Deal’s young hotshots: Erin Hames lands a key role
Erin Hames will now advise Gov.-elect Nathan Deal.
When the AJC met two weeks ago with the Department of Education leadership team about Race to the Top, Erin Hames led the discussion, which was interesting as incoming school chief John Barge was not keeping her at the agency.
Hames had joined DOE earlier this year to help oversee RTTT after serving as Gov. Sonny Perdue’s policy director.
At the meeting, current school chief Brad Bryant, who is staying at DOE as legal counsel, said he hoped DOE could find a spot for Hames because of her critical role in crafting and winning Georgia’s $400 million RTTT grant.
For the record, I thought it was crazy to let Hames go as she is the state’s authority on RTTT, and it seemed counterproductive and costly to send all that background and knowledge out the door. She also knows all the players in Washington, which is important as this four-year grant will require ongoing contact with the U.S. DOE and Arne Duncan.
But Hames, a teacher-turned-attorney, has landed an even better spot. My AJC colleague James Salzer is reporting that Hames is becoming a deputy chief of staff for policy for Gov.-elect Nathan Deal. I would assume that she will be the governor’s eyes and ears on RTTT.
I like that Deal is surrounding himself with hardworking, young, bright people, including my former AJC colleague Brian Robinson, who was also named a top deputy. (By the way, as much as I admire Hames and Robinson for their smarts and their hard work this year, I’ve annoyed both of them with my reporting and expect that will continue.)
I still think that their boss has a vague and spotty plan for school reform. And again, while I respect Nathan Deal for being upfront about the deeper cuts coming to schools, Georgia will only fall further behind if we don’t recognize that education is not a luxury but a necessity if the state hopes to thrive in this new information era.
–By Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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96 comments Add your comment
d
December 26th, 2010
11:22 am
Isn’t the governor-elect going to swear to uphold both the federal and state constitutions when he takes the oath of office next month? Doesn’t our state constitution say that k-12 education is a priority of the state? Wouldn’t it make sense that should be dealt with first before anything else and then write the rest of the budget?
EnoughAlready
December 26th, 2010
11:25 am
One question – Did Hames and Robinson attend public school?
Maureen Downey
December 26th, 2010
11:35 am
@Enough, Both are Georgians. I know Brian Robinson is a UGA grad, but I don’t know whether he attended public or private k-12. Erin Hames also attended UGA, graduating from the college of education. She taught at Wakefield Middle School in Raleigh for three years where she was named “First Year Teacher of the Year” and served on the School Improvement Team. She then went to law school at Georgia State.
Maureen
schlmarm
December 26th, 2010
11:41 am
Not impressed. 3 years of classroom experience, sigh….just what we need, another “hot shot.”
RBN
December 26th, 2010
11:48 am
Sonny’s child advisors were a disaster for education during his eight years. Sadly, Deal continues down that path. Not suprising as education was an afterthought in his campaign. A lawsuit on funding may be our only hope. Constitution seems to be only a convenience for rhetoric.
Maureen Downey
December 26th, 2010
11:53 am
@RBN, I am running an op-ed on tomorrow’s education page about the school funding lawsuit in Florida. I will post it later today. Not sure if those lawsuits make much difference even when the systems win.
Maureen
EnoughAlready
December 26th, 2010
12:22 pm
Okay, I’m now concerned that someone with 3 years classroom experience, plus a few months as an RTTT advisor is now going to be the deputy chief of staff to the govenor(possibly advising him about education).
I’ve never considered myself a mean spirited person, but it sure does make me wonder who she’s sleeping with. There are so many more people with ten times the experience and success rates.
How much are you all willing to bet that vouchers will be the “hot” shot topic for the next 4 years? The next topic will be more cuts and private charter schools.
Maureen Downey
December 26th, 2010
12:33 pm
@ Enough@, I am pretty sure that Erin is not sleeping with anyone beside her husband. She is a very impressive young woman. I think the fact that Georgia was one of 12 winners of RTTT speaks to her intelligence as she guided the process. I also think that we have to get out of the mindset that it takes decades of classroom experience to come up with good ideas in education.
The two young men who started the KIPP schools were not white-haired teachers, but young Teach for America alums. (And the founder of Teach for America was a college student.)
Some of the top ranked doctors in Georgia are under 40. Consider how young Michael Dell and Bill Gates were when they founded their empires.
I think experience counts for something. But I also think that intellect counts as well.
Maureen
catlady
December 26th, 2010
12:38 pm
EnoughAlready: Shame on you! Shame on me, too! I hope Deal will get a first year resident to advise him on medical policy, and a paralegal to be in charge of legal matters! Then we could get a fry cook from McDonalds to do the food safety policy, and a 4H member to be in charge of the Department of Agriculture! And think how much money we would save!
To get “street cred” you have to be on the street for more than 3 years.
catlady
December 26th, 2010
12:41 pm
Ms. Downey@12:33: So age and intellect are mutually exclusive?! My response time may have slowed, but my IQ is still up there. I would guess that is true about many highly experienced educators.
