 |
 |
 |
 |
#1327665 - 02/24/12 01:53 PM
Shame on NYCDOE
|
twocats
Silver Member
Registered: 02/09/10
Posts: 10735
Loc: NYS
|
I can taste the adrenaline and excitement of the people who thrive on others' misery. Disgusting. Knocking down the middle class as though they caused the problems this country faces today. Politicians hold on to their jobs, their health care, their daily stipends, their pensions, while the workers bend over and take the brunt of a failed system. Again, I'm disgusted. At least Bill Gates has shown a modicum of common sense.
Gates Defends Teachers, Denounces Public 'Shaming'
What do you think of the city's decision to release its ratings for 12,700 teachers?
Respond
Feb. 23, 2012, 9:21 a.m.
By MARY ANN GIORDANO
It’s difficult to say what is more disconcerting: the drawing of a gallows to illustrate an opinion article in The New York Times on Thursday about the plan to release teacher evaluation scores, or the identity of the person who is taking up the teachers’ cause, Bill Gates.
Mr. Gates, famous for Microsoft and his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a deep-pocketed supporter of causes related to school reform — including more accountability for teachers — comes out strongly against the release of Teacher Data Reports, calling it a public shaming of teachers.
The reports, which will be released in New York City any minute now, are the scores that each teacher received based on their students’ improvement on standardized tests, also known as value-added ratings. The methodology is widely criticized, as is the plan to release city teachers’ scores by name.
Last week a final attempt by the teachers’ union to block the publishing of the reports was rebuffed by the courts, and since then a campaign against the release has been escalating.
SchoolBook is in the middle of the debate, as The New York Times was one of the media organizations that sued for release of the reports, and WNYC filed a Freedom of Information request to obtain the data. The Times and WNYC are partners in SchoolBook.
The denunciation by Mr. Gates is a bit of a surprise, not the least of which is because it is seemingly a local issue rather than an issue of education policy. Mr. Gates explains in the article why it is a matter of policy.
He says that he is in favor of teacher accountability — just not this way. And the headline, “Shame Is Not the Solution,” sums up his argument.
I am a strong proponent of measuring teachers’ effectiveness, and my foundation works with many schools to help make sure that such evaluations improve the overall quality of teaching. But publicly ranking teachers by name will not help them get better at their jobs or improve student learning. On the contrary, it will make it a lot harder to implement teacher evaluation systems that work.
Mr. Gates calls value-added ratings “one important piece of a complete personnel system.”
A reliable evaluation system must incorporate other measures of effectiveness, like students’ feedback about their teachers and classroom observations by highly trained peer evaluators and principals.
Putting sophisticated personnel systems in place is going to take a serious commitment. Those who believe we can do it on the cheap — by doing things like making individual teachers’ performance reports public — are underestimating the level of resources needed to spur real improvement.
Mr. Gates then cites his own company, and its approach to such matters:
At Microsoft, we created a rigorous personnel system, but we would never have thought about using employee evaluations to embarrass people, much less publish them in a newspaper. A good personnel system encourages employees and managers to work together to set clear, achievable goals. Annual reviews are a diagnostic tool to help employees reflect on their performance, get honest feedback and create a plan for improvement. Many other businesses and public sector employers embrace this approach, and that’s where the focus should be in education: school leaders and teachers working together to get better.
SchoolBook will have more to say about teacher data reports later Thursday – including an invitation to teachers. Check back. Meanwhile, we have been asking readers what they think of the plan. You can find their responses here — and add yours to the query below.
Mary Ann Giordano is the editor of SchoolBook. Follow her on Twitter @magiorNYT.
Disgusting
Daily News Gets Jump On NYC Teacher Ratings
BY CELESTE KATZ
The Department of Education has identified more than 521 English and math teachers as producing the smallest student gains between 2007 and 2010, the Daily News has learned.
Our Rachel Monahan reports:
Departmental data also pointed to 696 teachers as heading classes that racked up the biggest achievement gains over the same period.
The Daily News obtained the tally of the teachers listed at the top and the bottom in advance of the expected release Friday of teacher ratings that had been compiled by the department for internal use.
