I am hard pressed to decide who is more opposed to effective teacher evaluations: the teachers union or administrators. We don't need test scores to evaluate teachers. Unfortunately, most administrators are not good evaluators. In many, if not most, cases administrators were not gifted teachers themselves. (That's often exactly why they became administrators.) We should evaluate teachers, but we shouldn't fire ineffective teachers.
We should just give teachers jobs commensurate with their abilities.
Plenty of classroom activities can be done by less-than-brilliant
teachers and we can use the best
teachers to train the less gifted teachers. Heaven knows administrators
aren't good at training teachers. Here is my plan to share responsibility for student learning between a regular teacher and a part-time master teacher. Would a guarantee to not fire ineffective teachers get the teachers union on board? I think it might. The main goal of the teachers union seems to be to protect the teachers who have political connections. Sadly, these union leaders and their cronies are not generally the most effective teachers. Why don't we protect their jobs, and protect the kids at the same time? --Maura Larkins
December 19, 2015
Gov. Cuomo once called himself the “students’ lobbyist.” Now he’s got a new message: Sorry, kids — maybe someday.
On Tuesday, the Board of Regents officially said amen to
that. In a near-unanimous vote, the board took the recommendations of a
Cuomo panel and banned any serious consequences for rotten teachers — no
matter how embarrassing their students’ scores on state tests.
Teachers who can’t teach, in other words, will get to keep standing
in front of whiteboards, confidant that no one will ever lay a glove on
them. And too bad on the kids.
True, the new no-consequences rule is supposed to last “only” four years. “At least” is a lot more like it...
Rewind to 2010: State lawmakers, drooling over hundreds of millions
in bribe money from Washington, required schools to use test scores in
deciding a teacher’s future employment.
But the lawmakers’ plan, as Cuomo would later say, was “unworkable by
design.”...
Just last week, the state reported its latest teacher-rating stats:
Nine out of 10 teachers scored as “effective” or better — even though
two out of three kids continue to flunk the tests...
In Cuomo’s case, because the teachers unions (with help from the
likes of Westchester County Exec Rob Astorino) have managed to panic
massive numbers of parents into “opting out” of having their kids take
the tests. Those parents are voters...
United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew boasted of his
“gum up the works” battle to prevent evaluations in the city...
In the movie ELECTION a poster turns up missing from a school hallway, triggering angry recriminations. In Poway Unified, a principal overturned a school site council election because a candidate passed out donuts. (Interestingly, nobody in the movie thought it was a problem when Tracy Flick provided cupcakes to voters.)
Of course, I don't think that many people actually believe that the Poway situation is really about donuts.
This post is mainly about schools trying to get rid of parents who raise their voices at school. But I was struck with the irony of another story in the news at this time: about a teacher who allegedly "yelled" at students. The school didn't try to get rid of the teacher, but the students did. See last story below.
It's too bad that so many adults in schools rely on their raw power rather than on professionalism. They need to stop acting like very bad children.
UPDATE SAT. JAN. 10, 2015 Court issues tentative ruling upholding restraining order against parent. Hearing will continue in the coming week.
A
Superior Court judge in San Diego sided with the Poway Unified School
District on Friday in part of its lawsuit against a volunteer parent,
finding the man's remarks about school officials aren't protected by the
First Amendment.
Poway
Unified wants to block the parent, Chris Garnier, from volunteering at
Painted Rock Elementary School where his children attend classes.
In
October, the district obtained a temporary restraining order against
Garnier and filed a "strategic lawsuit against public participation" -
or SLAPP action - seeking to keep him from lambasting school officials.
Garnier filed an anti-SLAPP motion, arguing the district was trying to
violate his right to free speech.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Tamila E. Ipema rejected that claim Friday, attorneys for both sides said.
"I'm
flabbergasted," said Genevieve Suzuki, the lawyer representing Garnier.
"The decision is a real concern facing any parent who has harsh or
critical words to say about the school administration. If you speak
loudly or say things that they don't find palatable, they could seek a
restraining order against you."
A
two-day hearing will be held Jan. 15 and Jan. 20 on the second part of
the case - whether to make the restraining order permanent.
A
permanent order, said Suzuki and Poway Unified attorney William
Shinoff, would prohibit the 36-year old Garnier from coming to the
campus for any reason..
Here is my comment:
Maura Larkins
Well,
emotions are certainly at peak level in Poway Unified--or at least I
hope this is the peak. I trust that things will start cooling down from
now on. I want to believe that Bill Wisniewski didn't really mean what
he said in his comment, "YOU ARE NOT READY FOR POLITICS AND I BELIEVE
THAT MOST OF US PTSD MARINE COMBAT VETS SHOULD NOT ENGAGE IN POLITICAL
ACTIVITY."
Seriously, Bill?
I could understand if you
argued that three tours in Afghanistan is not the best training for
lunch duty at an elementary school, but you are demanding, in capital
letters, that a returning veteran stay out of politics!!!!
