Search results matching tags 'teachers' and 'albemarle county'

The empty seat.

Anonymous — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:30:00 GMT

It is not about reform.
It is not about failing schools or AYP.
It is not about charters and privatization.
It is not about graduation rates or subgroups.
It is not about NCLB or Race to the Top.
It is not about parents or teachers.
It is not about federal, state or local laws and policy.
It is not about curriculum, pedagogy or instructional time on task.
It is not about unions or lobbyists or Congress.
It is not about Duncan, Rhee, Ravitch or an IEP.
It is not about intervention, tutoring or getting teachers to last.
It is not about reading levels or math scores.
It is not about an AP scores or SATs.
It is not about lessons, homework assignments or a grade.
It is not about common core, merit pay or best practices.
Some days remind us to set it all aside and for awhile to remember...

Schools are about the lives of young people.

Ten Reason’s We’re Thankful at the Underground

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:16:00 GMT

1. We’re employed. Once taken for granted, a job in today’s economy is certainly a reason for thanks.

2. We’re teachers. That means that we’ve got more than just a job. It is as much who we are as what we do.

3. You Tube. Education, entertainment, social connections, and sharing. And, where else could you find something like this.

4. We’re married to educators. Going home to someone who understands your day saves hours of explaining “how was your day.”

5. Albemarle County (High School). We work with some pretty amazing adults and students every day.

6. Free food. Nothing says thank you like free food. Whether an occasional plate of cookies to full-blown meals provided by parents, we certainly love being fed.

7. America. (Playing the Patriot card seems appropriate)

8. Readers. It is humbling to see that people continue to read our blog. We certainly appreciate your support.

9. Inspirational Quotes. When you just don’t know what to say, it’s great to rely on the greats. “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, we can make something out of you.” (M. Ali)

10. UVa playing Va Tech in a meaningful game for a change at home. Go Hoos!

Week One in Review

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 18:30:00 GMT

Three down, one hundred seventy-seven to go. But who's counting?

Here's what I will remember from the first week of 2011-2012:

1) Mold- We've had several visits from the folks at building services this week. After Mr. Lindsay reported mold growing on his desks and I found a little on mine they've been keeping tabs on our climate. I don't know what it means, but sixty percent humidity and seventy-nine degrees doesn't sound like the ideal for a classroom. Perhaps we could invite our science classes down for a little hands-on learning.

2) Administrators- They started Monday morning by cutting our "nuts-and-bolts" sessions from forty-five minutes to one-half hour each. Thanks, it made for a nice start to the week and a little extra time in the class. I guess I don't need to forward "What Teachers Want From Administrators" to any of our principals.

3) Earthquake- I'm glad we didn't have students yet. The earthquake was a reminder of how fragile our world can be. Our principals had to admit to students and staff today that we really don't know exactly what to do with an earthquake. There isn't a policy, procedure or drill. Sometimes life just doesn't work with a manual and hopefully the halls of education are a place where we can learn how to function in an ever changing world.

4) Wednesday- Some people find it silly to start school in the middle of the week. After feeling the exhaustion of the first day of school, the three-day week to start sounds like the best idea ever to me. I forget every summer how tiring teaching can be, and a short week to ease back in is just perfect.

5) Students- That's why we do this. The fresh new faces that greet us each fall. Full of potential and eager to know what your class is going to be like. Whatever problems and stresses the profession of teaching brings, from bell to bell is what we live for. We ended week one at the football game tonight. We've spent three days with these kids, they've learned what to expect from us. Tonight we were able to say hello, and watch them interact in a setting more natural than a (moldy) classroom. On Monday, we'll ask them about their weekends. They'll tell us about their lives. And together we'll experience all the ups-and-downs that the next one hundred and seventy-seven days will bring our way.

But who's counting, we'll look back on it in June and wonder how the year flew by quickly.

Is it really this complicated?

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:06:00 GMT

The embedded video above comes from NBC 29. It first appeared on June 7,2010. The video relates to the move from a seven to eight period academic schedule for students in Albemarle County High Schools.

Woody Guthrie once said, "Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple."

To say our division (at least the students, parents, and teachers) has struggled with the implementation of recent schedules would be an understatement. Misunderstandings abound, evidenced by the rampant misuse of the terms 4x4, block scheduling, and the like. Perhaps input from others might bring some clarity and potentially momentum for improvement...even if it might not matter next year. TU would love to hear thoughts and concerns about scheduling from those affected. (Try to be constructive, leave the complaining to us)

Creativity and World Peace in Fourth Grade

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:48:00 GMT

I teach in the same school district as John Hunter, but I won't pretend to name drop, I have never met him so I can't pretend that we are any sort of colleague aside from shared geography and profession. A documentary film (created by Charlottesville local, Chris Farina) features Mr. Hunter and a unique learning experience he created. The film is titled World Peace and Other Fourth Grade Achievements. I have not had a chance yet to view the film, but Mr. Hunter recently addressed the TED Conference in California and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I've embedded the video of his talk below, it is around twenty minutes long, but definitely worth the time.

This film and the creative work of John Hunter continues to draw praise from an increasingly wider audience. Both the specific content and method of the game and the educational philosophy communicated by Mr. Hunter in his various appearances resonate with a variety of audiences; the public seems to really get him, and understand the value of his approach to education. I would almost venture to say that most people (myself included) would identify him as an asset to public education and a quality teacher. One only has to read the myriad comments that abound on the internet to conclude that he has made an impression.

