Soapbox Part 2
I still have things swimming around in my head, so feel free to skip this post if you are looking for a cute story about the kids.
Education should absolutely be a priority for state and national governments. But what kind of a priority? That they pay more attention to it? That they keep trying to fix it? That they put more money towards it? What's the answer? Until recently, Kentucky's slogan was, "Kentucky - where education pays." NCLB has shaken up the education apple cart as we know it. There is not a government body out there that will tell you that education is on the bottom of their list. So why isn't it working? Money?
Money is always a sore spot when speaking of education. We all want more money. As a teacher I want more money. I want more salary. I want more things for my classroom. Why not? But these things won't make me teach better. Would more money attract better teachers? Or keep the good ones around longer? Iroquois was part of an experimental grant from 2003-2005. Typically this school had a 50% teacher turnover every year. It was too hard. Teachers wanted out. This grant paid teachers a stipend for staying the enitre year and double the stipend if they returned the following year. As part of the grant we had to meet 5 extra PD days for "team building" activities and fill out umpteen million surveys asking us about the process. In the end it didn't make a difference. Teachers that were going to stay, stayed and those that wanted out, still got out. The money ended up being a perk for those of us that were committed regardless but it didn't change anyone's mind. What about for my classroom? I've only taught in two counties. One small and one big. In Robertson Co. I recieved $500 each year to buy instruments, music, classroom supplies, repairs, everything. In Jefferson Co., I receive $500 each year just for my repair budget. I can have any instrument that I want as long as I ask. And then I have a budget through the school for music or anything else I need. Again...this extra money is not making me a better teacher.
Here is what makes me a better teacher:
Since I am new to Doss, I have not been added to their email yet. Each teacher is assigned an AP (assistant principal). My AP keeps me notified of anything that I might miss from lack of email. Last week he asked if that on Fridays, he could have a list of any homework or assignments that I might have given to my students. Sure - I used my home account and emailed him two sentences with the information. Early this week, he reminded me that he needed my syllabus and classroom mangagement plan. I asked, "you want the syllabus for the whole year?" (because frankly I don't have the whole year mapped out as I just met these kids and am having to change a lot because they are not where I thought they might be) He said, "No, just a list of your assignments and topics covered, for that week." Okay. So now I've figured out he really wants this every week. Fine. This Friday I wrote out on notebook paper all topics covered in each class and all of my assignments. I went to the mail room to drop this in his box before I left. Inside his box (staring face up, I did not go snooping) was another teacher's list. Hers was typed. In table format. Listed objectives and activities an may have even had a clipart graphic in there. Well! You think I'm writing mine on notebook paper next week? NO SIR. Mine will be typed in a better font. With more graphics. And more information. And maybe for two weeks at a time. I will not be outdone.
Competition made me better. It wasn't the requirements. I met the requirements. Wouldn't it make schools better? What if we didn't have tenure? (a whole other soapbox right there). What if I thought my salary was affected by my performance? Heck, that thing would have been typed and pretty the first time! Does Spencer give his clients proposals on a piece of notebook paper? Not if he wants their buisness. And he does want their business because he's on comission. His salary is certainly linked to his performance! If parents had vouchers wouldn't it give them ownership in their child's education? No longer could the school be blamed when things go bad. If the school is bad then the parents use their money to support another school. If enough parents take their children elsewhere, then that school out of a job.
When did resteraunts begin posting their scores from the Health Dept.? I was in Taco Bell the other day and saw that they had a B. I raised an eyebrow. Had it been a C, I would have left. Thank goodness I had a choice. Thank goodness there are Taco Bells all over Louisville and a lot of them have a big green A in the window.
I know I'm rambling. This is important to me. I've been at a failing school for three years now. Bottom of the bucket. Literally. We had the second or third lowest scores for the state of KY. I keep asking myself, Why? It wasn't lack of involvement or money from the government. We were a school in crisis. We had gov't help left and right. Extra money here and there. It didn't help. There were some great teachers and some great parents and some great things happening here and there. But only here and there. And on the voucher system, this school would be out of business. And maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing.
arrgh. I have more but my mind is too cluttered. I need to read more. Think more.
By the way - I love my new job. Love it. That's another post.
