after the shooting.

“Even before the shooting and the dramatic aftermath broadcast around the world, our district was accustomed to being and bearing bad news. Normandy is a poor, predominantly African-American community beset by challenges in housing, employment, and access to social, emotional, and physical health care.

“In January 2013, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education stripped the Normandy school system of its accreditation. The district consequently lost close to 25 percent of its students (and related education funding) to a transfer program that was upheld by the Missouri Supreme Court. Then, on July 1 of this year, the state board of education officially took over the Normandy district; meanwhile, the transfer program’s fate continues to play out in the state courts….

“I was assigned to teach 8th grade language arts; I now work in circumstances that daily, even hourly, challenge the most seasoned of the seasoned veterans. Middle school teaching is a new experience for me, and my learning curve is beyond steep; it’s a cliff. In rock-climbing terms, I am “crack climbing”-locating available seams, trying any grip, using all of who I am to gain purchase during my ascent. I am working 18 hours a day.”

The tragedy is the background and often in the foreground of school.

She writes:

“Will I be able to make what happens in my classroom so compelling that these children will feel it’s worth their time to come in and take a seat alongside the 32 others in my classroom?

“Now, factor in the shooting, followed by the protests, the looting, the hyper-militarized reaction to the protests and looting, and the local reaction to the reaction. Many of our students showed up at school traumatized; teachers, too. The granddaughter of one of my colleagues was related to Michael Brown. Another staff member was his great-aunt. In many ways, north St. Louis County is one community….

“Since Aug. 9, there is the unspoken but ever-present awareness, especially among the boys, that life can end in a flash, even for the kids-like Michael Brown-who manage to navigate the system and graduate…..

“Over and over, I assure my students that I will not leave. That I am here for them. That principals and teachers are working together to figure out how to get our school right, or at least more right…..

Are we as a society willing to address the needs of these children, these communities? The answer seems to be no. We want them to have higher scores, and the state will punish their teachers if they don’t get higher scores. But we refuse to address or acknowledge the conditions in which they live, or our obligation to change them.”

Categories Poverty, Segregation , Racial Isolation and Integration, Students, Teachers and Teaching

The New Yorker Explains Cuomo’s Embarrassment

By dianeravitch
September 13, 2014 //
13

John Cassidy of The New Yorker wrote a fascinating article on the national implications of Zephyr Teachout’s strong performance against Andrew Cuomo. With little money, little name recognition, and no television ads, she managed to capture a third of the Democratic primary vote. Cassidy says:

“The strong showing by Teachout and Wu was a victory for progressive voters who warmed to their message about tackling rising inequality, political corruption, and corporate abuses. It was also a rejection of Cuomo’s economic philosophy, which led him to introduce a series of tax cuts for the rich, at the same time that he cut the state budgets for education and social services. I’d be willing to wager that most Democrats who voted against Cuomo objected more to his policies than to his personality.

“Teachout and Wu’s insurgent campaigns gave voice to this sentiment. Eschewing the etiquette of internal party discourse, Teachout accused Cuomo of governing as a Republican, acting as a shill for the big banks and other campaign contributors, and being part of a “corrupt old boys’ club” in Albany. Making full use of social media and appearances in more traditional media, she demonstrated that, even in this day and age, a candidate with a real message doesn’t necessarily need the support of the party apparatus, or the financial backing of big donors, to have an impact.”

Interestingly, the Teachout-Wu ticket swept many upstate counties. But their candidacy had a larger meaning beyond New York politics, writes Cassidy:

“Teachout and Wu both achieved more than seemed possible a couple of months ago. By thoroughly embarrassing Cuomo, New York Democrats didn’t merely deliver a blow to whatever national aspirations he may have. They signalled to other Democrats, Hillary Clinton included, that the political center of gravity has shifted, and that a significant segment of Democratic voters won’t suffer gladly a return to the timid, pro-corporate policies of the Clinton years, which Cuomo represents.

“That’s why what happened on Tuesday wasn’t just a New York story: it has national implications. The progressive movement that emerged from the financial crisis, giving birth to Occupy Wall Street and the de Blasio campaign, may still be inchoate and splintered. But it can’t be ignored.”

Categories Cuomo, Andrew, Democrats

NYC Parents Rally on September 18 for Full Funding of Public Schools

By dianeravitch
September 12, 2014 //
9

Parent! Students! Teachers!Community members! JUST CAN’T WAIT

NYC SCHOOLS ARE OWED $2.5 BILLION DOLLARS!

New York State has abandoned the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, resulting in devastating classroom cuts every single year. This has meant the loss of arts & music programs, after-school, valuable teachers, guidance counselors, Advanced Placement courses, an increase in class sizes and more.

Join parents, elected officials, students to say #WeCantWait for the state to fund public schools!

* CITY HALL STEPS *

THURSDAY, SEPT. 18th, at 10AM

Take the 2, 3 to Park Place, or 4, 5, 6 to BK Bridge, or A, C to Chambers

Contact Maria Bautista, 212-328-9271, or maria@aqeny.org

Sincerely,

—

Maria Bautista

Campaign Coordinator

Alliance for Quality Education

maria@aqeny.org

maria.nygps@gmail.com

P: 212.328.9217

C: 347.622.9706

http://www.aqeny.org

Categories Budget Cuts, New York City
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