"I am a teacher in Florida."

[Catshrink]

This is a cross post from Education -- a very powerful piece that so eloquently expresses the plight of teachers and why we are so opposed to the Florida legislation that unfortunately passed last night. I've only posted an excerpt - read the entire piece here: http://www.schoolsmatter.info/

I am a teacher in Florida.

I am expected to differentiate my instruction to meet the needs of my 24 learners. Their IQs span 65 points, and I must account for every shade of gray. I must challenge those above grade level, and I must remediate those below. I am but one person within the classroom, but I must meet the needs of every learner. I generate alternate assessments to accommodate for these differences. My higher math students receive challenge work, and my lower math students receive one-on-one instruction. I create most of these resources myself, after-hours and on weekends. I print these resources so that every child in my room has access to the same knowledge, delivered at their specific level. Yesterday, the school printer that I share with another teacher ran out of ink. Now I must either purchase a new ink cartridge for $120, or I cannot print anything from my computer for the remainder of the year. What choice am I left with?

I am a teacher in Florida.

I went to school at one of the best universities in the country and completed undergraduate and graduate programs in Education. I am a master of my craft. I know what effective teaching entails, and I know how to manage the curriculum and needs of the diverse learners in my full inclusion classroom. I graduated at the top of my class and entered my first year of teaching confident and equipped to teach effectively. Sadly, I am now being micro-managed, with my instruction dictated to me. I am expected to mold “out-of-the-box” thinkers while I am forced to stay within the lines of the instructional plans mandated by policy-makers. I am told what I am to teach and when, regardless of the makeup of my students, by decision-makers far away from my classroom or even my school. The message comes in loud and clear that a group of people in business suits can more effectively determine how to provide exemplary instruction than I can. My expertise is waved away, disregarded, and overlooked. I am treated like a day-laborer, required to follow the steps mapped out for me, rather than blaze a trail that I deem more appropriate and effective for my students—students these decision-makers have never met.

I am a teacher in Florida.


http://www.schoolsmatter.info/

[Catshrink]

1. ...

[immoderate]

2. K, R.

:hi:

--imm

[Catshrink]

16. ...

:hi: back!

[Starry Messenger]

3. +100,000

That's really stellar.

[Tumbulu]

4. so so sad

I am so sorry what is happening to teachers these days.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. k/r

[teacher gal]

6. K & R n/t

[Swamp Rat]

7. k&r

[DailyGrind51]

8. If you were an investment banker, you could lose $100 billion, AND still get a bonus!

[exboyfil]

9. I appreciate the service of the teacher

One thing that can be done would be teachers doing a better job policing themselves (I think doctors have the same problem). I know teachers are concerned about the capriciousness of administrators in hiring, disciplining, and firing decisions but working professionals in private industry deal with this issue all the time. I think two standardized national tests should be given to the students each year. The first would be at the beginning of the year to measure current aptitude (and if the scores are sufficiently low then the child should be moved down appropriately) and one at the end of the school year to measure progress. These two points should only be one data item in assessing the performance of the student. Days actually in the classroom should also considered along with any discipline issues. Attempts to contact and work with parents should also be considered. A good manager (ie principal) should be able to work through this information and determine the level of performance for the teacher.

Streaming should also be employed, but the teachers with the best students should not necessarily get the most salary. In fact those teachers who can raise performance over the year should have consideration for merit increases (teachers who can successfully get students into the next higher level streaming should be rewarded). Parents input should be considered in rewarding, discipline, and retention of teachers (but not some B.S. survey - the parents need to go into the principal and discuss issues they have with the teacher). Of course these approaches are always in danger of being gamed. Principals will have their favorite teachers (welcome to the real world - most folks in private industry face this on a daily basis).

Also I can't understand how Seminole County is spending $9,500/student and this teacher's salary is so low (with 24 students we are talking about $228,000/yr.). How many useless mouths are at the trough consuming resources that should be going more directly to the students? This is a lot of money.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. We test them enough as it is

We need to spend our time teaching, not testing.

[exboyfil]

20. Only two nationally mandated tests per year

At the beginning of the year and at the end of the year. All other testing done at the discretion of the teachers and administrators. I do not view this as an unreasonable burden. While testing is imperfect your ability to perform on these tests will indicate your ability to take tests in your entire academic career. The ITBS for example has some issues, but in serves as a useful guide for understanding where your reading and analytical ability sit in comparison to other students. Teachers should not be responsible for the capabilities of the children they receive, but they should be responsible for improving those capabilities. Somehow the Algebra teacher who does not teach but only has students cutting out pictures from a magazine has to be stopped (this is an extreme example but absolute standards are necessary).