More Republican Garbage
December 26th, 2010
12:45 pm
Republicans don’t want our children to receive quality education because then they would be smart enough and wise enough to see what the Republicans have done to education in this State. As for the vouchers – guess who will get them – kids of the rich; kids of the friends of the Republicans who caused this mess to begin with; it sure won’t be the kids of the average person. Believe all the BS the Republicans put out but rest assured this is what will happen. As Johnny Isaksson commented a few months ago – the unwashed is what he called us – will continue to be the unwashed in the eyes of these thugs and liars.
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December 26th, 2010
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Mikey D
December 26th, 2010
12:58 pm
Georgia was one of the race to the bottom winners because the democratic administration needed to throw a carrot to a republican state, and sonny the stooge fit the bill. It had much less to do with the “quality” of the application which was openly developed without the input of teachers in this state. But hey, we’ve got a smart cookie with three whole years’ experience in the classroom and a governor-elect who can’t keep his own personal finances in order. What could go wrong?
Maureen Downey
December 26th, 2010
1:11 pm
@Mikey, Not sure about your theory as the first state to win in Round 1 was Tennessee, which I would call a GOP state.
Maureen
More Republican Garbage
December 26th, 2010
1:39 pm
Have to agree with Mikey here – the only reason Georgia got it was because somebody wanted to throw them a carrot. Georgia has been going downhill in education ever since Sonny took over and it sure isn’t going to get any better under Deal. Like I said – Repubs don’t want our kids educated because then they would see them for what they are – the party that doesn’t care one iota about the little guy(s). Believe what these slobs put out and you are no better than them. The losers are our kids and teachers.
oldtimer
December 26th, 2010
1:41 pm
Maureen, I agree with you about age. I worked with new teachers in the alternative training program. I saw young and middle age teachers who were outstanding, creative, and a definite asset to the state of GA. They were a joy to watch. They were just natural. I would have put my own children in these young, inexperienced teacher’s classes…if they were still school age. I do agree it is time to try new things. I do support school choice, maybe even vouchers….We need to try something new.
TopPublicSchool
December 26th, 2010
1:41 pm
Rose Colored Glasses???
Honestly, I believe in giving her a chance…but, I would think 3 years is hardly enough experience to see the problem issues in education and have a tough enough base to know what is really going on.
AWARDS…I am not all that impressed with AWARDS..
I don’t judge a book by its cover…a family by their house, a man/woman by his/her gender.
I will need to hear her words…and see her vision for our public schools. As with anyone young …she will need a seasoned mentor…not jaded…but seasoned… This assistance will help her to see through the BUCKHEAD… locked jaw… SMILE of manipulation.
Hide and Watch…
http://www.TopPublicSchoolCorruptionAtlanta.com
oldtimer
December 26th, 2010
1:47 pm
At the time of awarding RTTT TN had a democratic governor and a republican house..by one vote. The two senators are republican. Most local governments are democratic… the state is pretty split. The schools in the county in which I live are pretty good..some better than others. I like the smaller K-8 schools. The students transition to high school very successfully.
teacher&mom
December 26th, 2010
2:00 pm
I hope Ms. Hames doesn’t insulate herself within the walls of the Gold dome. I’m sure she is intelligent, savvy, and ambitious. No doubt. BUT she does have limited classroom experience. The classroom of 2011 is very different from the classroom 5, 10, 15 years ago. I’m not saying she wasn’t a capable teacher, I am saying that her short time in the classroom will always be considered a negative among teachers.
Unless….
She makes an effort to meet with teachers across the state and outside the RttT districts. If she wants to improve education in GA, she needs to listen and work cooperatively with those in the classrooms. Unfortunately the manner in which Perdue and others chose to follow during the RttT application process, wasn’t exactly transparent or open. Remember the infamous “teacher survey”????
Yes, a teacher can be effective in their first years of teaching. Just like a parent does a fairly decent job with their firstborn. However, how many of us can say that we “knew it all” when we brought that first baby home from the hospital? How many of us are better parents because of experience and maturity? The classroom is no different.
TopPublicSchool
December 26th, 2010
2:06 pm
AWARDS… Let’s don’t talk about AWARDS in Georgia Public Schools.
Atlanta Public Schools has made a mockery out of every teacher evaluation and child’s test score in their corrupt system.
What is valid and what is not? Bonus Pay…Pay for Performance…
Scores, titles AWARDS? … Professional Standards…
I think everything in Georgia’s Education System is a mess.
But, since I do have a couple of awards from North Carolina…Teacher of the Year, Student State President of North Carolina National Education Association…and a degree in Gifted Education.
all awarded under my teaching career in North Carolina…I will pat myself on the back a little.
Personally, I would not value any award given in the state of Georgia. My experiences in Atlanta’s TOP Public School in no way compare to my North Carolina experiences.
“SOILED HANDS” in the MONEY- No Consensus
http://www.youtube.com/user/TopSchoolAtlanta#p/u/24/dDSFPmcD3Tk
TopPublicSchool
December 26th, 2010
2:11 pm
Respect takes time to earn. It is not given automatically with awards and titles.Like a test score…Awards can be used as an indicator of what a person might be capable of doing with their title.
teacher&mom
December 26th, 2010
2:12 pm
While I do not know Mrs. Hames personally, I find it interesting that she—along with others like Michelle Rhee, TFA teachers, etc. are so admired for their precious few years in the classroom. Instead of admiration for those who stick with the classroom, we have greater admiration for those who leave the classroom for greener pastures (mainly money and position). It is an odd American trait that no one will really admit to.
