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Evaluating educators more fairly
This was a letter I wrote to the editor in a local newspaper that was posted. I believe it strikes a chord locally and hope all school administrators, school board members and parents read. ty
Each and every time I hear that teaching excellence is being based on end-of-year test scores, it makes me ill. These scores have very little to do with teaching excellence, yet every year it is the same thing: Someone is a great teacher because 90 percent of their students passed; someone is a poor teacher because only 60 percent of their children passed.
One would be hard pressed to find even a few highly qualified educators who believe that standardized testing is appropriate to educational progress.
Nevertheless, if teaching excellence is going to be determined by test scores, at least use the ones that are most relevant. All that would be required is to gather each teacher’s student benchmark scores, average the amount of improvement by class, and compare the teachers end-of-year evaluations with that of their peers. This would highlight the teachers whose students made the most improvement and would draw attention to any supervisor who gave sub-par and career damaging evaluations to teachers when it was not warranted.
It is much more important to measure ‘how much progress a student made’ than whether their scores exceeded a line in the sand, especially when it comes to evaluating the quality of instruction. What is the point of having six to 12 benchmark tests each year to determine student progress, only to ignore the findings in favor of end-of-year scores during performance evaluations?
In today’s RGV educational climate, it is possible for a teacher to inherit 20 children who struggle academically, increase achievement dramatically — say from 25 percent accuracy to 65 percent on average — and still get a terrible evaluation. Another teacher may inherit an excellent class whose test accuracy the previous year was 95 percent, tested at 90 percent and receive an excellent evaluation although the student scores went down.
To parents and school board members: If school administrators are allowed to give poor teaching evaluations without appropriate regard to student progress based on benchmarks, do we really want those individuals supervising your teachers?
Furthermore, do you think excellent teachers, whose students make excellent progress, will stay at an institution whose primary means of assessment in entirely based on end-of-year test scores?
Saving money shopping
Since my wife is a teacher and she on spring break, I thought it would be a good time to inspect the car she drives. It’s an older model Honda CRV, we like it, and good car maintenance is important. I have my step dad mechanic to drive it and he gives me some good advice. Next day I go to the side of the road tire guy I have gone to for years. This time, he advises me that I need two rear tires. Then strangely he convinces me to buy two used tires costing $30.00 because it was a deal and he is a good guy. Cool.
Next order of business. Stepdad has recommended new shocks and struts. When shopping the price on the web it looks something like the dealer charges around $1,100, some places will do it for $750 or $800 (but I got a guy). My guy says he will do the labor for $180 and I know that is a great price.
I go to a couple of car places and they quote around $425 after taxes for the four parts. At this point it would seem to be $425 + $180 = $605 but no. Buying auto parts on the web I find two places that sell would I need for $160 with no shipping (and possibly no sales tax). My point
The range in consumer cost, I will be paying $340 but could have paid $1,100.
This takes me back to the time I took my young son to a pediatrician. He sent us next door to a pathology place to draw and test blood. When they said it would cost $800 and be coming out of my pocket as part of the deductible first deal, I kind of freaked because we don’t just have $800 for blood stuff at our house.
Drove away thinking about it. Saw a sign that said pathology lab 200 yards from the first place. Went in with son and said how much for this, they said $400. WOW so I said ok
Then because I paid cash they took 20% off.
I paid 320 and 200 yards back it would have been $800. The morale of my story.
Shop everything
Going to the doctor
So I escorted my wonderful wife to an arthritis specialist Monday morning. The wait for the appointment was four months.
We arrived promptly to find a waiting room absolutely packed with people wearing coats.
Our appointment was for 10 AM. She was called at 11:30 to pay in advance, then a few minutes later was called to the examination area.
Making clients who all have appointments wait for extended periods of time in a inadequately heated waiting area is extraordinarily offensive. Not only do I find the scenario extremely vulgar, it shows absolute disdain for the clients who pay the facilities salaries.
The implication as I see it is that since everyone in the waiting area is in pain and absolutely needs to see a specialist, they do not say anything for fear that their personal needs will not be addressed if they do. Apparently the doctor either does not recognize this or does not care. He or she found a personal rationalization for their behavior. I think it is a case of scheduling incompetence,greed, lack of professionalism, or indifference. In any other profession this type of conduct would be rewarded with severe consequences.