Yet this impression comes without any reference to student performance or outcomes. Our nation seems willing to judge positively this individual teacher based on the creation and implementation of a single (yet substantial) learning experience, statements about his educational philosophy, and observation of his classroom performance. How is this not good enough for the rest of us? In an era where teacher effectiveness is measured by student performance and proposals for teacher merit-pay are based on student achievement, we are willing to label Mr. Hunter an excellent teacher without any such evidence.

I believe I know the answer. In this case, we meet an individual who interacts daily and pours his life into young minds. We are not considering a massive pool of public employees expected to do a job. We get a chance to hear the voice behind the instructional decisions and the intentions and motives that drive them. We are not listening to a filtered mouth-piece trying to synthesize the diverse minds that collectively educate our young. And finally, we're introduced to students and care about what type of people they grow into instead of worrying about what kind of data-points they're creating for evaluating teachers or schools.

Ultimately, the public is able to see the wonder of human interaction that can take place when adults who care about the future of our children meaningfully engage with them in individual classrooms across the nation. Peeking through this window of the open classroom and witnessing real education transpire melts away the false illusion that somehow the quality of this experience can be captured and measured through simplistic mass-produced and mass-scored assessement. World Peace and Other Fourth Grade Achievements has opened that window. I hope that the American public will take the opportunity to peek inside and recognize this illusion.

Hear what John Hunter has to say and let us know if you agree. (or don't)

Taking a Stand in Virginia and Texas

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:25:00 GMT

In the previous post on the Underground, my colleague referred to Superintendent John Kuhn of Texas testifying before the Texas legislature regarding teacher evaluation and "value-added" systems of measuring teacher effectiveness. Across the nation, we are moving toward systems that measure the effectiveness of students, teachers, schools, and entire districts on the basis of standardized testing. The push toward common core standards will only lead to more. (See here for a interesting post discussing merit pay and common core standards)

I am convinced that the American public agrees. I am also convinced that our politicians, educational leaders and all of the media-endorsed experts agree that excessive standardized testing degrades our educational system. I don't think these same leaders and "experts" understand just how much their ideas and policies that sound great in theory can do so much damage when put into practice. Let me concede a few things:

1) The idea that every family in America can expect a consistent and quality curriculum for their students is a good idea.

2) The idea that a teacher should be evaluated based on how well they are able to move their student from one level to the next is a good idea.

3) The idea that teachers and schools should be held accountable for what and how they teach is a good idea.

Maybe that is a little common ground that we can all agree on that might help us move toward reducing our differences. The differences arise in the methods proposed to make these ideas reality. Organic systems work when they are sensitive to their environment and respond properly. In the human body, this means the brain receives information from the body and responds accordingly. Executive functions in a healthy system arise from quality feedback. For whatever reason, the executive functioning of education policy acts independent of quality feedback. Perhaps the teachers and students who raise their voices in opposition to the onslaught of standardized testing are seen as too self-serving. But the survival and maturation of our system requires that decision-makers understand the impact of their decision.

That is why Superintendent Kuhn should be applauded. Openly testifying to the Legislature that he has considered opting his child out of the testing process and publicly naming a company like Pearson, asserting that we have placed more trust in them than in our local teachers, is not the smartest political move. Standing out against the grain of public education policy may cost him any hopes he may have had of holding higher position at state or national levels. Calling out a player in the "industrial-educational" machine may limit his post-education employment options. But, perhaps for these reasons he will also be taken seriously.

Virginia now stands on the verge of facing an increasing growth in the importance of standardized testing and the resources it will require of schools for administration and reporting. It is not a secret that the state is on the "value-added" teacher evaluation bandwagon. The secretary of Education, Gerard Robinson, belongs to the "Chiefs for Change" coalition supported and promoted by former Florida governor Jeb Bush. The group focuses on issues such as creating "value-added" evaluations for teachers and principals, stronger standards and testing, and expanded school choice.

Allowing for the "common sense" thinking that "value-added" is a reasonable method of teacher evaluation, we should consider the serious misgivings of the approach. Just a few criticisms of the approach can be found on the blog of Harvard Education Publishing, at the National Academy of Sciences, and the Economic Policy Institute. Full texts of the reports and studies can be found at the links above.

Further bringing Virginia into the realm of "value-added," Governor Bob McDonnell has implemented a pilot merit pay program in the state. Closer examination of this program reveals that teachers working in "struggling schools" who succeed in raising achievement will be eligible for up to $5000 in additional pay. The identification of deserving schools in this case does not seem clear to all, but even more problematic is the sublime move toward a value-added model on which to base this reward. At least 40 percent of a teacher's performance evaluation must be tied to student academic performance. This includes improvements in standardized test scores. As a "pilot" program, this appears innocuous enough, and framing the terms (a la Race to the Top) in such a carrot and stick fashion might cause districts to run for the money.

Educators have two choices in situations like this. 1) Take the money and run, don't rock the boat, and accept this as the future and get on board early. 2) Take a stand, speak up for what's good for education, and refuse to play a role in implementation of bad policy.

I am encouraged to hear the news that district leaders in Fairfax and Loudon County are not likely to apply for this program. I hope they follow through. I also hope that the school board and administrators in my own county of Albemarle will not accept the advent of value-added as inevitable and take the opportunity to stand against it by refusing to apply for the funding. To the public, refusal of this funding may appear confusing at first, but it provides an excellent opportunity for school leaders to communicate what responsible reform should look like. Change is needed in American education, but reform such as this is no reform at all, it is more of the same "carrot and stick" motivation driven by standardization.

We would love to hear other opinions regarding the movement toward "value-added", merit pay, and especially this new Virginia policy even if you disagree. Click the comment link below to add your thoughts.