Kinda like how we admire the folks who take a short “holiday” mission trip to a third world country but thumb our noses at the missionary who actually lives there 24/7. We’re so appreciative of those who “give a little bit of their time” but somehow secretly believe those who offer true dedication are somewhat…..lacking.
Young teacher
December 26th, 2010
2:31 pm
Teacher and mom @ 2:12: These educators aren’t so admired for their few years in the classroom. They’re admired for their accomplishments. I am a 28-year-old teacher and get tired of the older teachers telling me how awful the profession is and how much better it used to be. If teaching is so terrible, quit. I have a lot of friends from UGA looking for jobs right now.
teacher&mom
December 26th, 2010
3:04 pm
@Young teacher…I understand about getting tired of listening to teachers complain. I really do understand. That’s why I eat lunch in my classroom most days
Teaching has changed and those of us who’ve been in the classroom pre-NCLB and post-NCLB are very much aware of how much things have changed….and not necessarily for the better.
Your statement reminds me so much of myself at that age. Actually it was around that age when I threw my hands up in the air and quit the profession for a few years. I worked in a post-secondary setting for a year or so. I’ll never forget the difference in how people treated me during my stint at the post-secondary institution. It was like I had suddenly gained stature and importance. I remember going to a Christmas party with my husband and how people reacted when I said I as an instructor at XYZ. It was an amazing difference. Same person, same credentials, same income level, etc. The only difference….I was no longer a public school teacher.
I love what I do each and every day. I get tired, I get frustrated, but most days it is a job I still enjoy.
Mikey D
December 26th, 2010
3:05 pm
@Young teacher:
What accomplishments has Ms. Hames achieved that she’s admired for?
More Republican Garbage
December 26th, 2010
3:08 pm
Young teacher – you sound like you might be part of the problem instead of part of the solution. You sound like you think you know everything and the ones who have been there for years know nothing. I too remember when things were much better simply because my kids were learning and being taught and the NCLB and other garbage wasn’t even thought of.
New teacher
December 26th, 2010
3:49 pm
@ More: Young teacher doesn’t seem like a know-it-all. S/he seems to be a young teacher who is tired of hearing about all the problems of education and not hearing about possible solutions.
I think that as we age, we get wiser and this wisdom is greatly needed in education. My problem is when being a whiny know-it-all is mistaken (ironically) for being wise and experienced.
Dr. Craig Spinks /Augusta
December 26th, 2010
3:51 pm
Best wishes to both Ms. Hames and Mr. Bryant! Hopefully, they’ll use their legal prowess to, among other things, restore the GA schoolhouse as a place of respect, order and learning. After all, how many believe that our state can afford a large, undereducated “underclass?”
More Republican Garbage
December 26th, 2010
3:54 pm
Then Young teacher needs to come up with some solutions rather than complain about the ones who have been in the field for awhile. She might be tired of hearing about all the problems of education but I’m tired of all the problems that have been created because we have leaders at the top who have NO respect for education. And I do not find it being whiny and a know-it-all just because their experience has seen the toll taken on education in this State and letting it be known. I have been active in the schools in the metro area for more years than she/he is old and have seen and am seeing first hand the destruction of education in Georgia.
Karma
December 26th, 2010
4:08 pm
Who cares? They’re all milking it for the money anyway. This woman is going to get nothing done, just like everyone before her. Hopefully that will be all. We don’t need another Kathy Cox.
schlmarm
December 26th, 2010
5:36 pm
With all due respect, Young Teacher needs to understand that if we “older teachers” give the impression of being negative, it’s because we remember when “teaching” was a whole different concept, when we knew what worked, and we stuck with it. The more junk that’s been added on during the years, NCLB, standardized testing, data, data, data,etc. has only made things worse. Interesting, how armed with only a curriculum guide and a notebook to record grades, we turned out students who became productive citizens either as college prepared or trade prepared.
Joe
December 26th, 2010
6:02 pm
Maureen…..you are obviously biased when it comes to Erin Hames and Brian Robinson – mot good for a reporter. As for Erin Hames, I think it speaks VOLUMES that co-workers in the Department of Education and school systems around the state absolutely detest this woman. I have seen her in action….she has the charm and personality of a rattlesnake – not a good quality for someone who is supposed to be a leader and get people to follow.
teacher
December 26th, 2010
6:30 pm
Wonder if thise was the smartest move for Deal. Public Ed (k – 12) takes about 43% of the state’s budget. Why would he hire this yourng third year teacher, who may have a bone to pick with Dr. Barge , when she recommends new policy (he fired her)? Just not the smartest or astute political move. But never could say Nathan really impressed me as the sharpest tool in the woodshed.
bootney farnsworth
December 26th, 2010
6:40 pm
until the state addresses the serious issues of bloated administrations with no real teaching experience, and takes a realistic view on budgets – it doesn’t matter who is installed.
catlady
December 26th, 2010
6:40 pm
I guess we should have expected this. : (
bootney farnsworth
December 26th, 2010
6:44 pm
education takes 43% of the state budget because the money is poorly managed, and because far too much is placed on the dollars spent, not the return for investment
bootney farnsworth
December 26th, 2010
6:45 pm
@ catlady
expected what?
a politician would appoint a sycophant?
