tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post5631340209286812056..comments2024-03-26T11:07:03.496-04:00Comments on Ed Notes Online: The UFT and Class Size: Thumbs Downed notes onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15018047869059226777noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-74990663917439018312010-10-24T21:11:13.735-04:002010-10-24T21:11:13.735-04:00Be careful RE when Gates people speak. Their agend...Be careful RE when Gates people speak. Their agenda is to disparage class size as a factor as it violates their entire theoretical concept of ed deform.<br /><br />First I don't accept the vocabulary of "effective" teacher as in their terms it only relates to the output of test scores and not the input of how the whole child is affected by the teacher - they only want to use something that is measurable.<br /><br />What they do - and what you are plugging into - is the idea that the a teacher's effectiveness is a static factor independent of conditions. The private school teacher I mentioned would probably be a one out of 5 on a scale of effectiveness in a public school but was probably a 4 or 5 in the private school. Reduce class size by 30% and all teachers except the very incompetent (and they love to use the relatively few examples to affect all teachers) would rise in effectiveness by whatever way you judge. I prefer ability to impact on the most children in a positive way.ed notes onlinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15018047869059226777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-16156987825281073012010-10-24T18:38:16.649-04:002010-10-24T18:38:16.649-04:00A rep from the Gates Foundation made a surprisingl...A rep from the Gates Foundation made a surprisingly good point about this during NBC's Education Nation thing. He said class size and teacher quality work together. Reducing class size with an ineffective teacher probably is a waste of money, but keeping them high with an effective one (if you end up paying that effective one more - as Klein and co pretend they want to do) would be a waste of money on an effective educator...james boutinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09625944306253098621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-44499723067511363002010-10-24T15:26:57.607-04:002010-10-24T15:26:57.607-04:00You are 100% right about class sizes and the UFT.
...You are 100% right about class sizes and the UFT.<br /><br />But.<br /><br />Where the conversation stands now, teachers can't turn the public discourse with, "Class size matters more than teacher quality." It's just going to be he said-she said, and the prevailing argument, backed with all the money, will prevail.<br /><br />Instead, teachers should say, "Y'all have spent all these years testing and rating everybody, and you've got dip to show for it. Not in NYC and not in the U.S. as a whole. Rating kids didn't work. Rating schools was a fiasco. And rating teachers won't work either.<br /><br />"The only way to get kids to improve is to give them some help. That means smaller classes AND more targeted services AND, if anyone wants to be the least bit serious about this, early childhood intervention for high-needs children.<br /><br />"If the politicians care so much about the kids, why don't they pay some attention to them?"Tomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-46987891692052187852010-10-24T13:44:20.912-04:002010-10-24T13:44:20.912-04:00Leonie Haimson and Diane Ravitch should be CNN her...Leonie Haimson and Diane Ravitch should be CNN heroes.<br /><br />EVERYONE in the DOE should be in a minimum security prison.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com