by Brian
1.
I would provide tuition waivers for all public school education
employees for any class taken at a state community college, college, or
university. One of our goals should be to instill a love of life-long
learning in our students, and we can best accomplish this by example.
In addition, the requirement to earn 15 credits or 150 clock hours
every 5 years to maintain our certificate is an unfunded mandate that
puts an disproportionate burden on young teachers, whose salaries are
the lowest.
2. The traditional summer vacation is an
anachronism, left over from our agrarian past. We may not need more
than 180 days per year to educate our students, but those days cannot
be interrupted for 11 weeks every summer so kids can work on farms that
don't exist. We would be on a year-round schedule that would provide
two to three week breaks between marking periods. And parents really
should try to schedule their family trips during those breaks.
3.
Every teacher in a challenging classroom would have a para-professional
(who would be paid more than the student who mows her lawn) working
with them. I know an elementary teacher who had to leave her classroom
to break up a fight she saw happening outside. When she returned to
her classroom, another fight had started there. We cannot teach
without an orderly, safe environment, and sometimes that takes two
adults.
4. I would change the salary allocation model so
that it would not take 17 years for a teacher to reach the highest
possible salary. (Where they will stay for the rest of their career,
perhaps 25 more years, with no raises except cost of living
allowances. If those are even funded). I believe a teacher with 10
years experience is generally better than a beginning teacher, but I
can't say that a teacher with 20 years experience is necessarily better
than the one with 10. I would create a schedule that got all teachers
to a salary commensurate with other professions requiring the same kind
of education, and the same level of responsibility, within 10 years.
And I would provide longevity steps so that teachers would no longer
have their wages effectively frozen for the second half of their career.
5.
I played varsity sports in high school. My sons both played varsity
sports in high school. I have coached in both middle school and high
school. I get sports; I know the benefits. I would still cut varsity
sports out of the public education arena. Over the course of my career
I have seen them go from being seasonal to year-round. It is July and
my school's football team is at a camp in Oregon. At least those that
can afford it. Any student who wants to play
on their high school varsity, as opposed to sit with them during games,must go to camps in the summer, and play on a club team in the
off-season. Colleges have become farm teams for the professional
leagues; more and more high schools are becoming farm teams for
colleges. I would let the club teams continue to provide the
opportunity for the elite athletes in a community to excel. In the
schools I would provide a seasonal intramural program open to all
students, that emphasized fitness and life-long exercise.
I especially love #2; year round schools will use our resources more efficiently too. You rotate groups through, and then you can fit more students into existing buildings. This eliminates the student summer brain-drain, reduces teacher burnout, providing time throughout the year when teachers can plan and conference.
Brian, #5, cutting sports would be a big move. I like your perspective and find it to be one that should be noted. You played sports, yours sons did, and you still have an opinion to cut them. Noted. I did not play organized sports, neither do my sons so that statement coming from me is not as powerful. I like the idea of community resources for needs like sports, perhaps music and art and extension sciences and creative writing could also be community activities. Have you thought about what you would do to have it so that everyone would have access to the sports? One of the benefits of having sports in schools is the location (young people are already getting there by some means, there is money for those who cannot afford it). However, this is not a reason to continue providing it in the school.
I gave #5 a lot of thought, Brian, and I’ve concluded that I agree with you. I also played sports in HS (not varsity, though) but I think the days when high school kids played high school sports for the fun of it are behind us. High school sports are an expensive showcase for the young athletes who spend virtually all of their spare time focused on pursuing a career in sports. They’ve become what gymnastics became, and are no longer something we can afford, nor are they really open to every student. Intramurals, on the other hand, are all about fun.
Though Kristin does bring up a point which hasn’t appeared in any of these lists yet… considering the generally accepted assessment that Americans are leading unhealthy lifestyles, what good is it to produce kids with diplomas if they are not healthy enough to contribute to peak effectiveness to the workforce or to their families… PE/Health requirements should be moved closer to the forefront. We’re in an epic battle about health care in this nation… back when illiteracy was the banner issue, reading and writing became the central focus of all education (the old “if you ask your kids to read, you are a reading teacher”). I’m not sure how health and PE would fit in as seamlessly, but it seems as important.
Mark and Luann: Another thing I would fix is the evaluation process for teachers. Everyone would be required to complete a Professional Growth Plan every 5 years (with adequate monetary and time support). Completing these would qualify you for the longevity steps. Pretty much Luann’s idea.
Kristin: I think it doesn’t look like all students are falling behind in the summer because no one is moving. It feels to me like they fell behind when every September I have to review basic arithmetic with my Algebra students. I agree that we need better physical education programs and outdoor education. I just think we don’t need 11 weeks for those backpacking trips.
I have a hard time with the idea of year-round school because not all students fall behind during the summer. Free summer programs can be provided to families who don’t have the financial resources to provide enrichment activities to their children during summer weeks.
And for many students the warm months of summer, while not being spent in the fields, are still spent outdoors. I would hate to see a child who goes backpacking with her family all summer be told that the long, warm summer days will now be spent slouched in an uncomfortable chair at school, because school is still a place where children sit all day long.
Until school incorporates meaningful physical education programs and outdoor education, my vote is for summer break.
Since money is no object, do you have any ideas to bring summer activities to your year-round school?
Re: #4….. Our current pay structure is not logical. How about having teachers every year (or 2 or 3 or 10) make their own cases for pay raises? Criteria could include what you’ve done to meet needs of students, community, yourself; what have you learned and how has it impacted student learning, what will you do next? Hey, wait. I just described the National Board renewal process.
Good list, Brian. I like #4 for obvious selfish reasons and because logic states that teachers with more experience are more effective and therefore deserve more pay. Interestingly, there has been research conducted which shows that years of service are only a significant factor in teacher effectiveness during the first five years of service. After year five, according to the study, teacher effectiveness and years of service are not actually connected. That I why I like your solution of getting teachers to a higher salary plateau at about year 10. I think this would result in better teacher retenention. Also, as school funding reform takes place, I think that teacher pay will be reformed and more experienced teachers will have incentives to serve their school community in ways that might earn additional pay even beyond that plateau (mentoring, advanced certifications, coaching, etc.)
Do you envision the longevity steps being different from the present (at least in Washington where you and I both teach) lock and step advancement which occur prior to year 16?