Monthly Archives: December 2011

The Four Point Scale…. again.

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Assessment, Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Games, Life in the Classroom, Professional Development, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership

Elephant-clockBy Mark

I sat at a table with two other teachers, two building administrators, and the top two admin from the district office. We'd spent the better part of an hour sorting through the assessment rubrics and frameworks associated with the new teacher evaluation system mandated through legislative action in Senate Bill 6696. 

Silence settled on us all at once. The weight of what we were examining suddenly became overwhelming. 

Like so many things in education, the ideas and philosophies behind this new evaluation system (in brief: a shift from the binary satisfactory/unsatisfactory on a menu of teacher behaviors to a four-point continuum of evaluation using as many as sixty individual descriptors of teacher practice) we could all agree were sound, necessary, and powerful both in terms of evaluation and potential professional development.

But as we began to picture how it all could transition from philosophy to action, the beast began to be revealed.

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Technology: Tools or Toys?

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Appleii-systemBy Mark

I am lucky enough to teach half of my work day in a program which provides my 45 English 9 students each with desktop computer for their using during my class time. We do research, write compositions, use tech toys like prezi and PowerPoint and animoto (and blogs), and we aim squarely for the kind of discerning 21st century multiliteracy that is all the rage, and supposedly the necessity.

I project my computer screen to help facilitate instruction from bell to bell. I use my doc cam and my smartboard. I keep my students informed on my class website where I post video clips, youtube links, prezi lectures, and assignment resources.

I tell myself that all this makes my life easier. I know that I'm lucky, of course, and I am not complaining, but I wonder about the role and place of technology in education. And I wonder if maybe I'm faced with too much of a good thing.

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Searching for Mr./Ms. Right

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Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy | ,

Mr.mrs right
By Rob

Me: Teacher- youngish, energetic, and looking for new perspectives. You: an inspiration- must be willing to share ideas and be a good listener. Let’s build a relationship based on good intentions, trust, and a common vision.

Earlier this month Diane Ravitch spoke on school reform at Town Hall Seattle. Her message to a friendly audience was a critique of the “corporate reform movement.” It was a mix of motivating rhetoric, valid points, and verbal grenades. Her positions concerning Race to the Top, NCLB, merit pay, the use of student assessment data to evaluate teachers match my own. I appreciate she is speaking on my behalf.

A week before Ravitch’s visit to Seattle Michelle Rhee spoke at Boston Symphony Hall. I can only assume her speech was equal to Ravitch’s in passion but opposite in perspective. I expect someone in the audience found her perspectives matched their own and they are thankful she is speaking on his or her behalf.


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