And you are claiming that Mr. Garnier has "severe PTSD"! Severe? When
he has a successful marriage and is working on an advanced degree in
education, dresses well and is highly articulate? I think you're
getting Chris mixed up with guys who are more severely damaged by war.
Senator John McCain, a former POW in Vietnam, is known for flying off
the handle. Do you think he should stay out of politics? Should the
government overturn his election?
I don't believe that the
principal's decision to pass over Mr. Garnier for the lunch duty
position was based on racism, but I am not so sure that racism didn't
play a role in overturning his election to site council, and in seeking a
restraining order against him.
I am concerned about what the superintendent and board of Poway Unified are teaching students about how our democracy works.
HEY
CHRIS . SEMPER FI. CHRIS PLEASE BELIEVE ME THAT YOU SUFFER FROM
SEVERE PTSD. I AM ONE OF THE VIET NAM PTSD POSTER BOYS. I WAS A POMONA
HIPPY DRAFTED INTO USMC DURING THE BATTLE OF HUE AND DEPLOYED TO
FOXTROT RIDGE IN LATE 68. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT CHRIS, YOU ARE NOT READY
FOR POLITICS AND I BELIEVE THAT MOST OF US PTSD MARINE COMBAT VETS
SHOULD NOT ENGAGE IN POLITICAL ACTIVITY UNLESS IT IS PURELY DEFENSIVE.
BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT ONCE WE ENGAGE ... WELL YOU KNOW THE REST. THE
OTHER THING CHRIS IS THAT THE SPIRIT CORPS THINKS YOU ARE SKATING ON
THIN ICE RE. KEEPING OUR HONOR CLEAN. ("12 CONFIRMED KILLS")
UPDATE: Poway Unified might want to consider the case of a Vermont parent who
was awarded $147,000 when a school district barred him from meetings,
claiming that some staff members were afraid of him. My guess is that
they were afraid of what he would say, not what he would do. See second
story below. ORIGINAL POST
In the school where I worked in
Chula Vista, the administration used many tricks to control who was on
the site council--including appointing members rather than electing
them. Also, administrators in my district made false and bizarre
allegations. It's rather remarkable that schools so often simply ignore
the education code and other laws.
My inclination is to believe that Poway Unified is simply bullying the parent in the following story.
POWAY
— The Poway Unified School District has filed a lawsuit against a
Painted Rock Elementary School parent, seeking to block him from
volunteering at the campus and making remarks about school officials.
The
action - called a "strategic lawsuit against public participation," or
SLAPP - is unusual, officials acknowledge. The defendant, Chris Garnier,
says it's rooted in racism and violates his right to free speech.
In
court filings, the district says Garnier, a former Marine and wounded
war veteran, has made verbal threats against school employees, including
Principal Mary Jo Thomas, and has exhibited menacing behavior, such as
pounding on car windows to get the attention of other parents, and
disrupting a Sept. 23 community forum at Rancho Bernardo High School.
Garnier,
36, denies threatening anyone and says the mostly white district is
trying to ban him from the school because he is an African-American and
has criticized decisions made by Thomas. He said he volunteered at the
campus for two years without problems until she arrived.
"I just want our family to be treated like everyone else, not like second-class citizens," said Garnier.
Part
of his dispute with the district centers around his election in October
to Painted Rock's school site council, a parent-teacher group that
helps make decisions about campus programs and spending.
The
principal overturned the election, citing technical difficulties,
according to court documents. A second election was held in which
parents had to show a photo ID when they cast their ballots. Garnier
didn't win...
"I
have not done any of this stuff -absolutely not," he said. "If I had
done this, the police would have come to my house and arrested me."...
Garnier's defense attorney, Genevieve Suzuki, characterized the use of
the photo ID in the second election as akin to unfair requirements that
led to the Voting Rights Act of 1964, a civil rights law that outlawed
discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin...
Vermont school district that barred parent to pay $147,500
Jan. 6, 2015
BENSON,
Vt. (AP) — A Vermont school district that barred a parent from meetings
because some staff members were afraid of him has agreed to pay
$147,500.
Attorneys
negotiated the settlement between the Addison Rutland Supervisory Union
and Marcel Cyr after a federal judge ruled Cyr had been discriminated
against. Cyr had been critical of the education provided his child at
the Benson Village School.
"We're
talking about a guy who was worried about his kid's education and was
trying to bring attention to what he thought the problems were and he
was told he couldn't come to the meetings," said Allen Gilbert of the
Vermont Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Basic rights
were taken away. Schools need really good reasons to serve no-trespass
orders. This case is a win for everyone who cares for education,
democracy and how public policy is done."
No-trespass
orders were served against Cyr in September 2011 and March 2012 after
school officials said they feared for their safety, in part because of
Cyr's loud voice and sometimes harsh comments about the education his
son was receiving.