Joe
December 26th, 2010
6:46 pm
I am amazed at Maureen’s comments on how important Hames is to the Race to the Top effort. What a joke! If you have never seen the application, take a look! This was the Obama administration looking to spend. They are sending millions to Georgia so we can grow our education administration. I doubt we will see much achievement from this effort – Sonny’s legacy. I would be impressed if we could just Race to catch the Back of the Pack! That is where we find the state when it comes to education.
bootney farnsworth
December 26th, 2010
6:48 pm
easy fix to the cost of education #1.
stop making it manditory.
if a kid doesn’t want to be in school, stop inflicting it
on him, and him of the school.
bootney farnsworth
December 26th, 2010
6:52 pm
easy fix to the cost of education #2.
stop with all the testing already.
when my kid was in middle school, nearly 1/2 of her year was
spent preping for or taking stupid things like CRCT.
if we only intend to spend 1/2 the year on actually teaching kids,
lets drop those silly assed tests and shorten the year
d
December 26th, 2010
7:13 pm
@Maureen Question about the RTTT scores for round 2 – have we seen the rubrics for this one? I remember we were supposed to lose points when the teachers’ union *or professional association* did not sign off on the application, but I don’t remembering that happening with Round I. I do know that the Tennessee Education Association and the Delaware State Education Association did sign off on the applications for those states. I remember seeing in our application a phrase that since Georgia is Right to Work, they felt that GAE’s buy in was unnecessary, but it didn’t say just union, it did say union or professional organization. How did we get buy without that signature?
Maureen Downey
December 26th, 2010
7:18 pm
@D, Because Georgia had the buy-in of 26 counties that collectively represented more than 40 percent of the state’s students. Duncan said that a lack of complete buy-in would not doom Georgia, and it turned out he was right.
Maureen
d
December 26th, 2010
7:21 pm
@Maureen so in other words, they went against their own rubrics that said 10% of the points had to have the buy in of all stake holders?
Maureen Downey
December 26th, 2010
7:41 pm
d, I think they defined the stakeholders as those participating counties, not the entire state.
Maureen
Mikey D
December 26th, 2010
9:00 pm
Stakeholders, as in the superintendents of 26 systems. Not what I’d call “all” stakeholders.
Dekalbite
December 26th, 2010
9:35 pm
I think that 10 years in a regular education classroom is about right for a job like this. That’s about the average length of service (mean) and probably the median as well. 32 or 33 is still young, but you’ve been tempered like steel at this point.
Charter Schools are PUBLIC Schools
December 26th, 2010
10:24 pm
@EnoughAlready at 12:22 PM
You stated that “[t]he next topic will be more cuts and private charter schools.”
There is no such thing as a “private charter school”, all charter schools are public.
Here’s a link to the Georgia DOE FAQ about charter schools as it sounds like that might be helpful to you:
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_charter.aspx?PageReq=CIIAPCharterFAQS
Dome Watcher
December 26th, 2010
11:17 pm
Hames is a sham. She claims to have written the RTTT application but it was really done by Kathleem Mathers at OSA. Other than you Maureen, Sonny and now apparently Deal, no one she works with likes or respects her. Check with a few legislators and you’ll find she’s arrogant and loves to order people around. I guess now she’ll get Deal to hire her husband as a speech writer just like he was for Sonny.
Joe
December 26th, 2010
11:17 pm
Hey! The whole race to the top effort had one goal…..satisfy Alavin Wilbanks and give him the coverage to run his (the state largest) school system any way he wants. He wants no state rules or teacher salary schedule to stand in his way. He thinks Dean Alford IE3 work is a pile of crap except that it lets Gwinnettplay by its own rules. So no….the rest of the state be damned….they will not learn much from this RTTT sham. This is all about Alvin and Gwinnett. All other systems, get ready to bend over and grab your ankles. A Nathan Deal administered spanking is on the way!
Joe
December 26th, 2010
11:24 pm
Hey Maureen! At least Erin Hames interned for and tutored under that public education savior Jennifer Rippner! Must have been a lot of knowlege transfer going on there. And wait, Ben Scafidi transferred reta knowledge ti Rippner like the 65% rule, offering teachers insurance to make PAGE and GAE go away. and serving as an expert in the adequacy lawsuit to show how the state spends far too much on our children. In concert with Dean Alford, Ben says we spend enough to provide an excellence education – not just world class but galactically acceptable. These idiots must have orginanted in another galaxy.
Dome Watcher
December 26th, 2010
11:26 pm
Speaking of Dean Alford, another one of Sonny’s pets, did you know he wants to have RTTT run by the Governor’s Office of Planing and Budget (OPB), in other words the Governor’s office. Of course his fiancee is the head of OPB and now Deal has hired Hames. Does anyone see a pattern developing here?