Another option would be to form Portfolio evaulation committees. I know that I evaluate the portfolio of my child at every conference, and I have been blessed to have mostly good teachers (a couple of world class ones and a couple of poor ones as well). I know how my girls are doing. I have less of a feel for how my girls do in comparison to other children (that is why the ITBS is a useful measure).

In a perfect world where all teachers are doing a good job, then standardized testing would not be needed. I willing to bet a strong correlation exists between standardized testing performance and later performance in college (or on college entrance exams). I would be willing to allow the ACT/SAT be a surrogate for the ITED for older students, but the ITED is a much less expensive test to give.

Quotes from an article http://www.schoolmatch.com/audit/jacksonville/articles/teach1.htm

"Florida Education Commissioner Frank Brogan said the weakness of the state evaluation law is illustrated by the fact that only 23 of 130,000 Florida teachers lost their teaching licenses for incompetence last year. "

"On average, only 30 of 7,000 teachers a year are declared unsatisfactory in Duval County, a 99.9 percent success rate that principals, administrators and state officials say is probably impossible to achieve."

Minnear once pulled her son out of school because of what she thought was bad teaching.

''All she was doing was having them sit there and watch videos and have them work on their workbooks, and that's not education,'' Minnear said.

''It is nearly impossible to dismiss a teacher for being below mediocre,'' Mosrie said. ''They have to be grossly incompetent for you to go through a dismissal and to win.''

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. We test more than we teach

I am in one of those struggling districts where the vast majority of the schools don't make AYP. So we test. We test reading level once a quarter. We test all of the other academic areas twice a quarter. We take a practice test before the state tests. And we spend a month on state tests. We spend more weeks testing than teaching.

As the 100% mandate approaches - ALL kids must test at a proficient level in 2014 - more and more districts will get into this testing mode and spend more and more time testing.

[exboyfil]

23. I agree way too much testing

The 100% number is ridiculous on its face. Stop grade progression until aptitude is demonstrated. They don't do nearly that level of standardized testing in my district. Are the practice tests used as opportunities to teach as well? I have not seen copies of the ITBS, but math problems are math problems. Doing math problems is a good thing. Getting feedback on what you are doing wrong is also a good thing. The same can be said to a lesser extent for other subjects (spelling, grammar, reading comprehension). Can you go through these sample tests and discuss problems which gave students the most difficulty after the test?

The ITBS takes 5 to 6 hours. How can testing take a month even with makeups? What tests are they taking?

[AlecBGreen]

24. easier said than done

"Stop grade progression until aptitude is demonstrated"

If all kids were held back until they met the bare minimum levels of achievement, you would have a HUGE POOL of 20 year old graduates. Seriously.

I teach in an urban/suburban district in Virginia. We have a NO RETENTION policy for K-8. They are only held back once they hit high school. It shows. I get freshman who cant do basic multiplication. They cant read. They dont possess basic skills of logic & reasoning. Its both sad and scary at the same time. But like this teacher and every other one worth their salt, you just do the best you can and hope it helps.

Their has to be some middle ground between "no passing til mastery" and "no retention no matter what." I wish I knew what it was. I think the biggest issue is that these kids dont see the value of an education, and who can blame them? What kind of job can you get with a high school diploma and no skills?

[KG]

10. almost nobody in FL supports this bill, except the repooks in the statehouse

[Dinger]

11. I Hope This Fails

This can't happen.

[KG]

12. the bill is on the repook governor's desk.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. It won't fail and the governor will sign it

Then they will be submitting their RTTT application.

[Dinger]

18. Well, It Looks Like War Then (nt)

[voteearlyvoteoften]

15. rec

[Turk 182]

17. K&R

:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

[olegramps]

19. This what I don't understand about policy.

How can you expect to provide every student with the opportunity of a quality education when the financing of schools primarily depends on the wealth of to district in which they live. I also wonder what happens in our mobile society when kids are transferred from one school to another that don't even use the same texts. Perhaps the education of children should be administered on a national level. These are just questions being asked by a person who isn't an educator.

[Catshrink]

21. You're asking the questions teachers ask.

Factor in learning disabilities, language barriers, chronic absences, parental neglect, disruptive behavior and these questions are even more appropriate. But, according to Florida, the teachers will be held responsible for student test scores regardless of where the child starts.

You get it. Thank you.

:hi:

[rucky]

26. Ann Richards was practically run out of Texas for asking that question.

because it's at the heart of the scam.

[BrklynLiberal]

25. Kick n Rec

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

27. They give IQ tests to students now and share the results with the teachers?

Is that normal nowadays? I mean, IQ tests are pretty much bogus to begin with.

[Catshrink]

28. Not routinely.

I can get access to a student's academic history from the guidance counselors. Each student had a huge file by the time they get to high school of all the testing and teacher evaluations they've gone through. IQ results might be in there. I've looked at a few of them when seeing if a student was ever tested for special education service but don't remember. It was a lot of data to absorb!