tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post2448020844439576033..comments2024-03-26T11:07:03.496-04:00Comments on Ed Notes Online: Irony: Randi's Call for Teacher Voices to Be Heard Attacked by Ed Deformered notes onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15018047869059226777noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-60630320510407573872012-12-30T12:58:09.689-05:002012-12-30T12:58:09.689-05:00It's also worth noting that this article, in p...It's also worth noting that this article, in parallel with support for Fifth Columnist groups like E$E, seeks to inflame inter-generational conflicts among teachers. In this narrative, young dynamic teachers have no need for obsolete union protections held to by their lazy, burned-out older colleagues.<br /><br />Not so very different from the inter-generational conflict stoked regarding Social Security and Medicare, in which young workers are led to believe that SS is broke and will never be there for them, while Greedy Geezers bankrupt the country with their "entitlements."<br />Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-11325671317312333362012-12-30T12:57:23.162-05:002012-12-30T12:57:23.162-05:00Agree. Thus the irony of the attack on Randi who h...Agree. Thus the irony of the attack on Randi who has done so much back bending to try to straddle the ed deform fence instead of a rigorous defense of teachers. Plus undermining a rank and file response through lack of democracy while coopting the voice of teachers to herself, a non teacher. ed notes onlinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15018047869059226777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-66783902935067761872012-12-30T12:56:50.879-05:002012-12-30T12:56:50.879-05:00But ... DropOut Nation is aligned with anyone (and...But ... DropOut Nation is aligned with anyone (and I mean ANYONE) who wants to destroy unions. He's the worst ...<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-84883052547161496712012-12-30T12:55:22.571-05:002012-12-30T12:55:22.571-05:00Leonie:
For those who are interested, more on Bidd...Leonie:<br />For those who are interested, more on Biddle’s history:<br /><br />http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=1035<br /> <br />http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2007/10/ryerson-apologizes-for-biddles-blog.html<br /> <br />http://www.indianapolisrecorder.com/opinion/article_408a73ce-f758-59c7-a00a-4f4c8d70dc84.html<br /><br />ed notes onlinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15018047869059226777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-42133317528755279072012-12-30T12:53:47.182-05:002012-12-30T12:53:47.182-05:00Part 2
The article cleverly co opts the complete...Part 2<br /><br />The article cleverly co opts the complete dis empowerment of students, parents, community and teachers as a result of the failed system, the "status quo", and promises a new day of social justice once we all fully embrace the performance-based market-place.<br /><br />Then we "customers" of public education, be we tax payers, parents, students, politicians or corporations, who consume the goods and services produced by teachers, will be empowered. If we can just correctly divide (and conquer) the good teachers from the bad teachers, that straw man culprit, we shall at long last find educational justice.<br /><br />What I find most telling in the post is how clearly terrifying he finds the work being done in Chicago by the CTS leadership and membership: building a social justice movement-based union, that includes and is defined by family and students' needs.<br /><br />Were the UFT/AFT/NEA and its agents to ever undertake this enterprise there would be no stopping the sleeping giant that would be aroused.<br /><br />Instead the 'giants' continue playing power games with each other, and the unions are more and more irrelevant in their role as reactive, junior players.<br /><br />The frame below is the next line of assault:"quality teachers" are the new silver bullet.<br /> Education reformers are working in the service of students, parents, community, electeds and society-as-a-whole by weeding out the bad teachers- the laggards, the perverts, the abusers and the old, self-interested racists- and parents and community will at long last be well-served once we create a system of (only)" good teachers".<br /><br />A "system of good teachers" has replaced Klein's vision of a "system of good schools" which had replaced his predecessors' dreams of a good school system.<br /><br />I see parent trigger laws and a monied network of united angry marginalized parents working in service of that agenda coming straight at us.<br /><br /> Will we have the collective sense to focus on the real reforms we know we need, or are we going to get distracted and divided again, allowing the deformers to win another battle and quite possibly, the war?<br /><br />Lisa DLisa Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-29108488406850617432012-12-30T12:53:16.733-05:002012-12-30T12:53:16.733-05:00Part 1:
There is so much to unpack in this piece ...Part 1:<br /><br />There is so much to unpack in this piece of sophistry one hardly knows where to begin.<br />Good for Norm and Pat for seizing on two very important themes- the concerted shutting out of teacher voice in today's business unions, and the lack of trained/skilled administrators, from assistant principals to superintendents all the way up to chancellors and commissioners, respectively.<br /><br />What I see as worth examining here, as well, is the explicit statement of the latest co option of push-back and critique by parents/community and rank and file educators. <br />I see this piece as a harbinger of the latest tactics the ed deformers are using to reframe and advance their anti-union/anti-teacher/anti-parent and community corporate agenda.<br /><br />Co option of the young, idealist teacher who has only known the current accountability-based environment and red herring debates about "teacher quality" and failing schools is certainly a huge part.<br /><br />Ignoring the role of districts- their know-nothing, do-nothing administration, bureaucracy and supervisors- is another. I mean, look at the NYC DoE and its kooky invisible virtual support system that puts largely untrained, and completely unsupervised, principals in autocratic control of schools w/ no checks or balances beyond jiggered test score-based algorithms even they barely understand.