Joe
December 26th, 2010
11:33 pm
@ Dome Watcher….The whole bunch are enaged in a conspiracy. Alford is enaged to Dugolenski. Dugolenski and Alford associate with Sonny’s school board appointees trying to help Hames and McCartney who got huge salaries to go to RTTT. Then, you go all the other Sonny kids engaged in quid pro quo to make sure they get their important (though not qualiifiedI jobs and nice big pay days. All this while Deal says we have to downsize. Want to take a guess how small the Governor’s Office payroll will be OR how many Governor’s flunkies will be paid by another agencies payroll ti hide the truth. The entire lot is corrupt and not capable of surviving on real talent and contributions.
teacher
December 27th, 2010
8:49 am
Maureen, your new definition of buy-in is weak at best. Of course the systems which applied for the grant money had a large buy-in.
An American Patriot
December 27th, 2010
8:53 am
@ Maureen – Georgia will only fall further behind if we don’t recognize that education is not a luxury but a necessity if the state hopes to thrive in this new information era.
Maureen, please expound on this sentence. It’s my opinion that “education” in our great State of Georgia has never been treated as a “Luxury” and always as a “requirement”. Me thinks you’re pointing your finger in the wrong direction when you point at our state leaders…..you should be calling out all of the worthless parents and the ineffective Public School Systems administrators (and I use that word loosely in some areas) that are at the root of the problem. We have some great public school systems in Georgia that are models of efficiency in education…..how ’bout doing a positive story sometime about these…..who knows, it might give some inspiration to those that have screwed it up royally. Welcome back
Maureen Downey
December 27th, 2010
9:02 am
@Teacher, It is not my definition. I was asked how we won without full state involvement. The state of Georgia submitted an application that had the full cooperation of the signed districts. They are the ones who will put the teacher effectiveness measures outlined in our RTTT application into action. The number of students represented by those districts was clearly enough for the US DOE.
Maureen
Peter Smagorinsky
December 27th, 2010
9:09 am
Enter your comments here
catlady
December 27th, 2010
9:10 am
Knowing some of the people in those districts, I think you should qualify your statement to say, “the full cooperation of the superintendents of the signed districts.” The buy-in they are trumpeting here in Ga for RTTT is on the part of CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF, not the “boots on the ground.”
Let’s face it, you can define “up” as “down” if you want someone to win. That is what happened here. There is NOT massive buy-in here in Georgia. If you can’t win with the rules, CHANGE THE RULES.
Anyone want to start a pool on how much money will actually have a direct impact on students in these districts? 10%? 5%? This will be shown to be fraudulent on the same level as Reading First, in the end.
Maureen Downey
December 27th, 2010
9:10 am
@An American Patriot, I think Georgia is still behind other states in recognizing the singular importance of education to the state’s well-being and future.
Here are two quick supports:
We were the only state in the country to close down schools during the gas crisis a few years back. Gov. Perdue decreed that we should shut schools and idle school buses for two days to save gas. I went to a national conference not long after that and reporters from other parts of the country asked me how our governor could do that without being mobbed by angry parents. Reporters from the northeast, in particular, said they could never imagine their governors shutting down all the schools to cope with a gasoline shortage because parents there would have rebelled.
Second, if you look at budget cuts over the last five years across all states, you will see that Georgia has taken a bigger bite out of education than many other states.
Maureen
Maureen Downey
December 27th, 2010
9:14 am
@catlady, I am sure that there are rank and file employees in those districts who aren’t happy, but the school boards – who are the elected voices of the communities — and the CEOs/superintendents agreed.
Maureen
Peter Smagorinsky
December 27th, 2010
9:14 am
Oops, sorry, I shot a blank there.
After years of having people with NO teaching experience running education, I’ll confess that I’m relieved to see that Ms. Hames at least has 3 years in the classroom.
But I’m really writing to post a link to a column that I sincerely hope that Ms. Hames and Governor Deal read: http://nasspblogs.org/principaldifference/2010/12/pisa_its_poverty_not_stupid_1.html. The column breaks statistics down in order to factor in poverty variables, and once again that it’s clear that our economic system creates winners and losers. And no, I’m not a Marxist. I’m only noting that in the society that we’ve created, people inevitably live in poverty, and impoverished students’ test scores reflect their conditions more than they reflect their achievement levels. This is more a commentary on the effects of capitalism than on whether or not it’s the best economic system; I agree with Churchill’s view that it’s the worst system imaginable, except for all the others.
Maureen Downey
December 27th, 2010
9:21 am
@Peter, That is a great piece, and I would urge all of you to click on the link in Peter’s post to read it. This is the granular analysis that we used to always get from the late Gerald Bracey, who found that the U.S. fared very well in international comparisons once you adjusted for poverty.
Maureen
Teacher For Life
December 27th, 2010
9:25 am
If you leave teaching after 3 years, then you couldn’t handle it. Real simple. A real teacher stays in the trenches in good times and bad. They don’t listen to naysayers and people who pit young against old. You love the profession, you love the students and you do your best. Remember this, an older teacher was a younger teacher at one time.
Is a young fresh out of college reporter better than a seasoned 5-10 plus years? I don’t know.
