When it comes to getting the best teachers possible into the system, what are your priorities? Rank the approaches below from 1-5, with 1 being your highest priority.
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Historically speaking, this profession was dominated by women, and thus, of low status. High pay can change that perception. I mean high as in stockbroker high. Why not? Are we serious about this or not?
As a retired teacher I can attest to the lack of proper training. Any prospective teacher should spend at least 1 year as a paid apprentice working along side an experienced teacher in the classroom, everyday, all day. The best of my teacher training/education was as a student teacher. Finally, I disagree with Bloomberg's premise. Good schools are made by good students, not good teachers. Good teachers make good students better, but can have only a marginal affect on bad students. By good students I mean those who are motivated and with a stable home environment. If people think that's true for all NYC kids, they are sadly mistaken.
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Reality checks!
Acknowledge that every kid is NOT prepared or capable in the same way and not all are built for exceptional success in the conventional ways that the folks listed below like to muse that they are.......everyone CAN'T do everything well. there are norms and tendencies - accept that and all will be better served.
Come on Bill Gates, Bloomberg, Duncan, even Obama...I have a few classrooms I'd like to see you stand and deliver in - for all 184 days.
You won't be able to do it, no matter your salary and no matter your preparation.
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RESPECT, SUPPORT and continued Professional Development! And more programs like Jeffrey Canada's.
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Having taught in suburbia for many years I found that the University courses were sometimes a waste of time. Teaching on the job training with an experienced teacher was extremely helpful. Holding teachers accountable for the test results is ineffectual. There are classes that are able to perform and then some that do not. With small classes you can reach more students and be effectual.
It's not all about money, Mike. Many teachers actually choose that profession because they want to make a difference and any teacher worth a ____ knows that class size makes a HUGE difference. Doubling class size is a perfect way to scare off teachers. I've worked in dozens of public schools over the past fifteen years, doing artist residencies, teaching playwriting to students of all ages from first grade through high school. More students means less time for one on one assistance. More students means wayyyy more time devoted to behavior management and a whole lot less time devoted to actual teaching. I taught a program, BRIEFLY, in Queens where they stuck me in a room with forty-five eighth graders. I still feel guilty about this, but I had to quit. I was accomplishing absolutely nothing, and I am a very experienced teacher who has worked in just about every kind of environment under the most dire of circumstances. But there really was just no reason for me to be there other than to act as a babysitter, and not a terribly effective one at that given the circumstances. And so I left, leaving the school to rethink their approach. I don't get paid to babysit. To one of your previous callers - there is a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE between teaching elementary and middle school, and teaching college. ESPECIALLY when you're teaching in New Tork City public schools.
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The mayor is right about real estate: location location, location. He's wrong about learning. It's class size, class size, class size. That's what makes everything else possible: good teaching, good students, good schools.
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Creating an culture of respect and appreciation for the art and skill of teaching.
Creating working conditions that enable teachers to actually teach! Teachers need a realistic, effective and rich curriculum, time to plan lessons and collaborate with colleagues, good facilities and supplies, time to teach the curriculum, support from administrators and parents, and a clear and effective school wide discipline policy.
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Throw away kids.
I am amazed at the punitive language about kids, teachers and parents. Since the proponents of ' personal responsibility' are so willing to throw away any kid who does not have effective parents, I have modest proposal. How about taking those kids away from anyone whose kids don't pass the Regents exam, and requiring that those advocates of 'responsibility' adopt as many kids as they can. After all, if class size does not matter, neither should family size. First, of course, those new "responsible" parents should be sure they can pass the so-called 'literacy' exam, which measures primarily their ability to fill in little ovals. If they fail, the ideal parents should be made useful by cleaning toilets for the rest of us.
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Recognition of the importance of teaching and education in creating a productive, informed and engaged citizenry.
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Teachers should be, in American, of the same quality and given the same respect at engineers or scientists. They should be given high salaries and held accountable for their good or bad students' test scores, and thus given more incentive to do well. It is also absolutely necessary, to put students that don't seem to want to learn into another group with students that do not want to excel. It takes two to tango, students and teachers should BOTH be held accountable.
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Instead of weeding out teachers, we should be talking about weeding out those who stand to profit from the privatization of education. Only then can we have an honest conversation about teacher effectiveness.
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Treating teachers with respect is a definite "1" by
discussing why they have made certain decisions
etc. In my personal experience the best functioning schools (worked in 5 throughout
33 years) were run that way. Another important factor is school politics. I found this to be a severe hindrance because morale can easily be reduced which affects performance.
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I'd like to see teachers re-trained as they are moved around the system--for instance the
spanish teacher who was retained only to teach kindergarten at my daughter's school, or the fourth grade teacher who was moved to 1st grade, without being re-trained in the needs of the age group.
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Go back to giving the teachers their preps back so that they can do lesson planning with other teachers.
Have an outside ( impartial) evaluation company do the evaluating. Many times, the evaluator has another agenda, and gets rid of good teachers based on fabricated reasons, all due to the poor chemistry.
Give the teachers staff development, - more books ,resources, and let them have a say in what materials they need. A bigger expense account for supplies to make the classroom a better experience.