Using the Freedom of Information law, press outlets, including The News, forced the information into the open over the vigorous opposition of United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew.
The tallies obtained by The News are for more than 12,000 teachers during the 2009-2010 school year, based on their performance dating back as far as 2007. In all, 18,000 fourth- through eighth-grade math and reading teachers received the reports, created under former Chancellor Joel Klein and used by principals in tenure decisions.
“The Department of Education should be ashamed of itself. It has combined bad tests, a flawed formula and incorrect data to mislead tens of thousands of parents about their children’s teachers,” Mulgrew said in a statement.
Read Monahan's full story here.
_________________________
Dismiss whatever insults your own soul.
Walt Whitman
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
#1327686 - 02/24/12 02:55 PM
Re: Shame on NYCDOE
[Re: twocats]
|
MeRightYouWrong
Senior Member
Registered: 06/29/11
Posts: 1478
Loc: Mountain of Truth
|
Where's the outcry over charter schools getting public money while also charging tuition? That's double-dipping!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#1327688 - 02/24/12 03:02 PM
Re: Shame on NYCDOE
[Re: MeRightYouWrong]
|
twocats
Silver Member
Registered: 02/09/10
Posts: 10735
Loc: NYS
|
Plus they fine their students. Last year, one Chicago charter school profited $190,000 from student fines. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57381620/chicago-school-draws-scrutiny-over-student-fines/
And they have the nerve to say they don't skim students with the most invested parents. I know many parents who wouldn't agree to the contracts charter schools require them to sign. If parents don't comply, children are sent back to their 'regular' public school. BUT public schools ARE NOT ALLOWED to require these same things. Here's one example:
As a parent/guardian of a student at the Oakland Avenue Charter School, my/our commitment is to abide by the following rules and regulations adopted by the Town Commission:
A. To recognize and embrace my/our role as having primary responsibility for the education of my/our child.
B. To attend all conferences scheduled with any member of the Oakland Avenue Charter School staff.
C. Each school year (per family), to participate in the Parent/Guardian Volunteer Program, including 20 hours for one (1) child and 30 hours for two (2) or more children, in a capacity that is sensitive to the needs of the school. Up to 10 hours can be purchased equaling $100.00.
D. To provide transportation to and from school for my/our child if they are not eligible for bus transportation. If I am either early drop off or late picking up my/our child I understand that I will be charged for after-school care at whatever rate is in existence at that time. If my/our child is continually tardy, I understand that for the benefit of my/our child's education, he/she may be required to attend a school that is more accessible for my/our child.
E. To purchase uniforms for my/our child and ensure that my/our child abides by the dress code of the Oakland Avenue Charter School, which includes regulation backpacks.
F. To supply a healthy lunch and a snack, either brown bagged or purchased at the Oakland Avenue Charter School, each day for my/our child. If purchased I agree to pay the established rate in existence at that time.
G. To be responsible for timely payment of fees accrued to my/our account at the Oakland Avenue Charter School.
H. To encourage my/our child to abide by the Orange County Public School Code of Conduct.
I. To agree to willingly withdraw my/our child from Oakland Avenue Charier School should my/our child's behavior at the school yield more than three (3) suspensions or a total of five (5) days suspended. The principal's ruling is final on all suspensions in accordance with Orange County Public School Student Code of' Conduct,
J. To willingly withdraw my/our child from Oakland Avenue Charter School should my/our child have more than ten (10) unexcused absences in a semester.
K. To agree to have any testing done for my/our child that the teacher/administrators feel is necessary to my/our child's learning and/or well being.
L. To agree to keep my/our child out of school when he/she is sick with the flu, fever, lice, or contagious illnesses.
M. To agree to keep my/our child in school for the entire school day, except for medical appointments.
N. In order to enhance my/our child's academic growth; I agree to do the following:
a. To read and use information sent home by the school to keep parents informed of the academic topics to be introduced and studied in the classroom. Parents are responsible for signing and returning items that needs a response or verification.
b. To provide a suitable time and place within the home for homework.
c. To assist my/our child in obtaining and regularly using a library card at a Public library and encourage thirty (30) minutes of reading daily.
d. To limit television and video games during the week and allow for more time for reading, studying, and family time.
e. To check and sign my/our child's agenda nightly.
f. To encourage my/our child to research his or her academic level with deep commitment and enthusiasm for learning.
g. To return this document to the school. Neglecting to do so would result with your child being withdrawn.
