It’s a whole other order of rain when you finally make your way home after taking the T–umbrella wrecked and soaked from being turned inside out multiple times– and the dry clothes you put on feel that good. And the straight joy of feeling like you’ve entered your own dry cave. With the wind and rain like that out there? I’m good to stay here for a while…
Attended a forum this evening for the release of the National Council on Teacher Quality report, sponsored by the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education. Human Capital in Boston Public Schools: Rethinking How to Attract, Develop and Retain Effective Teachers. Download a copy here: NCTQ Human Capital in Boston Public Schools report
A small world, perhaps, happily running into many familiar people. A common interest in the world of teacher evaluation, professional development and teacher effectiveness. What works and what doesn’t. What’s suggested and what’s unsaid.
I really particularly liked what one 3rd grade teacher on the assembled panel mentioned about teacher evaluation– that evaluation should be a system and not a single event. I would also add, as echoed by some others this evening, if teacher evaluation is going to be done and done well, it has to be clearly linked to tailored and targeted professional development. Without that, it’s no wonder that teacher evaluation is something that is so dreaded and often overladen with process–it’s currently more often linked to the beginnings of a dismissal process rather than a method or avenue of improvement and growth.
There were some other themes that were raised in conversation that I thought were somewhat problematic, though. The construct that teachers should centrally be “held accountable for performance” (rather than supported and developed) or that it should be more “rigorous to achieve tenure” or the refrain that the school department as a whole deserves credit for systems whereas the teacher’s union is identified, as a whole, as the major obstruction. It’s more complex than that, no? And tone and the language used to frame the issues really do matter.
Overall though, it’s certainly a solution-oriented conversation that needs to take place. And all need to be brought to the table–teachers, parents, administrators, school officials, the teacher’s union, community/business partners–and as an assembled group of young people made clear, students as well.
Looking forward to seeing where we go from here–and encourage all you teachers to get involved!
NCTE Human Capital Report in Boston Public Schools
It’s a whole other order of rain when you finally make your way home after taking the T–umbrella wrecked and soaked from being turned inside out multiple times– and the dry clothes you put on feel that good. And the straight joy of feeling like you’ve entered your own dry cave. With the wind and rain like that out there? I’m good to stay here for a while…
Attended a forum this evening for the release of the National Council on Teacher Quality report, sponsored by the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education. Human Capital in Boston Public Schools: Rethinking How to Attract, Develop and Retain Effective Teachers. Download a copy here: NCTQ Human Capital in Boston Public Schools report
A small world, perhaps, happily running into many familiar people. A common interest in the world of teacher evaluation, professional development and teacher effectiveness. What works and what doesn’t. What’s suggested and what’s unsaid.
I really particularly liked what one 3rd grade teacher on the assembled panel mentioned about teacher evaluation– that evaluation should be a system and not a single event. I would also add, as echoed by some others this evening, if teacher evaluation is going to be done and done well, it has to be clearly linked to tailored and targeted professional development. Without that, it’s no wonder that teacher evaluation is something that is so dreaded and often overladen with process–it’s currently more often linked to the beginnings of a dismissal process rather than a method or avenue of improvement and growth.
There were some other themes that were raised in conversation that I thought were somewhat problematic, though. The construct that teachers should centrally be “held accountable for performance” (rather than supported and developed) or that it should be more “rigorous to achieve tenure” or the refrain that the school department as a whole deserves credit for systems whereas the teacher’s union is identified, as a whole, as the major obstruction. It’s more complex than that, no? And tone and the language used to frame the issues really do matter.
Overall though, it’s certainly a solution-oriented conversation that needs to take place. And all need to be brought to the table–teachers, parents, administrators, school officials, the teacher’s union, community/business partners–and as an assembled group of young people made clear, students as well.
Looking forward to seeing where we go from here–and encourage all you teachers to get involved!