Cyr's family had lived in Benson, but they have since moved elsewhere.
Superintendent
Ron Ryan tells the Rutland Herald (http://bit.ly/13WimHN ) that he
would rather lose a lawsuit than risk the safety of teachers, school
staff, students and parents.
"From
this point forward, I guess if we suspect someone is being unruly,
we'll hire a law enforcement officer to stand guard," he said. "It could
be expensive, but that's what we have to do."
Maura Larkins' comment: Are there enough adults in schools who solve problems by talking and listening? Who will teach these girls a better way to solve problems? Let's hope they don't grow up to be mean teachers who lash out at children and adults who don't behave exactly as demanded!
Three fourth-grade elementary school
girls from Elba, New York, have been accused of plotting to kill their
teacher with hand sanitizer.
The students allegedly plotted to put the substance on items
they knew their teacher would touch after they learned that she was severely allergic to antibacterial sanitizer. The girls reportedly told their classmates that they were going to "kill" their teacher.
Asked why they wanted to harm their teacher, the students
reportedly told youth officers from Genesee County Sheriff's Department
that the teacher "yells" at the students and that "the class has
problems with her."
The children were unable to carry out their attack on their
teacher after another student not directly involved in the scheme
reported it to his mother.
While the girls won't face any legal repercussions for their
plan, they were reportedly suspended, and the Sheriff's Department
handed the case over to the Elba Central School District.
Although the district could not provide details on the plot
because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, it did confirm
reports of the planned attack and said that "it is important to note
that no one was injured or actually placed in harm's way."
"The District does not condone any of the behaviors that have
been reported and is in the process of working alongside the Sheriff's
Department to use this incident as a vehicle for educating the
District's students regarding appropriate behaviors," said a statement..
UFT President Randi Weingarten (left) with New York legislator Sheldon Silver You can't have accountability unless you can figure out who is responsible. When administrators and teachers are pulling in different directions, either one of them can say, "If things had been done my way, we would have succeeded."
New York City schools have come up with a solution: let the teachers union run the school. The UFT (The United Federation of Teachers)Elementary Charter School is located at 300 Wyona Street in East New York, Brooklyn. For the 2006-2007 school year, the school will enroll 225 students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade.
Why doesn't every teachers union run a charter school? Union leaders would gain new insight into problems in education. They would have to change some of their attitudes, such as belief in rigid political hierarchies, in order to succeed. To succeed, schools need merit-based decision making.
The Broad Education Foundation, founded by Eli Broad of Los Angeles, writes:
The Broad Foundation supports the start-up of the United Federation of Teachers' (UFT) first union-run charter schools in New York City. The UFT Elementary Charter School opened its doors in the fall of 2005 with 150 students in kindergarten and first grade. The school will grow one grade per year until it serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade. The UFT opened the UFT Secondary Charter School in Fall 2006, serving 226 students.. The secondary school will add a grade each year until it serves students from grades 6 through 12.
I keep saying that many school professionals need further training in critical thinking. That might have helped in this case:
New York principal to be fired over school chicken blood ritual The Associated Press Published: August 7, 2007
NEW YORK: A New York City school principal accused of performing religious rituals with chicken blood, incense and candles in an attempt to cleanse the school of negative energy will be fired, the Department of Education said Tuesday.
Maritza Tamayo paid a woman to lead several Santeria rituals during midwinter break in 2006, when students were not at the Unity Center for Urban Technologies, according to Richard Condon, the special commissioner of investigation for city schools. Tamayo coerced staff members to participate in and help pay for the cost of the ceremonies, investigators said..
"The problems that exist in the NYC school system also stem from the Department of Investigation not doing the work that they are mandated to do. They seldom investigate anything that an 'ordinary' citizen or parent of a public school child, reports, and when a teacher calls to ask for an investigation, if it is a teacher without political credentials, it is the teacher/parent/child who is investigated. They dont like people who call their bluff, either. I accompanied David Pakter to the SCI office when Thomas Comiskey, Deputy Chief Investigator, asked David to come into his office and tell him all about OTHER teachers who had broken the code of silence. Mr. Comiskey came over to me, put his finger in my face, and told me "Not you, we dont want to talk with you."
"The New York City Department of Investigations is located at 80 Maiden Lane in downtown Manhattan, near the South Street Seaport on the lower East Side.
"The following is the DOI mission, as stated on the website:
""The New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”) is one of the oldest law-enforcement agencies in the country and an international leader in the effort to combat corruption in public institutions. It serves the Mayor and the people of New York City by acting as an independent and nonpartisan watchdog for New York City government.""
The above was found at http://parentadvocates.org/nicecontent/dsp_printable.cfm?articleID=7337#null
Note by Maura Larkins: The NYC DOI's website states: "WHISTLEBLOWERS ARE PROTECTED," but they all say that, right?
