An archived stack of papers: 'Legislation'
No Way Out
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- Oct
- 13
- 2010
As this school year year rolls on and you no longer have a bookroom clerk, librarian, subject area coordinator, testing coordinator, repro clerk, counselor, career center adviser, campus monitor, activities director, student services adviser, and any number of other positions that have been eliminated, you face a difficult choice. And no matter what you choose, you’re in trouble. We need to keep... read more
Your New Job
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- Aug
- 11
- 2009
You are probably going to be asked to do a lot of things this year. Last year, those things would have been done by someone else. This year, you’ll be expected to do them. You’ll be asked to take more students in your classroom. You’ll be asked to volunteer at this event. You’ll be asked to watch the library one day a week. You’ll be asked to supervise a few more hours.... read more
PI Means Punitive Intent
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- Nov
- 11
- 2007
punitive (pyoo-ni-tiv) adj. 1. See ESEA/NCLB
No rewards for desired behavior exist, only punishments. It’s as if ESEA/NCLB set out to doom public education. The overarching goal of 100% proficiency is almost necessarily impossible; the premise from which the law generates destines some percentage of schools to failure. Punishments the law puts in... read more
I Scratch My Head
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- May
- 14
- 2007
A few schools in my district failing to meet their goals impacts all schools next school year. In order to ever move out of Program Improvement (PI) status, the term given to districts like mine, all 11 schools in my district must meet their goals for 2 consecutive years. Roughly, that’s 26,400 students, 1,100 teachers, 35... read more
More Reauthorization Thoughts
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- Feb
- 16
- 2007
I just finished a conversation with a friend and colleague about the ESEA/NCLB suggested changes I wrote about yesterday. Why aren’t things ever easy? There are good ideas there and this is a push in the right direction, but there are far too many problems to just roll over on this one. Similarly, there are too many improvements this could make to accept none of it.
Ultimately, the trouble... read more
ESEA/NCLB Reauthorization Suggestions
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- Feb
- 15
- 2007
I received email from NEA, the head of the local union, and the union vice president, all decrying the latest suggested changes to ESEA (NCLB). Even though many ideas expressed in the Aspen Institute report would go a long way to move teaching toward an actual “profession,” one requirement lead my union... read more
Trouble With Standards: Part 3
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- Jan
- 22
- 2007
Here’s the big one, the trouble with English standards, along with a couple of things to consider in making standards better. We need to improve the quality of public education, but we didn’t finish that fight by creating standards and more testing. Keep pushing things forward, please. Most content standards in my state were adopted in 1998. What about in your state? How old are your content... read more
Trouble With Standards: Part 2
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- Jan
- 21
- 2007
Environment makes a difference in student education and standards don’t take that into account. That’s a perpetuation of the have-and-the-have-not society, yet I believe that’s exactly what education should combat. Also, standards assess students, not teaching. Standards look at the product, not the process. Education is a human system and cannot be treated as if it were merely cogs... read more
Trouble With Standards: Part 1
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- Jan
- 20
- 2007
Content standards are the road to hell paved with good intentions. I understand why they are there, but they are an accessory to the crime of poor education inflicted on our students. The way they are currently employed, they are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
[Update: I’ve decided to piece this up a bit more. I hope that doesn’t interrupt your regular... read more
Gone: Professional Development Requirement
In a stack of papers called Legislation.
- Nov
- 20
- 2006
In years past, renewing a teaching credential involved 150 hours of professional development every 5 years. This worked out to 30 hours every year. Broken down further, observing the 10-month school calendar, teachers should have been exposed to 3 hours of professional development each month. Considering that there’s always more to learn about how/what to teach, that never seemed like a lot of... read more