What it implies is that money is so important to a staff that undoubtedly earns more than almost every one of their clients, is they cannot be bothered to monitor the thermostat to make sure the people who pay their salaries are comfortable. Furthermore, rather than schedule patients in a timely and courteous fashion, they are packed into a time frame that consistently requires everyone except the very first clients of the day to wait for extensive periods of time. (Because they can get away with it.)
As a general observation and based on my experience, a conservative estimate of 40 people a day wait on average a minimum of 60 minutes (we waited 90) for an appointment that everyone in the room has scheduled in advance.
40 people a day waiting 60 minutes is 40 hours a day x 5 days a week = 200 hours x 40 work weeks in a year = 8000 hours. So clients spend 8,000 hours a year wasted waiting to see just one doctor who is obviously unconcerned about their being inconvenienced but very concerned about getting every single person in the door possible.
In some cases the average reasonable person takes off a half day thinking a 10 AM appointment is a 10 AM appointment and they will be back at work in the afternoon. NOT
I am sure these numbers are very conservative.
Their is no excuse.
I think everyone should bill the doctor for any wait of a non – walk in facility at their pay grade.
(Of course the doctor would probably raise his rates in response.
Irritating
The Case for Changing the Educational Hierarchy. 8d Teachers
Plumbers
Electricians
Carpenters
Lawyers
Optometrists
Dentists
Accountants
Chefs
Doctors
Veterinarians
Nurses
Architects
All acquire professional credentials that make them the presumed unequivocal expert in their fields and those to whom others look to for guidance, protocols. and standards of excellence.
Only in teaching is this straightforward approach to professionalism ignored so arbitrarily.
Of the four decision making bodies, teachers are by far the most qualified to evaluate other teachers. They are also the most qualified regarding subject time line appropriateness, age appropriateness, curriculum and probably hiring.
To improve the standard of education in a community there are a number of options.
Creation of master teacher positions that are determined by percentage consensus of other teachers or predetermined qualifications.
Peer teaching evaluations or at a minimum teaching evaluations by those working in the profession.
Pay incentive that rewards pursuit of teaching excellence in college while remaining in the classroom.
(plus 15/plus 30/Masters/plus 15/plus 30/PhD)
In other words, a pay scale that pays more based on educational merit for teachers.
Synopsis
Parents must not be allowed disproportionate control of educational protocols based on personal opinion. Nor can they be allowed to shirk parenting responsibilities when it comes to responding to their child’s behavior when a lack of social skills is disrupting the educational environment.
School board members duties relative to education decision making should be appropriately subordinate regarding hiring, curriculum, evaluative and educational decision making better left to professionals.
Administrator positions should be primarily facilitative in nature. The scope of duties should be subordinate to professional educator recommendations and requirements when interacting educationally. Non educators working in these positions should not be involved in educational decision making, teacher evaluations or staff hiring. Decrease salaries accordingly.
Teachers should be required to achieve academic merit pursuing advanced education and financially incentivized accordingly.
Teachers should have their own peer evaluation system with masters teachers who are educators playing a role.
Disciplinary problems in the class room should be referred to administrators and parents immediately and be in their purview while not distracting from teaching and learning in the classroom.
Teachers should make educational decisions with school administrators, parents and school board members showing appropriate deference to professional expertise.
Shopping, Cards, and Shiny Things
How is it possible the general population is so easily manipulated, so easily deceived.
Things that are both shiny and non functional are worth more than other things.
Furthermore, if you don’t buy into this idea, you will be chastised and thought to be cheap, classless, and having poor taste.
A guy proposes marriage and there are ring expectations because of what the symbol represents and commitment. What a bunch of nonsense. A young couple starting out and has little in the way of income should not be led to believe a shiny thing that costs way way more than they can afford and serves no functional purpose is something they must have, even when it requires a high interest credit rate and puts them in debt.
Rarely does the jeweler point out that it is a must to have 5 supports for a diamond because it only has 4 and one stud break, oops.
Shiny must be really important.
Everybody thinks its valuable so it is, but it really isn’t.
Incidentally, capitalistic countries like ourselves bass the dollar on a bunch of gold bars that suit almost no purpose other than wearing to show status.
It’s Shiny but doesn’t do anything except sit, or decorate, and it’s heavy.
Occasion cards. Someone got everyone to think you were a bad person if you didn’t sent people a birthday card, a Christmas card and more recently cards for a whole new bunch of invented holidays that didn’t use to exist but do now.
