March 30, 2014

+ 1000

Evaluating teachers by test scores, which is one of the big principles of these corporate reformers, has been a disaster. There are many cities and districts that have ended up firing the teacher of the year. There are many teachers-- we are having, in fact, a huge crisis in teaching because so many teachers are leaving the profession. There’s almost a full-frontal attack on the teaching profession so that whereas it used to be 20 years ago that the average teacher had 15 years experience, it's now down to one or two years experience.

Teachers are leaving the profession, because they hate this being evaluated by test score business, because it’s-- what the research shows now overwhelmingly, is that it’s inaccurate, it’s flawed, and good teachers are getting bad evaluations, because they’re teaching kids with disabilities. Or if they’re teaching kids who are gifted, they also get a bad evaluation, because the kids are at the ceiling, they can’t go any higher. So, everything that these guys are pushing has actually failed already. They’re not making schools better. And you can't fail your way to success. But that's only one reason why we're winning.

March 29, 2014

I predicted this long ago.

The rest of the field is a bunch of clowns. He is the only one who seems "sane".

March 29, 2014

What "next steps"?

Putin just wants US approval, not negotiations. Unless he plans to withdraw and return Crimea, there are no "next steps" worth talking about, IMO. I hope Kerry and Obama do not blink on this.

March 23, 2014

Pittsburgh: Remembering Thor, the stolen Siberian Husky

Memorial service held in South Side to remember euthanized dog



PITTSBURGH —

A memorial service was held Sunday in the South Side for a dog that was euthanized after allegedly being stolen from a terminally ill neighbor’s Spring Hill yard.

The service was held at the Hot Metal Bridge, where those who attended threw flowers into the Monongahela River for the Siberian husky named Thor.

Thor’s owner, Mark Boehler, had been looking for him since he disappeared in November, only to learn he had been euthanized in his neighbor’s home in February.

That neighbor, Giselle Paris, is scheduled to appear in court on April 24.

******

This is one of the saddest stories I have ever seen on local news. Thor's owner is dying of cancer and wanted to see his dog one more time. The woman who took the dog had him euthanized and is facing charges. Some kind-hearted Pittsburghers helped the owner say goodbye to his best friend. More at link:
http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/memorial-service-held-south-side-remember-euthaniz/nfJ7g/

March 16, 2014

Do you work for ETS?

Not that it would seem to matter to you, but I highly recommend you visit the DU Education Group to gain some valuable insight into what is really going on in the schools today.

Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1124

March 16, 2014

Are you serious?!

As an "older" teacher, I resent that remark intensely.

The truth is that CC and the new evaluation systems are being used to force veteran teachers-- with memories of what public education used to be-- out to pasture. Their goal is to hire a bunch of lower-paid newbie-bots who are so grateful to have a job that they will obediently jump through Gates' (et al.) hoops. The younger principals, as "True Believers," are at the forefront of this "coup".

I thank God that I still have a pension in place and can finally retire, but I really feel for the teachers in their 40s and early 50s who are pedaling as fast as they can to keep up and are being run over by the corporatists. And most of them don't even realize what is being done to them yet. But they will find out in the next couple of years.

I'm glad you could afford law school as an alternative.

March 5, 2014

Has anyone heard from Concerned Canuk?

I haven't seen any posts from him in a long time. I did a search back to Jan. 1 and got no results.

Maybe he is stuck in a snowdrift or something! He lives in the backwoods somewhere in Canada.

CC, where are you???

Concerned, femmocrat

March 2, 2014

It has to be hell for good, decent, caring principals.

Our most senior principal (a really fine educator and veteran teacher in the district) is retiring this year. Rumor has it that he is fed up, too. I am betting that he will soon be followed by the next in line. The rest of them are younger and from outside the district. It seems they were brought in for the purpose of administering this travesty.

Good luck with your training. I understand that it is grueling.

March 2, 2014

Thank you, Smarmie.

This was my bump year and I can finally retire and forget about it all. I do feel sorry for the younger teachers who have years of brow-beating ahead of them.

The post-conference went so badly that I just knew they were trying to get rid of me. She had nothing positive to say. After 19 years of perfect evaluations, I guess all of a sudden I'm a total fuck-up.

None of it was worth it. The fix was in from the beginning. I honestly don't know how those robotic clones (principals) that they hire now can sleep at night.