<br /><br />Lauding "objective" evaluations of teachers, such as those unreliable VAM measures constantly being cooked up, or say the counting of certain classroom behaviors is yet another.<br /><br />The business model relies on: empowered and accountable CEOs (today's school leaders) ; Management By Objective ( SLOs and VAM and other numeric measures of standard achievement); stand-alone Strategic Business Units (schools, as measured by Progress Reports and Learning Environment Surveys and Quality Reviews, attendance and enrollment numbers, etc ); and market-place competition ("choice") which gives rise to market segmentation (small themes schools, charter schools ); market share domination/economies of scale (charter and CBO-run chains), to name some key foundations.<br /><br />The market place relies most of all, however, on the customer. <br /><br />Lisa DLisa Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-91946510725642512912012-12-30T12:41:19.356-05:002012-12-30T12:41:19.356-05:00I find this article demeaning to teachers as indiv...I find this article demeaning to teachers as individuals and to the profession. I am all for a relationship with the parents and community, but if parents can't "trust" their children to those who are educating their them then we have a problem. Education is not a business (although the "reformers" would have us believe this).Educationt is a social service that provides children with an academic, artistic and social/emotional experience. Children grow and learn at various rates. They are human beings, not products that we (teachers) make and turn out like cars on a production line. We do need to be listened to by the society at large who has ignored many of the needs of its people and ultimately its children by allowing poverty and segregation to continue to exist; denied or delayed assistance to those most needy. There have been erroneous errors and mistakes, but by and large teachers have the best interests of their students in their hearts. We are often not heard when we ask for money for supplies and books, smaller class sizes for our learners and needed interventions; learning environments that are child and parent friendly and enough staff to relate to the needs of every child.<br /> <br />If students are happy, flourishing at his/her own pace and want to go to school each day, then whatever term you want to label a teacher "good" or great" (we are individuals too with various talents) we are doing our job, the job we trained for and wanted to do. We do know what we are doing and what we want - just listen to instead of bashing us<br /><br />Pat Dobosz<br /> <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-41559396293975959242012-12-30T12:39:57.950-05:002012-12-30T12:39:57.950-05:00Teachers in the classroom today have very little v...Teachers in the classroom today have very little voice. I know, have seen (Ithrough mentoring and intervisitations) and work(ed) with great teachers. I have also seen a handful of poor teachers (most of whom move on). The great teachers have gone through teacher education institutes for five to six years or more. They come in new and grow as does anyone in any profession. I have had little concern for the Teaching Fellows, usually older people who change careers. Most of them want to teach and find their niche as a second profession. They become good to great teachers. Those who come in through TFA are another story by and large. They usually have another agenda going and it is not to be a career teacher. I have not had the occasion to work with E4E folks, but was not very impressed with their thinking in conversations recently at a rally in City Hall Park. All of us, veterans and newbies, have had our creative voices silenced with the advent of the common core, poorly written text books, scripted learning materials and test prep. The "art of teaching" is barely seen these days. That is demoralizing for teachers who have been around for 25 years and for those who come in with a fresh sense of enthusiasm and a lot to offer children. <br /> <br />Now as to administrators: I have only seen a handful in my 30 years of teaching (20 in the NYC public school system) who were/are great or good even. I can count on one hand the excellent administrators I have met (and I have been in a lot of schools). They were usually the ones who stayed in the classroom for 20-30 years and worked their way up. They were the ones who didn't forget what it was like to be in a classroom. They were the ones who gave support and advice, but also gave you space to teach and grow in the profession without dictating your every move Today most administrators have either not been in a classroom or were in and out within a few years. They walk into classrooms and do not have a clue as to what they are observing, let alone know how to help or rate a teacher. They use pat evaluation forms for everyone, often just reiterating what they saw. Then they try to give suggestions which are not helpful or useful. Randi Weingarten was barely in a classroom She probably couldn't spot a great teacher or a potentially great teacher if she tried.<br /> <br />In order to lure people back to teaching and administration- people who are experts and want to be in the field - the system, the stakeholders have to make it worthwhile to come in. Salaries and benefits that respect the professionals we are will be enticing; that goes without saying. but respect for what well trained teachers do, how they relate to their students (not their clients) and allowing the art form to flourish is what will make people want to become educators again.<br /> <br />continue...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-91990476770527206122012-12-30T00:48:09.074-05:002012-12-30T00:48:09.074-05:00Call Bill Press's radio show and tell him to S...Call Bill Press's radio show and tell him to STFU about Randi, He had her on twice last month spouting her b.s. and he sits there giggling like an eedjit thinking he's got some radical union firebrand in his studio when all he has is a corporate concession stand operator who spent less time teaching than most bronc riders do in the saddle for a career. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08125018774502675730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-11086433353534107762012-12-29T19:48:59.564-05:002012-12-29T19:48:59.564-05:00The Del ASS should all hang their heads in shame. ...The Del ASS should all hang their heads in shame. The MORE they talk unity-speak, the MORE they remain seperated from the rank and file.VOTE MOREnoreply@blogger.com