Someone has an occasion, you go to the store, look at a bunch of cards that all cost too much, write two to ten words, and mail it.
They read it, throw the envelope away, and keep the card with a whole bunch of other cards they feel to guilty to dispose of and never look at them again.
The cards cost like five bucks.
Let’s go shopping. What are we shopping for. I don’t know, I’m not there yet.
gee.
It is amazing how many people do just this for no reason other than immediate gratification and the belief that it is an appropriate use of time.
Almost no one can afford this behavior, but many seem unable to alter what has become a mindless lifestyle socialization choice. They do it because their friends do it, their families do it, and they have always done it.
Shopping is not something to do when they are bored or want to hang out.
Shopping is something someone else needs you to do so they earn money.
OK I’ll stop now. http://www.danoettel.com
The Case for changing the educational hierarchy. 8c School Administration
When there is a right to work law, somehow that translates to weak teacher unions or advocacy groups.
In many ways, school districts in such states have determined local municipalities deserve a significant role in school policy and are capable of acceptable standards of conduct, hiring, educational decision making and honorable behavior.
Self governance with inadequate deference to expertise.
Many, if not the large majority of school districts have in place policy whereby teachers who attain a masters degree in education receive annual bonus of $500-$1,000.
In the meantime, teachers who acquire a certain supervisory professional credentials can be hired to work in administration and make significantly more income while not yet having acquired a masters degree.
They will make significantly more money with significantly less responsibility and stress. (Unless one thinks it is harder to direct paid subordinates than unruly children or that the administration working two weeks longer a year in any way compensates for the total number of hours teachers work annually.)
Self governance with improper deference to prioritization.
Local school districts may justify the hire of a variety of administrators by allowing themselves to distort school district responsibilities based on social economics, empathy, ignorance, or agenda.
Salaries can be justified by relating commensurate positions to those in the private sector.(Guess no one mentioned it is a service occupation. Duh)
Self governance by accepting and acting on invalid premises.
None of these compare with the really big salami.
There are various professional journals and other reputable writings about what it takes to truly be a professional and at the top of ones field of endeavor. A time line has been repeatedly quoted as 10,000 hours, which is to say, the amount of time spent acquiring top of the food chain qualifications based on a serious commitment to a precise, non-distracted unwavering goal.
In some states or school districts income disparity between school administrators favors administrators too such a degree, it actually makes everyone think, upwardly mobile means leaving teaching and moving into adult employee supervision.
Unfortunately, this financial dynamic incentivizes many teachers early on, and let’s face it, teaching is not easy. So I observed a coincidence of sorts in my years as a teacher. Many teachers became administrators approximately five years after they began teaching. Then one day I realized why. Five years was about the amount of time a full time teacher earning a living and paying the bills would take while attending college part time to acquire the necessary credentials to leave the classroom, become an administrator, and make more money.
Admirable right!
1 Throw into the equation those teachers desiring to leave the classroom are not just doing it because of the pay increase.
2 They may have made a life choice mistake and have limited career options.
3 They may have had terrible classroom management skills.
4 They more likely than not, changed grades or teaching duties at least once and probably twice further undermining the timeline to acquire true mastery of a grade or subject.
5 While teaching and acquiring the very demanding expertise necessary to be great, (an absolutely all encompassing endeavor that one must throw themselves fully into in order to be truly great), there are those who have the time to attend college part time taking away focus, time and effort when they are most developmentally important.
6 Are we to assume that leaving one field to go to another will not affect their commitment to mastery in education adequately and the learning curve it entails?
7 If you buy into the time line mastery concept, do we just accept and rationalize grade or subject changes as not being a step backwards in area mastery.
I am not trying to beat these folks up.
I just do not think they are the education experts.
They used to be teachers.
Now they are not.
They are now teacher supervisors who; evaluate, schedule, prioritize, determine policy and perform a host of other duties while making significantly more money than professional educators..
Regarding anything connected to the educating of children and evaluation of teaching excellence, people who work in offices should; follow mandates determined by professional educators and facilitate their wishes.
The case for changing the educational hierarchy 8b School Board Members
As a career educator I lack expertise regarding the duties of School Board Members so my thoughts are based on conjecture. I presume people run for the school board out of a sense of civic responsibility and concern about the children, although in recent years I have come to recognize some have ulterior motives.