A really young nurse tried to start an IV in me a few weeks ago. My blood was gushing all over the place as she called for help. Who came to the rescue? The older, seasoned nurse. “Hold her hand up.”
But, we live in the land of bash older educators. Do older people make any discoveries? Do our brains atrophy at 41? I wonder.
Not all older teachers complain about education. Most of us do what we’ve always done, we teach. And after all of the three to fivers have left for greener pastures, we’ll still be teaching because we know and have mastered the simple rules of teaching:
1. Let the student know who is in charge.
2. Respect all children.
3. Create an environment in the classroom conducive to learning.
4. Get to know each child and their learning style.
5. Know your subject.
6. Be prepared to teach each class as if it meets for twice as long as it does.
7. Make the student a stakeholder in their education.
8. Ignore useless administrators; garner peer feedback.
9. Call parents often with progress reports.
10. Keep learning.
An American Patriot
December 27th, 2010
9:56 am
The State of Georgia is responsible for the education of our children until they (children) get to that “age where they can decide for themselves whether school is really in their best interests”. That being said, parents have an obligation too and that obligation should be to ensure that their school age children get to school and that they provide a home environment that encourages their children’s education. Elementary and High School education in Georgia is “Not a Luxury”…,”It is a Requirement”. Busing kids to their schools “is a Luxury” that the State of Georgia can no longer afford. This should be the responsibility of the parents who brought that child into this world. If you require busing for your child, you should pay your pro rata share of the cost of that service. This one change would balance our school systems budget. I know, it’s very hard to change that “entitlement mentality”; however, in order for our state to survive and not go into bankruptcy, we’ve got to adopt measures that may not be the most popular thing to do.
Mikey D
December 27th, 2010
10:01 am
Again, Maureen… “Buy in” from superintendents and school boards is laughable without serious buy in from the teachers, students, and parents as well. The teachers in these districts had little or no input about signing on to this monstrosity. And yet they are going to have it rammed down their throats with new responsibilities to take on, less money at the end of the day, and half the federal funds going to pay for new administrative positions. How anyone could be pleased that Georgia was saddled with this disaster is beyond me.
Dekalbite
December 27th, 2010
10:56 am
I agree that federal funds are not worth the aggravation. Most of the money ends up funding administrative positions which in turn ALWAYS causes more paperwork on the part of the teachers. The result is a drain on classroom planning and instructional time. I would have no problem with this if the federal government required that 75% of the money goes directly into the classroom. But the decision makers themselves are not in classrooms so the end result will be payments to non-teaching staff at the federal, state and local level. At the end of the day, we will have lined the pockets of non-teaching staff and have no improvement in student achievement. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but I started teaching in 1971 and have done teaching and non-teaching support jobs all over the county I worked for so I have been on both ends for 40 years.
An American Patriot
December 27th, 2010
12:59 pm
You know folks, we can argue about this thing forever and it’s never gonna be any better than it is right now until we rid our state of all these “Professional Idiots” and get some “teaching type folks and business people” with some common sense to straighten out the mess……also, we’ve got to stop taking money from the federal bureaucracy……they’re ruining our educational systems.
d
December 27th, 2010
1:51 pm
Well, let’s look at DeKalb’s “buy in.” We have a real estate/lawyer as the chair of the BOE, I’m gonna slug you as our soon to be former vice chair, grumpy old man in charge of the budget and his apprentice, despite having an education background suddenly came to see the necessity of the overbearing central office when he took office and the former superintendent who is now facing criminal racketeering charges. The CFO and director of HR wouldn’t know the truth if it bit them in the rear. I’m sorry, I don’t like the fact that there was no buy in from the educators and that Duncan overlooked that on the rubric. It doesn’t say 26 out of 181 districts that represent 40% of your student population. It clearly required the signature of the teachers’ union or professional organization. Frankly, I would hope DeKalb goes the way of the Jones’s and follows their lead and says thanks but no thanks. TEM is should renamed SEM for Student Effectiveness Measures, because frankly that’s what it is measuring. How well can students bubble in a Scantron? Students don’t care – well that must be the teachers’ faults. It doesn’t matter that students are coming to school hungry, cold, not wearing clothing appropriate for the weather, or some who just don’t care. I see students for 90 minutes a day – and that’s likely to decrease to 50 in the next year or two. I do the best I can, but at some point we have to totally reexamine how we evaluate the hard working educators in this state. Let educators do come up with the plan. Frankly, and I’ve mentioned this before, could you imagine the ABA or AMA’s reactions if people who aren’t lawyers or doctors come in and try to tell them how to do their job in the same manner that we have people trying to tell educators how to do our jobs? That’s like me trying to tell Sonny Perdue how to neuter a dog. He has the education and knows how to do it, but I don’t. I might as well try and see how it turns out.
another comment
December 27th, 2010
2:52 pm
I am currently visiting the relatives in upstate New York, where the public school district provides free bussing to the Catholic School. They realize that those parents pay school taxes too, and they are getting a deal paying only for the bus service. I in fact rode the bus from one school district to another to get dropped off at the Catholic School. We had to drive through town anyways. Of course, I had to ride on the high school bus as a 1st-6th grader to get to the Catholic School, but it didn’t matter to anyone because it was free and met the start and end times of school.
