Why Principals Don't Fire Bad Teachers, Even When Given The Option. Win McNamee / Getty Images Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation of Teachers, speaks during the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. The popular perception is that teachers unions have a stranglehold on public education, tying school leaders’ hands, preventing them from firing the bad teachers who can’t hack it in a classroom. That’s the perception, anyway. The reality may not be so simple. Shanker Blog has the story of a recently-released study saying unions don’t have as much power to block a principal from firing a teacher as most people think.
What’s more, even when principals are explicitly given permission to fire bad teachers, they don’t take advantage of it. As Shanker‘s Matt Di Carlo summarizes, “Principals don’t let go of a lot of teachers because they don’t want to, not because they can’t.” Effectively, the contractual tweak allowed principals to fire a probationary teacher “with a simple click of a button” and minimal documentation. Why? Transforming Education: How Do We Start a Movement? When do you start a movement? How do you start a movement? What happens when things actually move? These questions and more have been swirling in my head since the gathering of the Deeper Learning Network Community of Practice at High Tech High last week in San Diego. The Work Funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Deeper Learning Network is made up of ten school networks from across the country that serve a diverse group of students in urban, rural, and suburban schools -- more than 445 schools in 36 states.
As part of the work of the network we have formed a Community of Practice that meets twice a year to share best practices, examine student and teacher work, and look for opportunities to build tools and support policy changes that can support deeper learning in our network schools and all public schools. We have been grappling with questions like: What does a deeper learner do? We have immersed ourselves in student and teacher work. Taking Action Where do we start? What's the Purpose of School in the 21st Century? - Education. Consider some of the basic symbols of education in the United States: the textbook, the chalkboard, and the apple. Thanks to technological innovations and cultural forces, we’ve seen textbooks supplanted by videos and e-books, SMART Boards replace chalkboards, and the apple on the teacher’s desk pushed aside by the latest gadgets from, well, Apple. Just as our classrooms have changed significantly since the 1800s, so have our ideas about the purpose of schools.
Our views on education were defined by John Dewey’s theory, which states—and I’m simplifying—that the general purpose of school is to transfer knowledge and prepare young people to participate in America’s democratic society. But today’s students live in a modern, global society that is interconnected as never before. As a result, Dewey’s explanation of the purpose of schools now seems insular and inadequate.
So in 2012, what is the purpose of schools? Yet U.S. education efforts are moving in the opposite direction. If you could build a school system from scratch, what would be different? (commentary) View full sizeCory Olsen | MLive.comTech savvy: Then-third-grader Damion Jacob smiles as Godfrey-Lee Superintendent David Britten looks up the spelling of a word on his iPad. Britten encourages teachers and students to use smart phones and other handheld devices. LANSING, MI – If you could build the Michigan education system from scratch, what would be different?
I have tremendous respect for Godfrey-Lee Superintendent David Britten. He served his country before going into teaching and serving his community, and I think his non-traditional approach gives him a fresh perspective. He’s a visionary, and has worked hard to integrate technology into his small, urban district just south of Grand Rapids. Smartphones are not banned in class, their use is encouraged. His blog, Rebel 6 Ramblings, is always an interesting read, and this week’s post, “Real change, not ‘better sameness’” is startling in its bluntness. “We are averse to change because we fear it. Bad for the Brain: Goodbye to Unsustainable Education Models. My Prediction: Within five to ten years in some countries, open Internet access for information acquisition will be available on standardized tests. This access will significantly reduce the quantity of data designated for rote memorization. Tools and Skills Before 1994, a student would be expelled from the SAT exams for bringing any type of calculator.
Then, starting in 1994, calculators were not only permitted, but were essentially required. The driving factors came from the level of mathematics taught and tested and the availability of graphing calculator technology. This change gave students the appropriate tool for accuracy and efficiency -- it was also the one used by most professionals who used mathematics beyond basic arithmetic. Consider, also, that calculator access for these standardized tests did not reduce the instruction in -- or development of -- real arithmetic skills.
Just the Facts Tests and Stress Tomorrow's Workforce Freedom Your Predictions? Common Sense on E-rate and CIPA: Toolkits for Schools and Districts. Engaging Education. Instead of glowing in the light of a new day, each morning thousands of educators walk the halls of schools beneath burdensome shadows. For looming not too far off on the horizon are the towering silhouettes of imminent standardized tests. And whether intentionally or not, many educators cannot help but allow the presence of such looming silhouettes to drive their teaching methods. Their motivations are usually good, for who would fault them for trying to prepare students for success on these standards-based, institutionally important assessments. So, they type up their lesson plans, replacing engaging hands-on activities with dull practice tests and repetitive lessons on testing strategies.
