Nobody will argue against accountability. I have met with many teachers and I have heard time and time again from good teachers who realize we have teachers in the district who are just collecting a paycheck. Or teachers who are waiting until their retirement kicks in, and these good teachers don't want to teach next to those teachers, they get it. But, at what cost, are we grading our teachers? How much emphasis are we putting on things that have no impact on what or how kids are learning?
Take this experience one teacher had when her evaluator was observing her class as an example of how not to grade teachers. Kristen Amundson was teaching her English class and the students were really into the lesson. She recalls that one 16 year old boy stated that "You know, I've felt like that myself", again I say, a 16 year old boy. He got it; he grasped the meaning of a poem and related it to his own life. These are the moments great teachers exist for. And what did her evaluator observe and tell her? "You didn't call the roll". How degrading for this teacher. How is this an accurate assessment of what happened in that classroom on that day?
We need to have common sense. We need people who are evaluating our teachers in the classroom teaching from time to time to remember what it is like. We need our Hillsborough County Teachers participating and voicing their opinions as we participate in the Gates Grant we are expecting in the near future. We need your input.
Read this very interesting article in the Washington Post and let me know your thoughts.
8 comments:
We need administrators out from under the "paperwork" so they can get into the halls and monitor students and observe teachers. The current round of "research-based" evaluations is just a bunch of bureaucratic hoop jumping.
The IPDP is just a "hold over the teachers head" activity that does not address academic/classroom management improvement. Yet, if the IPDP is not done the "auditors" will have someone's head.
Get the administrators out of their ivy covered offices and out interacting with students and then you will see improvement in education.
Or how about this: the Springboard evaluators come in the AP English classroom where the students are involved in a timed writing assignment and they chastise the teacher for for not having the students "interact with the Word Wall." I would suggest that you talk to some teachers about the "Word Wall" and other ridiculous Springboard activities, but you are better off talking to students. Teachers need to keep their jobs and criticism--valid or not-- of Springboard is not tolerated. The warning was/is loud and clear beginning with the first summer trainings. It's all about the "free money" for the district not about what is good for the student. "There must be more money, there must be more money !" And don't you just love it when this district gives "pretests" in November !
I'm sorry April, but there aren't enough sophisticated training classes available for administrators that lack classroom experience. When a 27 year old AP with a mere 4 years of teaching experience is coming to observe me and my classes it makes me laugh. Most administrators fall into two categories; those that don't have enough classroom experience and those that have been out of the classroom for too long.
There are so many standards and revisions of standards; I'm not sure which standards to use. How many ways to evaluate a teacher are there? How subjective are teacher evaluations. Are teacher evaluations valid? If so, where is the confirming data?
I have only taught for six and a half years and I have seen enough elements of reform to make your head spin. During my first year of teaching more than one experienced teacher said, reforms come and go, just ride them out and eventually they will come full circle. Here are some observations I have made. Read more
1:45 said it best.
I believe administration evaluations are something not many administrators feel comfortable with - most I know gave it a good try - but it was 20 minutes twice during 180 days.
They have more pressing and immediate mid management responsibilities - like making sure the school is clean, powered up, staffed, paperwork submitted, referrals attended to, etc.
Of course they also know who isn't doing tardies, standing at their door, maintaining order and a teachable environment, grading the student's work and pushing it out to Edline, etc. You know, school climate.
BUT the process looks good on paper.
How come we don't poll the kids every 4 or 5 years after they graduate?
Ford and Chrysler have asked me. Never owned a GM so I'm not sure about them.
BTW Remember Springboard evaluators are technicians, nothing more. WE own the classroom.
April, it is getting ridiculous with all that is piled on or thrown at us at the high school level: SpringBoard, CIM, FCIM, ACT, FCAT, SAT, IEP, 504, Writing Portfolios, Word Walls, CRISS, FAIR, IPDP, Essential Questions, bottom quartile, contact log, etc. How do we have the time to successfully implement all this STUFF, but yet when we're evaluated we have to demonstrate it all at the drop of a hat! This is my last year because we've all been set up for failure, and I personally need to find a job where I feel like I can be successful because the atmosphere is very negative.
Will the SDHC school board/administration be "completely transparent" with regard to th Bill Gates grant? I mean 200 quality teachers pulled out of classrooms doesn't sound very good. Is the training going to be on students time? Or will it be in the summer time when students are not receiving instruction from these qualified teachers? I understand matching funds, but, can SDHC afford to spend $102 million for $100 million and have a continuing expense of $30 million for 7 more years? Inquiring minds want to know.
I know this is not the topic of this blog, but, why are the instructional vacancies "frozen" and announced so on the sdhc website, while the administrative positions are not so categorised? This is almost a rhetorical question. But, I was just wondering, would a long term substitute be put in for any administrative position while the "budget" is in a state of flux or is that just OK where children are being supervised?
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