Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Education Haslam Calls for Evaluating the Evaluations
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Dec 21, 2011 at 2:42 PM
More than anybody, we want to get this evaluation system right. It’s been in process for two years. It was started by the Bredesen administration and passed by the General Assembly. We think it’s really, really important if we’re going to see fruit from all of the reform that we do this in the right way. We don’t feel like legislative changes are the right approach this year. We think it’s important to get an independent third party to come in with experienced educators leading the effort who can evaluate it, listen to everybody involved and talk about what impacts it’s having.
The evaluation system has drawn so many complaints from teachers and principals that even the New York Times took notice in this scathing article.
Comments (6)
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Stop passing the buck! Gov. Bredesen would have never signed this bill, and he would not have signed the Collective Bargaining Bill against teachers and for sure he would not have signed the Voter ID Bill. Haslam you are letting Ramsey, Maggart and few right wing radicals ruin your governorship. Do you see what is happening in WI, MI and Ohio? Mitch Daniels backed away from these bills to save his hide.
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Bill Haslam will be a one-term governor because he doesn't have the guts to stand up to the Tea Party crew of Maggart and Ramsey. Teachers vote Bill. Use your head and make the evaluation more realistic. There will not be any new teachers coming to Tennessee and vouchers and charters will not work either.
Running a school and teaching school are not jobs for sissies. Let's put Maggart and Ramsey, even Haslam in a public school class in the inner city for just one day. They could not survive.
If I am not mistaken, Bredesen is the one who signed this bill. HE and the democrats are the ones who supported First To The Top that got all of this started including SCORE. Check your facts.
I read something in a news release the other day that altered my own evaluation of the schools. It seems that instead of holding children back when they fail, the schools are giving "social promotions," passing little Johnny on to the next grade because it's more important for him not to feel bad about being left behind his peers than it is that he retake a subject he failed. The upshot is that these students receiving the social promotions -instead of dropping out - are lowering the average of the school and making the teachers look worse than they are. How much worse is anybody's guess but a percentage point or two would be in the ballpark. If there are three socially promoted students in a class of three hundred that would be one percent. On the other hand if these children drop out early, which is what social promotions are intended to prevent, the success percentage of the school rises. Catch 22, don't you think.
My own solution for the problem is to move the classes a student fails along with the student. Thus, if he can't read "See Spot Run" in the 1st grade, then it moves with him to the 2nd grade and the 3rd grade and the 4th grade, etc... until he gets it or runs out of grades. If the remedial classes have to take the place of normal grade level classes, so be it. Learning the basic three "Rs" is what school is about and more important than history, geography and social studies. Another thing that could be done is to give the courses modern societal situations: If a kilo weighs two point two pounds, how many one ounce baggies are there in a kilo? Or, if it were open season on drug dealers, with a one thousand dollar bounty on each one dead or alive, how much money could be earned in your neighborhood? (Kinda kidding with the examples.) Back to my point: reading, 'riting' and 'rithmatic are the most important tools a student needs and should to be emphasized, even at the expense of other subjects; for even if a student continually fails, at least a little bit of knowledge should stick in his mind and give the student a better shot at success as an adult.
gast - as usual, your sense of humor is chilling. Even more frightening is the notion that you have ideas for social engineering. Final Solution-esque I bet. Just kidding though right?
Being familiar with your usual comments I suspect you attend a remedial Sunday School class. The teachings of the church are not evident in your political opinions. I'm sure you remember those kids in your prayers.
@Smoochyboob: I do pray for the children. I pray they mature with more common sense than you display. Most people would realize the best thing that could be done for the children is to teach them to read and write. But not you, evidently. Let me point out that your comments never have a solution for a problem but only contain attacks on others who comment. Being smartass is the easiest thing in the world and that's always the path you take, probably because you have little knowledge of anything and this is the only way you can garner attention.
As for my Christian beliefs, I'm surely going to hell for my past sins so your judgment of my thoughts and actions mean nothing. As for religion and society, I'm unaware of any church that teaches the current liberal mantra that all must be poor or that all must achieve the same social status.