And as these looming silhouettes approach, more and more educators spend more and more class time reluctantly teaching to the test. As an educator, we must refuse to measure our own success, and that of our students, through standardized test scores. For in education, what is it that really matters? The(Un)Connected Classroom: When Will Education Catch-up with Technology? "the classroom is one of the least connected places left’ So true and quite sad, we Will Change this! " – @ken_ingle (Twitter.com, 11 April, 2012) Back in 2004 I was "lucky" enough to be assigned to a classroom in the renovated basement of an ancient building that had one been used as a hospital during the Civil War.
The room was set-up horribly for the seminar that I was teaching on "The Future of Education. " The long bench-style desks were in unmovable straight rows rising in tiers from the front of the classroom and beams obstructed the view for someone no matter where I stood. But what this classroom did have were pretty decent computer workstations at every seat and a digital projector. Since then, I have focused almost exclusively on teaching courses using or about technology (that’s easy to do when your Ph.D. is in Instructional Technology), so I have always been in a well-appointed, connected classroom. Where’s the Tech? Dear Teacher:Be Remarkable Today! To Fix America's Education Bureaucracy, We Need to Destroy It - National. Successful schools don't have a formula, other than that teachers and principals are free to follow their instincts.
AP Images America's schools are being crushed under decades of legislative and union mandates. They can never succeed until we cast off the bureaucracy and unleash individual inspiration and willpower. Schools are human institutions. Their effectiveness depends upon engaging the interest and focus of each student. Good teachers typically are found in schools with good cultures. Successful teaching and good school cultures don't have a formula, but they have a necessary condition: teachers and principals must feel free to act on their best instincts. This is why we must bulldoze school bureaucracy. Law is everywhere in schools. Throw onto the legal pile a mono-minded compulsion -- complete with legal penalties -- to satisfy minimum standardized test scores.
The organizational flaw in America's schools is that they are too organized. I Miss Being a Teacher. A student stops me before school and asks, "Can you talk like Apu from the Quick-E-Mart. My brother said you do it really well. " I do my best to comply and then he responds with, "Hey, do you want to hear my impression of Bon Iver announcing a soccer game? " I laugh hysterically at his impression and then I scurry over to the office to pick up the test booklets. I don't think I'm very "out of touch" in this hybrid teaching/coaching position. I'm still paid like a teacher.
I'm still teaching lessons. I've already forgotten things that I had to remember this week. In leaving the classroom (sort-of), I've gotten to see the big picture. I know, in theory, what it's like to be a teacher. I'm ready to be back in the classroom full-time. Characteristics of 21st Century Teachers. As others try to discover the next revolutionary idea to elicit changes in education, educators in the classroom are making things happen now, despite the hurdles they sometimes face. Innovative educators today are often referred to as 21st Century Teachers, and share many unique characteristics. I believe that 21st Century Teachers: Do what they have to for their students. Although they may not be provided all of the tools to be successful, they find the means to do what must be done for their students. Provide relevancy in their content.
The students don’t care to learn something because they need to learn it to pass a state exam. Are transparent. Students do not respect the position, they respect the person. Don’t wait to master something before they implement it. Students know a bad lesson when they are sitting through one. Learn alongside their students. There is no way you can learn everything that the kids currently know. Don’t stop students from trying. Change things up. The Best Ideas for Our Schools. This past week I was fortunate to attend the NASSP 2012 Annual Conference as a presenter, 2012 Digital Principal Award recipient, and most importantly a learner. On Friday morning I attended a session facilitated by Dr. Gary Stager, a progressive educator whose work I have come to know over the past couple of years.
Gary’s message is one that resonates with me and many other educators who frequent digital spaces. All around the world there are ideas that are put into action. Image credit: Ideas like the ones Gary discussed also lead to the promotion of ingenuity, entrepreneurialism, and self-directed learning. As leaders, whether in the capacity as a teacher or administrator, it is our duty to be agents of change. Best ideas in the world don’t succumb to incrementalism or any other type of excuse or challenge. Respect for each learner: We need to have actual conversations with our students. Education needs paper and pavement people. When surveying writers, I always scrutinize their resume to see if the person is a paper or a pavement kind of person. A paper person has read a lot of paper and perhaps written a lot of paper.
He knows the theories and how things should work.She read a lot of studies and may know a lot of people. There is certainly a place for paper. A pavement person hits the pavement every day. I think that the most successful educators are paper and pavement. Paper Tigers can devour learning When we have to be afraid is when paper rules the day. Pavement people can be a bit more messy and kind of dirty.
Misapplication of best practice The danger of best practices is to lose the context of the teacher, student, and local school in the implementation. Questions for those who spend more time with paper: Do you have pavement in your paper? Questions for those who hit the pavement every day: Do you read paper and learn about best practice from others? On paper... bumblebees can't fly. Rebel Alliance #EduRebel.