The Irreplaceables: Study says schools losing top teachers
I listened to a panel a few weeks ago on whether schools were aware of and keeping their top teachers. I have not had a chance to write up the findings but will soon. In the meantime, here is a new report from The New Teacher Project that addresses the same issue: Whether schools are doing enough to keep their best teachers.
A new study finds that urban schools are systematically neglecting their best teachers, losing tens of thousands every year even as they keep many of their lowest-performing teachers indefinitely—with disastrous consequences for students, schools, and the teaching profession.
The study by TNTP, a national nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that all students get excellent teachers, documents the real teacher retention crisis in America’s schools: not only a failure to retain enough teachers, but a failure to retain the right teachers.
“The Irreplaceables,” released at an event featuring U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, NEA Secretary-Treasurer Rebecca Pringle, and DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, spans four urban school districts encompassing 90,000 teachers and 1.4 million students. It focuses on the experiences of the “Irreplaceables”: teachers so successful at advancing student learning that they are nearly impossible to replace. Schools rarely make a strong effort to keep these teachers despite their success—and rarely usher unsuccessful teachers out.
As a result, the best and worst teachers leave urban schools at strikingly similar rates. The nation’s 50 largest districts lose approximately 10,000 Irreplaceables each year. Meanwhile, about 40 percent of teachers with more than seven years of experience are less effective at advancing academic progress than the average first-year teacher.
“America’s best teachers are truly irreplaceable,” said Secretary Duncan. “I’ve said that when it comes to teaching, talent matters tremendously. But TNTP’s report documents in painful detail that school leaders are doing far too little to nurture, retain, and reward great teachers—and not nearly enough to identify and assist struggling teachers. Our teachers, who play such a crucial role in the lives of children, deserve a profession built on respect and rigor. And our children deserve—and need—to learn from those irreplaceable teachers.”
The study attributes negligent retention patterns to three major causes:
•Inaction by school principals. Less than 30 percent of Irreplaceables plan to leave for reasons beyond their school’s control. Simple strategies, like public recognition for a job well done, boost their plans to stay by as many as six years. Yet two-thirds indicated that no one had encouraged them to return for another year. Similarly, principals rarely try to counsel out low performers, even though replacing them with a brand-new teacher will immediately achieve better academic results 75 percent of the time.
•Poor school cultures and working conditions. Schools that retain more Irreplaceables have strong cultures where teachers work in an atmosphere of mutual respect, leaders respond to poor performance, and great teaching is the priority. Turnover rates among Irreplaceables were 50 percent higher in schools lacking these traits.
•Policies that impede smarter retention practices. A number of policy barriers hamper principals from making smarter retention decisions. Because of inflexible, seniority-dominated compensation systems, for example, 55 percent of Irreplaceables earn a lower salary than the average low-performing teacher.
The report notes that current retention patterns stymie school turnaround efforts and prevent the teaching profession from earning the prestige it deserves. It offers two major recommendations:
•Make retention of Irreplaceables a top priority. Districts should aim to keep more than 90 percent of their Irreplaceables annually, monitor and improve school working conditions, pay the best teachers what they’re worth and create new career pathways that extend their reach.
•Strengthen the teaching profession with higher expectations. Leaders at all levels should set a new baseline standard for effectiveness: Teachers who cannot teach as well as the average first-year teacher should be considered ineffective and dismissed or counseled out (unless they are first-year teachers). Policymakers should change teacher hiring and layoff policies that discourage schools from enforcing higher expectations.
“Our schools should be obsessed with keeping their best teachers. But today it appears that they are almost completely oblivious to them,” said TNTP President Tim Daly. “It’s degrading to teachers and their profession. The challenge now is to address both sides of this crisis: the neglect of our best teachers, and the indifference to performance that keeps unsuccessful teachers in the classroom for too long.”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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117 comments Add your comment
Chunter
July 30th, 2012
12:37 pm
We’ve always known that teachers who are marketable tend to move from rough urban schools to those in the suburbs.
So in what way is this news?
You can’t force everyone into the public school monopoly and then expect it to actually work—especially in the inner-cities neighborhoods. Nor would squeezing more money out of over-burdened taxpayers help.