5 comments:
i won't make a big statement on this, because i have too many big statements for a comment space. but i will say that i got a huge wake up call when i saw the list of items we had to purchase for our children's school. we are not in one of the better schools in the area. sure, i'm fine with the notebooks, pencils, markers, etc. but in addition to that normal stuff, for our kindergartener we purchased this:
1 box of tissues
3 packages of 5 oz. cups
2 packages of baby wipes
1 box of gallon size Ziploc bags (boys only)
1 package of paper plates
1 package of napkins
1 package of white paper bags
2 bottles of Hand Sanitizer
2 package of dry erase markers
1 box of sandwich size Ziploc bags (girls only)
1 ream of white Xerox paper
i'm not sure how all funding works, but it seems to me it isn't if parents have to supply the teachers' supplies as well.
and that's just the very tip of the left corner of my soapbox.
I am afraid to even open this door, but I am very interested in your thoughts . . .
I completely agree about performance being linked to salary. I totally agree. The thing that I don't know is who decides what good performance is. I have to say that I do disagree with teachers' salaries being linked to test scores, but only because I don't think test scores measure teachers' performance. But what does?? What do you think?
You're right. Test scores are a horrible indicator. They are not able to take into account progress over time or various external factors that may affect the school or individual students or what material was actually taught. We would like to think that we have standardized curriculum and everyone is on the same page on the same day. But the best teachers are those that truly get to know their students and teach to their needs and interests. Every class will be different. Every year will be different. The test can't meausre that.
So who decides what is good? I would say principals. In a school choice situation the principal would act as the President of his/her company. Hiring and firing. Giving raises and setting salaries. But principals are human and humans are flawed. So there would have to be a basic structure to go by and one would hope that he worked for a honest and fair principal. But again, if there were choice then the dishonest principal would not be able to attract good teachers leaving his company to die away.
What constitutes a good teacher performance? Obviously student learning. This is where you would think standardized testing would come in. But this is where the principal would have to keep track of student progress. As teachers we are observed to death. This is a good thing. With simple record keeping, it is easy to find out what is being taught and what is being retained by the kids in any given classroom. Playing into the student learning would be teacher interaction with students, teacher planning and organization, teacher involvement with professional organizations outside the school. In the "better" schools where kids are self diciplined and parent involvement is high you may see a class full of kids that tested well with a horrible teacher. This teacher may come in every day with half planned or no planned lectures and the kids still learned. I think this is where some of those other factors could be tied to salary.
Oh Dear. My answer is way too long. Let's talk more Tues.
ok,
you mentioned that politicians always say that education is on the top of their lists. I agree that they always SAY it is, however, it isn't. Education was a priority in Kentucky during the KERA era. School reform in lots of states during the mid 90s did a lot for a lot of places, even Kentucky (I think we won some sort of award from Harvard for KERA). Tennessee had a hugely sucessful program in the TVAAP. These showcased what COULD happen if education was truly given a top priority instead of just lip service. NCLB fails because it is based on faulty ideology, the idea of punishing failures and rewarding those who are already doing well doesn't fix anything, it only exacerbates problems.
Vouchers aren't the answer. Look at the people who hawk them: Steve Forbes, notably, also Grover Norquist, George Bush, John Stossel etc. These are people who ideologically disagree with public schooling. These people dont want to fix public schools, they want to bankrupt them. They know that vouchers will do this, so they advocate them. You say that competition would make teachers better, but then you also say that those who want out get out, and those who stay in will stay in. I think that those points are at odds. Competition is not a solution in an occupation like teaching. Competition increases productivity when money is involved. People do not become teachers for the money. A serious comitiment to education by the government, not just lip service, is the best way to solve the problems facing education.
yeah. thats long.
-rlk
True. Most of us that teach are not doing so to become wealthy. However, is it so bad that those of us who teach well, be paid more than those that simply take up space in the classrooms? Wouldn't if force those lazy teachers (we call them desk sitters) to "up their game" a little? Wouldn't it attract others into the profession that might not have considered it otherwise? I'm speaking of those who are smart, able and willing. Those who would make a fantastic educator but are disheartened by the current status of our schools and choose to use their talents in other fields. Wouldn't those people be the ones taking over the jobs of the desk sitters? And therefore we are all stronger and our children all smarter and suddenly there is peace throughout the world?
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