It is important to recognize that school board members are elected without a prerequisite qualification requirement. This being the case it is extremely important that these elected officials recognize that there are educational decisions to be made that they are qualified to make and others that require they defer to qualified experts and not attempt to exert authority. The ability to differentiate between the two is paramount and when the decision making paths are blurred, manipulated or misconstrued, there can be serious educational consequences.
To this end, I believe it is highly unlikely that any school board entity is sufficiently qualified to determine teaching excellence, qualifications, curriculum, who should be hired and who should be fired for educational justifiable reasons. Those decisions should be left to the experts in the field and simply attending school or attainment of unrelated degrees does not constitute expertise.
Just as deference to expertise occurs regarding plumbing, carpentry, auto mechanics and medical doctors, it should be mandatory regarding something as important as our future. Allowing egocentricity, personal agenda, or deference to inexpert authority when making educational decisions should be grounds for removal from the position at the earliest opportunity.
http://www.danoettel.com author of THIS CAN’T BE RIGHT ‘The Education of an American Teacher’
The case for changing the educational hierarchy. Ex. 8a The parents of students
As I understand it, there are four decision making bodies in public education; parents, teachers, administrators, and school board members. Each has a role to play, but in many cases it is no longer appropriate to qualifications and reasonable expectations.
When children arrive at school and lack social skills the burden almost always falls on the classroom teacher. Somehow, many parents believe this is an appropriate expectation. It is not.
A teachers main responsibility is to teach, not socialization training. When even a few parents neglect their responsibilities regarding training their children to interact with others without distracting, stealing from or hurting others it affects everyone and undermines the process to an unacceptable degree.
All to frequently situations are occurring throughout the country in which a few parents abstain from socialization responsibilities. They had children, but wether it be neglect, irresponsibility, or ignorance, have decided it is the teachers problem to provide the social modifications required. Unfortunately, this attitude adversely affects all the other children and the teachers unfairly. Furthermore, most parents are unaware of the significants of this dynamic.
Unless appropriate consequences exist for the parents and students alike the status quo will continue.
More likely than not schools are cowed by a dynamic in which either administration lacks the backbone to stand up to the perpetrators of this unjust situation, fears litigation, or lacks the courage of conviction to maintain consistent consequences.
Because of the difficulties in parenting and the ease with which responsibility can be deflected, many believe the problem falls under the school systems prevue. It does not.
Just because someone’s job can be affected when the school sends a child home does not mean it goes without saying it is up to the school to fix the problem. It does not.
When a parent does not know what to do about a child’s behavior they often times think it is the schools problem. It is not.
When a child has a behavioral problem that adversely affects others, it is a parental responsibility.
To think and act otherwise is unfair, unreasonable, and inappropriate.
The case for changing the educational hierarchy. Ex. 7 Hiring practices
One day while perusing employment, I noticed a local college was looking for someone to teach in the department of education.
As the job description was somewhat abstract, rather than filling out all the paperwork needlessly, I called to ask if I was correct in assuming the position was one that taught teachers how to teach, how students learned and general pedagogy. It was. Further inquiry indicated they wanted someone with a minimum of 18 graduate hours in EDUC, a minimum of a masters in education, and someone who was certified k-12.
The conversation led me to believe that what they probably wanted was someone who had pursued educational administration which the chairperson confirmed. Not taken into consideration was the small percentage of applicants who would be certified K-12.
So here’s the rub.
Why would a university target someone who left teaching to work in administration as the person they wanted to teach and influence prospective teachers?
One would think the career choice itself would disqualify the applicant.
The case for changing the educational hierarchy. Ex. 6 Teacher Aides
Teacher aides are well supposed to aide teachers. Certainly the merit of such an idea stems from the rational educational approach that leaving a kindergarten teacher alone with 20 children is an educationally inappropriate situation. It is unfair to the children, it is unfair to the teacher.
When a school principal removes teacher aides from lower elementary and requires they tutor upper grades, decorate the school, build floats, etc. they are no longer teacher aides, they are principal aides.
With 20 children in a kindergarten classroom, a minimum of two are likely to be poorly behaved and demand a disproportionate amount of the teachers time. The problem is further exacerbated in an area where families on average are larger and parents less educated.
Anyone who has ever taught 20 unruly five and six year olds, many of which lack social skills, recognizes it is educationally inappropriate situation. If they do not, I would argue they should not be in a supervisory position.
If the supervisor of those administrators knows the situation exists and allows it, I would argue they should not be in a supervisory position either.
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