I (we) understand that not fulfilling my/our contractual obligations to the Oakland Avenue Charter School and to my/our child, will result in my/our child being suspended or withdrawn and referred to a traditional public school or private school of the parent's choice as approved by the Oakland Avenue Charter School Town Commission.
_________________________
Dismiss whatever insults your own soul.
Walt Whitman
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#1327841 - 02/25/12 02:00 PM
Re: Shame on NYCDOE
[Re: Chicago Jesus]
|
twocats
Silver Member
Registered: 02/09/10
Posts: 10735
Loc: NYS
|
The New York Times beat everyone else to the punch by releasing the teacher data reports last night. The rest of the news outlets are sure to release them throughout the course of the rest of today.
No, I am not linking to them.
I have taught United States History for as long as I remember. My students generally do well on the U.S. History Regents. Since I have been at my current school, my students have had well above a 90% pass rate every year. Two years ago 100% of my students passed the Regents with over 60% of them scoring 85 or higher.
Teachers like me who generally have students with high pass rates should be just as outraged over what the DOE and the media are doing with this “value added” garbage as anyone else.
First, the U.S. History Regents is cake. The scoring rubric is so generous that an average student has to literally try to fail it. Second, the test is usually given to 11th graders, who are more serious and mature than underclassmen. The ones at risk of dropping out have usually done so before the 11th grade.
The scores of my students do not reflect my quality as a teacher. When I used to teach 10th grade Global History, the Regents pass rates of my students were lower. Take me out of 11th grade and put me in front of a 10th grade class and my stats would take a hit.
It reminds me of the famous Casey Stengel line after he went from managing the championship-addicted New York Yankees to the hapless Mets, essentially moving him from first place to worst place. He said “I guess I got dumb in a hurry.”
Of course, he was making the point that a manager is not the deciding factor in the success of his team. He was also acknowledging that the media was going to blame him for the Mets’ failure regardless of that fact.
Fast forward 50 years and teachers have joined the Casey Stengel club. They are being publicly blamed for things over which they have little control.
This means that when value added data gets released for us high school teachers (and we know it will), my name will be there, probably with a favorable number next to it.
And that angers me.
I do not want people thinking I am a “good” teacher because some arbitrary number stands next to my name. It gives absolutely no indication of the type of teacher I am and what goes on in my classroom.
Sure, I cover the material that will be covered on the Regents. Admittedly, part of me does it out of fear for my own hide. More importantly, I do it because I acknowledge that I am in a system that requires students to pass this test in order to graduate. I feel it is my duty to help prepare them for the test so they can go on to get their diplomas. It is vital for their futures that I do this.
I could take a stand and say “screw this, I am going to teach the higher order stuff that I want to teach.” I can imagine doing that if it was part of a larger rebellion of teachers, students, parents and administrators aimed at bringing down the entire standardized testing regime. But if I were to make a unilateral decision to thumb my nose at the test and teach whatever the hell I wanted to teach, would I be doing this for the good of the students or to massage my own rebellious ego?
So I make my pact with the devil and try to help my students walk into that testing room with the knowledge to get through the test. But that does not mean that I do not exact a price for selling my soul in this way.
I take my pound of flesh and I do that by teaching whatever the hell I want to teach anyway. Once I felt confident enough in my craft, I have always tried to strike a balance between teaching to the test and teaching the good stuff. There is a way to do both at the same time. This way, I do not feel quite so dirty.
My students know me as the teacher that never uses the textbook. On day one I tell my students that they will receive a textbook but I doubt that we will ever use it (gotta keep your options open). Instead, I explain to them that they will get handouts , notes and homework everyday. None of these things are particularly difficult. I was never one to load my students down with tons of work anyway. But if they keep all of these things in order (and I punch holes in everything I give them to help them stay organized), they will see that they are compiling their own textbooks over the course of the year. They can thumb through their history section and see maps, graphs, charts, pictures, readings, notes and homework. They will have a treasure trove of information by the end of the year to which they can always refer.
