Bz suffers from gender disorientation, making it's opinions on other issues a moot point.

If Rahm truly had a set he'd throw this group of slacking failures out on their cans and start over fresh....all their numbers point to failure and they dare ask for more with security....but it is nice to watch the Dems. and their precious public sector unions throw their tantrums:)

are you a doctor?

should you be getting your lesson planned for tomorrow rather then posting on here at all hours of the day?

they have to ask for security because when the teacher evaluations go into effect many will see the door

it is for the children

Not a doctor. Any layman can easily diagnose your issues homie.

Lesson plans are developed by teachers, of which I am not.


Wrong on both counts - so typically Bz.

that would mean you work

must be why the school system is in such poor shape

Improper use of the deflection card homie. It was appropriate response. Your attention disorder is obviously acting up again.

are you a doctor now?

cut the teaching staff in half and taxpayers will have more money to spend to create more jobs

so do you approve the 15% performance?
will you send your child to the chicago school?

well Teonan?......still waiting on the deflection from you!

well teonan?

so the teachers will get WHAT THEY WANT
the children will have a higher failure rate
and the war zone will get even worse

ain't you glad you supported the arrogant greedy teachers?

must be better to have a child shot and killed every day than to have the teachers 'evaluated' and improve the graduation rate...

better give the teachers the rest of the year off

they 'worked' more in the last week than they do all year long in the classroom...

Teachers want you to believe they have it the worst working condition on the planet.

the only job on the planet where you do not get a yearly evaluation

the more greedy the teachers get the worse the students perform

before teachers unions the students did very well

just the opposite today

Zealot, at least you grasp what the issue is about (eval, not money) and can demonstrate that you can compose a sentence. It's difficult to watch people rail against teachers in incoherent English.

I'm not necessarily against teacher evaluations, but I asked my mom--a retired speech therapist--why evaluations are unpopular among teachers. We talked at length about the issue, and one point I had to concede to her was her statement that, "Not all teachers start with the same raw material." For example, one year she had three students with Down's Syndrome; how can a system tie a special ed teacher's performance to evaluations/student progress in that situation? Not that kids with developmental disabilities can't learn, but it throws a wrench into a standardized evaluation system. It seemed a fair point to me, especially when you consider the opposite end of the spectrum, i.e. AP or gifted classes, where teachers have classes full of students who are already higher performers.

I think the issue isn't as simple as "no evaluations" as it is about how to make the evaluation system equitable for the teachers and who they teach. (Never mind urban vs. rural, socioeconomic differences, etc.) To control for variables, I guess, is what my mom was trying to get at.

And then there is who is doing the evaluating. Ever have a boss who just hated your guts, and wouldn't be fair to you no matter what?

It's pretty fascinating. I don't think either of the extreme positions--all teachers are greedy money-sucking lazy vacation seekers vs. teachers are perfect saints who do it all For the Kids--do much to help further the discussion. Obviously most teachers teach because they like it, and obviously there are bad apples.

I'd work in a coal mine, I think, before I worked in a room full of kids all day.

We have always had lengthy evaluations. The CTU issue is about standardized tests as 50%(?) of evaluation (I think it's 40% here in NY). Your mom is right. I only work with the most struggling students, with many special ed. and English Language Learners as students. All of our students are tested in the beginning of the year and I get the lowest 20-24. I usually get a third to grade level by mid-year, then I get the next lowest students. How can it be ok to compare my students to those in gifted or even regular classrooms?

I'm not worried about it for myself. I work hard, constantly improve, do my best, and get great evaluations/observations by my principal. She told us that this year that the state made it numerically impossible for anyone to get the highest rating anymore. I think 98.5% or higher of your students must be 'on grade level.'. In a class of 22, that means no one can be below. Crazy.