RBN
December 27th, 2010
5:41 pm
Maureen the buy-in by stakeholders in Georgia is absurd. Duncan does not understand “Right to Beg” states, which complicates the relationship with the NEA, a vital part of any 2012 re-election for Obama. The fact that 26 superintedants were all that was required to provide “stakeholder” cover sets up the problems to come. Dade County announced that they will spend the vast majority of their funding (almost $1 million over 4 years) to hire two administrators to monitor student achievement and teacher evaluations. If this is racing to the top while many teachers lost ten days pay and class sizes rise to no apparent ceiling, then God help us.
Tennessee by contrast had a governor, a very conservative Democrat, who sat down with the TEA to plan out how the money would be used. So far the plans in Hamilton County look much more promising.
Please check other plans of the 26 to see how many more administrators will be hired with this money while teachers in Georgia suffer and days of instr5uction are cut.
justjanny
December 27th, 2010
7:55 pm
So, will Erin Hames keep her $130,000.00+ salary to be the spy for the Gold dome? Maybe the plan is to ensure that John Barge will be unsuccessful because he had the balls to eliminate a few worthless employees sucking off the taxpayer dollar. Why don’t we just build a bonfire and throw in a bunch of tax payer dollars? What a travesty!!
Mikey D
December 27th, 2010
8:12 pm
@justjanny
You can bet that she will continue to draw an obscene salary while the teachers of this state continue to see furloughs and outright cuts to our pay. It’s very interesting that two politicians who have no educational experience whatsoever (sonny and bad-deal) seem so high on this woman, while the one person in the equation who actually knows something about education (John Barge) gave her a pinkslip. Something smells very fishy. But after 8 years of sonny days, what else is new?
Dome Watcher
December 27th, 2010
9:16 pm
When Hames was working for Sonny she was very mouthy about the bloated salaries at DOE but it sure didn’t stop her from demanding one of those bloated salaries when she went to work there.
Tony
December 27th, 2010
9:19 pm
Erin Hames does NOT need to serve as a policy advisor for education. When it comes to priorities for public education funding, she remains ideologically rooted in the republican mantras – charter schools, merit pay, and testing.
Her lack of experience speaks loud and clear.
By the way – RTTT was written by a team of people sponsored by the Gates Foundation. Not OSA, not Sonny, not Hames, not even Cox.
Ridiculous
December 27th, 2010
10:23 pm
Erin Hames wrote/organized the RTTT application?! If she says this often and loud enough does it become the truth? Please check your sources on how this 400M dollar grant actually actually made it to Georgia.
just wondering
December 27th, 2010
10:44 pm
Is anyone gong to be satisfied with X years of teaching experience, no matter what X is? Teaching experiences is far, far, overestimated – particularly for a political position.
Mikey D
December 27th, 2010
11:15 pm
@just wondering
I would have much more respect for an education advisor with 15+ years in the classroom. I’m sorry that you believe that experience is “overestimated”, but I don’t understand how someone with 3 years of teaching experience could possibly be considered an expert. This woman is a first-rate political climber, no doubt. But she should not be surprised that actual educators doing the actual work of educating children view her as somewhat less than qualified for the position (and salary) that she has claimed.
just wondering
December 27th, 2010
11:45 pm
A teacher with 25 years of teaching experiences seeing only her own classroom will be far less effective as a political advisor as someone with 0 year of teaching experiences but with 15 years of visiting and talking with classroom teachers and administrators. No question about it.
Mikey D
December 27th, 2010
11:54 pm
You’re assuming that she has been out visiting and talking with teachers. Highly doubtful. She’s a sham and a leech making a fortune with very little to offer.
Mikey D
December 27th, 2010
11:54 pm
25 > 3
Mikey D
December 28th, 2010
12:01 am
@just wondering
I suppose that you also believe that an embedded reporter in Afghanistan or Iraq knows more about the dangers of war than the soldiers because he/she has visited and talked with lots of soldiers? Your logic is flawed.
just wondering
December 28th, 2010
7:03 am
You would hope that generals and civilian leaders who see the big picture have a much better sense of military strategies and judgments.
You say I’m assuming something, but so are you. What’s the difference?
just wondering
December 28th, 2010
7:03 am
1^25=1
Teacher for Life
December 28th, 2010
7:21 am
How utterly classless of you to assume that a 25 year veteran teacher has only seen the inside of their classroom? He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool…shun him.
Teacher for Life
December 28th, 2010
7:23 am
Excuse me…and clueless.
HS Math Teacher
December 28th, 2010
9:58 am
I don’t know how she’ll fare in her new job, but I will tell you without hesitation, she’s a LOOKER.
just wondering
December 28th, 2010
10:19 am
Being knowledgeable about education to be an effective political advisor is not the same thing as being an effective teacher – which, by the way, the number of years does not necessarily equates to, either.
@ Teacher for Life
I have never said all teachers who taught 25 years would never see outside of their classrooms. On the other hand, not all teachers with 25 years experiences have really seen classrooms other than theirs. Just as we cannot assume this person is clueless and unqualified because she taught only for 3 years, we cannot assume someone else who taught more could be an effective advisr. All I am saying is that years of classroom teaching experiences isn’t a major factor for a political position.