The best part is that most of the information comes from them. Their notes are points of class discussion that they bring up and that I write on the board. Sometimes they get to write it all on the board themselves. Their homework assignments are a series of thought questions that requires them to go through the day’s notes and handouts in order to synthesize different chunks of information and draw their own conclusions. This precludes them from having to read walls of boring paragraphs in textbooks that tend to kill any love they might have for history. For the average student, it should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Students have come to me and said that they actually find the homework fun.
None of this is easy. All of the handouts ( I literally have hundreds) contain visuals or passages that I have chosen off of the internet, usually from a simple Google image search. I then write my own questions underneath them. My lesson plans have all the meaty information, including dates and vocabulary, that I wish to pull out of class discussions. What ends up going on the board as their notes is a compromise between what they say and what is in the lesson plan. They get a homework sheet at the start of every unit with all the assignments for the next two weeks or so. Again, I make all of the questions myself. If there are days when we do not cover some of the questions, my students know not to worry about it. We will get to it another time.
This does not even count the research papers or extra projects we do, which vary from year to year.
By doing things in this way, I do not feel quite as dirty. I can help my students prepare for the Regents while also turning them on to higher level historical analysis. The historical content they get is fuller and more accurate than the one-dimensional (and sometimes plain wrong) drivel that is found in history textbooks. I am still trying to find the right balance between teaching to the test and teaching for actual historical appreciation, which is part of what makes teaching an art and not a science.
And this is the entire point. Teaching is an art. But the people who worship at the altar of value added and testing think everything can be broken down to a science. Like all sciences, real sciences that is, they think it can all be expressed in numbers.
At the core, this is what makes value added invalid. People keep talking about the wild “margins of error” for all the data the media is set to release today. This assumes that there is a model expressible in numbers that can have lower margins of error.
There will never be a value added formula without huge margins of error. It is a fool’s pursuit to try to find one. You simply cannot measure an art form in scientific terms.
The margin of error is so vast because value added is an error in and of itself.
This is the same problem with the new teacher evaluations. People are crowing about it, or at least saying it is not so bad, because it measures teachers in multiple ways. That is not the point. The point is that it promises to stuff all of these measures into a sausage of numbers.
You simply cannot put a number on an art form. This goes for the learning process as well. The whole concept of putting numbers on students in the form of grades is asinine, but that is another discussion entirely.
The value added craze and the teacher evaluation debacle merely reflect the true goal of education deformers, which is to take all of the art out of teaching. They do not care about the “achievement gap” or “failing schools” at all. They care about reducing teachers to automatons and piano keys.
This is why idiotic teachers like those over at Educators4Excellence applaud the new evaluation system. None of them ever saw teaching as an art. None of them stay in the profession long enough to get an appreciation for teaching as an art. There is nothing excellent about them aside from their own sense of self-importance.
None of the numbers that the newspapers published mean a damn thing. You cannot put a number on what teachers do, ever. The vast majority of teachers in NYC, whether with high value added or low value added stats, do what I described for myself. They stay up late making lessons. They reflect on their craft. They take the success of their students personally. They somehow find a balance between actual teaching and teaching to a test. They may not all do it in the same way, but that is what makes teaching such a great profession and such an art form.
But now, in New York City at least, the deformers have taken a giant step towards taking the art out of teaching.
This is what makes every teacher in New York City an assailed teacher.
_________________________
Dismiss whatever insults your own soul.
