I found this article in the Washington Post on tenure (anyone else find the social reader function annoying?). It sounds like an extremely painful process to defend oneself against unfair accusations. As I read this five page article, I have a few things sticking out here. Sarietta Kaye, an assistant principal, said it used to […]
@slekar highlights some really INSANE stuff, read it and weep #SOSchat
February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Here it is, quoting another: And at Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tenn., physical education teachers are scrambling to incorporate math and writing into activities, since 50 percent of their evaluations will be based on standardized tests, not basketball victories. I knew it. It has been suspicious that out of field teachers, like math or […]
#Evaluation of #teacher #preparation
February 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Here’s more evidence of the problem I’m having: refusal or skepticism of calls to measure quality are seen as an obstinate avoidance of accountability. That’s like of like, “you’re either with us or against us.” I would be fine with being held accountable. I mean, I should be given some credit for being a somewhat […]
A plague
September 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I’m aware of the mental health issues surrounding one’s decision to commit suicide. Not many of us go through with it, let alone contemplate it, when experiencing personal disaster. I teacher recently killed himself and his dreadful evaluation on the controversial LA Times teacher effectiveness database has been named as a contributing factor. Sure, if […]
It begins
July 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Dismissals were doled out in DC this week to the tune of 241. My thoughts are a little muddled on this one. I’ve been frustrated by colleagues who did not seem to work as hard. I’ve seen some pretty lousy educators. But this just confirms the climate of blaming teachers first, all else second and […]
Merit pay
May 8, 2010 By 4 Comments
It’s been tough to find a really good explanation of the various teacher merit-pay plans out there. Both Tennessee and Delaware jumped on the merit-mobile to up their attractiveness to Race to the Top Funds. Other states, including New Jersey, Georgia, and Florida, are all debating the possibility. I find the whole merit pay business […]
Dahntahn
March 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
There’s a little Pittsburghese up there for you from a native. Seriously, though, I had a conversation with a longtime friend a week or so ago who teaches in a Pittsburgh public school. She was excited to tell me about all the changes taking place within their system, largely due to an influx of funding […]
#VAM: Explain this to me please.
Here’s some specifics: My final appraisal for the 2011-2012 school year: Evaluation summary scores: Lesson Study: 100/100 points x .20 (20%) = 20 points Principal Appraisal: 88/100 points x .40 (40%) = 35.2 points VAM Data: 10/100 x .40 (40%) = 4 points Total points = 59.2 (Unsatisfactory) The VAM data comes from Alachua Elementary […]