Mikey D
December 28th, 2010
10:57 am
If you are advising a governor and helping to set educational policy, you should have a very good idea what you’re talking about. After 3 years in the classroom, I was still a novice and I knew far less than I needed to know. Now, 16 years into my career, I know much more because I have seen and done so much more. There is NO WAY that someone with 3 years’ experience can possibly be considered an expert in education.
Late to the Party
December 28th, 2010
11:11 am
But at least she’s perky! Much like the undergraduates I taught for the last 20 years at University of Georgia. I am impressed with the RTTT accomplishment – that shows political savvy, however, not educational policy acumen.
TopSchool
December 28th, 2010
11:20 am
And where does Erin Hames live? North or South of Buckhead?
On the Northside of Atlanta we refer to a teacher with the new husband, new house and 2.2 children on the way…as a dear “Little Debbie Snack Cake”
One bite, a few paychecks to decorate the house, and put two Chinese Ming vases on either side of the fireplace mantle …and they are out the door.
Only to return when their marriage falls apart and they set up an “Estate Sale” on the Northside. Down south we call it a “Garage Sale”. … When the fairy tale marriage turns ugly all the pretties and finery are sold for pennies to the antique dealers on Cheshire Bridge Road.
And this is what makes Atlanta’s finest YOUNG TEACHERS.
I don’t know this young lady…but please don’t tell me she’s another “Debbie Snack Cake”
Sad…I sat through enough meetings watching them cut duck boarders for bulletin boards and make ginger bread houses from milk cartons in their classrooms ( an activity for the little miss homemaker to do in her newly decorated kitchen ) Besides the fact this is THE SAME EDUCATION WE WERE GIVEN IN 1960—-In 2010 we are still allowing this in our classrooms and evaluating it as superior education experiences for our young children.
Many of these young teachers are playing school. As a seasoned teacher, I can observe for about 20 minutes and figure out if they are actually teaching or playing school.
Not knowing the details about all of Ms. Hames history…but reading some of what has been posted…I will not be surprised if this is just another created job for the connected.
TopSchool
December 28th, 2010
11:20 am
“Reorganization Money” Diverted to REICH’s daughter on APS PAYROLL
http://www.youtube.com/user/TopSchoolAtlanta#p/u/38/tHyr95P7JF0
Reich hires immediate family members to benefit from the additional money she has acquired as a result of “thinking out of the box”. ( another play on Reich’s Rhetoric..Reorganization Plan, AKA-3 Year Plan, Miscellaneous Pay, One Time Payment???? Too many names to juggle!)
TopSchool
December 28th, 2010
11:21 am
Another “Who knows Who” in the circle of Buckhead Atlanta…
TopSchool
December 28th, 2010
11:25 am
Sonny Perdue’s investigation opens suspicion of criminal activity in APS. Those involved in fraud are asked to step forward and tell what they know.
I think those involved MIGHT JUST BE deep rooted in the HIGH SOCIETY SECTION of JEZEBEL MAGAZINE.
Governor Perdue’s office takes ACTION with APS
http://www.youtube.com/user/TopSchoolAtlanta#p/u/4/7ykbZYUIHRk
http://www.TopPublicSchoolCorruptionAtlanta.com
Shamus
December 28th, 2010
12:06 pm
I, too, am late to the party. In principle, I agree with “just wondering” that the years in classrooms alone does not qualify or disqualify someone to be an effective policy advisor for a governor. I am amazed to see so much negativity toward this appointment only based on the fact that she taught for 3 years. It sounds like teachers are just creating excuses for things to come – a very typical task avoidance strategy.
TopSchool
December 28th, 2010
1:41 pm
Duck Borders …I think I’ve created a new word!
TopSchool
December 28th, 2010
6:56 pm
@I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming. You aren’t one of those teachers that takes so much pride in the amount of work they take home…
It is called lack of organizational skills or student overload…
You are really exposing the flaws in your ability to handle the classroom.
Snap…
Please dont waist yur time profreading my wirk. I lik to misspell the werds just so it wil drive you crazee.
Lamar
December 31st, 2010
8:04 am
Forty-two years ago, I was a young ‘hot-shot’ teacher. Taught in a correctional faciltiy, tough inner-city middle school (TOTY), psychiatric facility …just looking for challenges and settings where I could make a difference. I had that kind of confidence. Took twelve years to feel burned out before I had to step away and evaluate what I was going to do with my career. Erin Hames figured it out in 3. Good for her. But, from this older …and, maybe, wiser former hot shot’s POV, it is not what is learned about education that makes a person of any stripe a good teacher. Not at all. It is what we learn about people (not just the children but their parents, too), ourselves and the community in which we serve. And, this much I fear I have learned about the community in which I serve …the RTTT money we expect to receive will not have a positive REAL impact on the education of a single child here but it will make things look better statistically. And ever since the US became consciously afraid that the rest of the world might someday catch up to US, statistical comparisons have become the way we identify our successes and failures. Good luck, Erin Hames. Let’s do lunch in 30 years and take a non-statistical read on the quality of human life data driven education has created.