Walt Whitman
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#1327933 - 02/26/12 08:24 AM
Re: Shame on NYCDOE
[Re: twocats]
|
cwjga
Senior Member
Registered: 11/06/08
Posts: 3716
Loc: NY
|
Plus they fine their students. Last year, one Chicago charter school profited $190,000 from student fines. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57381620/chicago-school-draws-scrutiny-over-student-fines/ And they have the nerve to say they don't skim students with the most invested parents. I know many parents who wouldn't agree to the contracts charter schools require them to sign. If parents don't comply, children are sent back to their 'regular' public school. BUT public schools ARE NOT ALLOWED to require these same things. Here's one example: As a parent/guardian of a student at the Oakland Avenue Charter School, my/our commitment is to abide by the following rules and regulations adopted by the Town Commission: A. To recognize and embrace my/our role as having primary responsibility for the education of my/our child. B. To attend all conferences scheduled with any member of the Oakland Avenue Charter School staff. C. Each school year (per family), to participate in the Parent/Guardian Volunteer Program, including 20 hours for one (1) child and 30 hours for two (2) or more children, in a capacity that is sensitive to the needs of the school. Up to 10 hours can be purchased equaling $100.00. D. To provide transportation to and from school for my/our child if they are not eligible for bus transportation. If I am either early drop off or late picking up my/our child I understand that I will be charged for after-school care at whatever rate is in existence at that time. If my/our child is continually tardy, I understand that for the benefit of my/our child's education, he/she may be required to attend a school that is more accessible for my/our child. E. To purchase uniforms for my/our child and ensure that my/our child abides by the dress code of the Oakland Avenue Charter School, which includes regulation backpacks. F. To supply a healthy lunch and a snack, either brown bagged or purchased at the Oakland Avenue Charter School, each day for my/our child. If purchased I agree to pay the established rate in existence at that time. G. To be responsible for timely payment of fees accrued to my/our account at the Oakland Avenue Charter School. H. To encourage my/our child to abide by the Orange County Public School Code of Conduct. I. To agree to willingly withdraw my/our child from Oakland Avenue Charier School should my/our child's behavior at the school yield more than three (3) suspensions or a total of five (5) days suspended. The principal's ruling is final on all suspensions in accordance with Orange County Public School Student Code of' Conduct, J. To willingly withdraw my/our child from Oakland Avenue Charter School should my/our child have more than ten (10) unexcused absences in a semester. K. To agree to have any testing done for my/our child that the teacher/administrators feel is necessary to my/our child's learning and/or well being. L. To agree to keep my/our child out of school when he/she is sick with the flu, fever, lice, or contagious illnesses. M. To agree to keep my/our child in school for the entire school day, except for medical appointments. N. In order to enhance my/our child's academic growth; I agree to do the following: a. To read and use information sent home by the school to keep parents informed of the academic topics to be introduced and studied in the classroom. Parents are responsible for signing and returning items that needs a response or verification. b. To provide a suitable time and place within the home for homework. c. To assist my/our child in obtaining and regularly using a library card at a Public library and encourage thirty (30) minutes of reading daily. d. To limit television and video games during the week and allow for more time for reading, studying, and family time. e. To check and sign my/our child's agenda nightly. f. To encourage my/our child to research his or her academic level with deep commitment and enthusiasm for learning. g. To return this document to the school. Neglecting to do so would result with your child being withdrawn. I (we) understand that not fulfilling my/our contractual obligations to the Oakland Avenue Charter School and to my/our child, will result in my/our child being suspended or withdrawn and referred to a traditional public school or private school of the parent's choice as approved by the Oakland Avenue Charter School Town Commission.
Which of these can a public school not do? Except for C., only because i don't know of any school in the area that has a Parent/Volunteer program, most of the rest looks pretty doable.
It has been awhile since my kids went to school, but I seem to remember signing things that dealt with codes of conduct and dress code.
I guess the school can't send them to a different school, well maybe alternative education programs, but they can most likely suspend them,
Sounds more like a difference in expectations, than policy.
_________________________
"Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong." Calvin Coolidge
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#1328453 - 02/29/12 02:25 PM
Re: Shame on NYCDOE
[Re: bluezone]
|
tubby
Senior Member
Registered: 03/12/08
Posts: 1115
Loc: N.Y.
|
Teachers need to stop complaining about their compensation,all of the teachers I know retire by age 55 or younger and the rest of the real world works until 70 or older.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#1328672 - 02/29/12 11:47 PM
Re: Charter School Teacher Rankings Released
[Re: newsman38]
|
Triumph the Dog
Member
Registered: 08/19/02
Posts: 347
|
As a teacher you vould tink twocats vould haf better reading skills.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Moderator: FL1 Staff, FL1 Mod, FL1 Tek Deluxe, FL1 Mod 2, FL1 Office, FL1 Mod 3
|
|