Much of this is covered in the excellent film WAITING FOR SUPERMAN.
skipper
July 30th, 2012
12:39 pm
Too many obstacles to face……kids with no family life (many, not all, but many) and absolutly devoid of even the most basic amount of discipline and respect in many cases. These things, along with the governments latest “feel-good” (but unproven) remedy of the day make many say “To heck with this scene!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Dr. Monica Henson
July 30th, 2012
12:41 pm
I have been a trainer for TNTP and have great admiration for their work. When David Driscoll was Commissioner of Education in Massachusetts, the department of education launched a collaboration with TNTP called the Mass. Institute for New Teachers (MINT), and I ran the Summer Institute (a/k/a “boot camp”) in Worcester. There were six Summer Institutes across the state in urban centers. At the conclusion of the summer, MINT secured sufficient funds to pay several Institute directors, including me, to stay with our cohort of teachers as mentors. Most of our interactions were by phone and email, and if their school permitted, we did at least one formal observation of each teacher at work during their first year of teaching. My cohort posted a better than 90% retention rate at the end of their first year. Many of them are still teaching. Two of my cohort are now department chairs of special education. The one thing that my instructional staff and I did with the cohort that summer was to prepare them for the strong possibility that they would not enjoy effective administrative support in the high-need urban schools where they were placed, with explanations of why that would be. We tried to give them a good dose of “real life expectations,” and I believe that this helped a lot in those new teachers being able to understand the challenges that are inherent in those kinds of schools. They were able to hang onto their sense of mission that brought them to TNTP to begin with.
Identification of outstanding, accomplished teachers and the creation of career pathways that will take advantage of their skills and abilities without removing them from the classroom are just two of the things that have to start occurring in high-need schools if we are ever going to retain those folks in the places where they are needed the most.
Jefferson
July 30th, 2012
12:50 pm
Pay them what they are worth ? What does that mean ? Worth.
d
July 30th, 2012
12:53 pm
Monopoly: exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or control that makes possible the manipulation of prices. Neither of these definitions matches what out public education system does. If it did, no private schools would exist, yet they do. Parents have plenty of choice – the question is are they willing to make the sacrifices necessary if they want to send their children to a private school. I would guess individuals such as Chunter (or is it really Jane W?) would not be willing to make such a sacrifice. They want it all, and in the process we place demands on teachers that even the best of us struggle to meet…. Let’s look at my roster with 46 (yes, that is forty-six) students who are scheduled to enter my classroom on August 13 for just one class. Let’s look at the new CCGPS but lack of adequate training on top of cuts to pay so the district can balance its budget. It is no wonder the best teachers throw their hands up and leave.
I am starting my 8th year in education and have never seen an increase in pay with the exception of a small COLA in 2008. Sometimes I wonder how much more I can take in the name of doing the right thing for the children. I will, however, continue to move forward and do my best. I just hope that the trend changes quickly so I can afford to continue doing what I love.
Kris
July 30th, 2012
1:21 pm
This is not just an “urban” issue. My wife was a high school honors biology teacher in a suburban Atlanta. After teaching for 8 years, she quit teaching altogether due to frustrations with the bureaucracy. Her last straw was a seniority based cut back. She was offered a contract, but had to sign it without knowing exactly where she would be teaching in a very large county (Fulton). Since she recently moved from one county to another, she had low seniority in the county (even though she had 8 years total teaching experience). She chose not to sign and started her own unrelated business. My wife has two masters degrees, her first in biology and her second in education. She’s exactly the type of “irreplaceable” you would want to have teaching biology to your children. I am sure that this kind of scenario plays out every year. It’s a real shame!
teach
July 30th, 2012
1:29 pm
Our system’s mindset is if you are not happy, move on, you will be replaced. They place no value on the work of great teachers, other than the once a year teacher of the year contest.
They do not value teachers’ opinions and do not listen when teachers fill out surveys and give feedback.
NONPC
July 30th, 2012
1:37 pm
It focuses on the experiences of the “Irreplaceables”: teachers so successful at advancing student learning that they are nearly impossible to replace. Schools rarely make a strong effort to keep these teachers despite their success
This goes to the collectivism that encompasses all things teacher. To admit that a teacher is a great teacher, you have to admit that other teachers are NOT great. You have to stipulate that all teachers are NOT equal in ability. Then, you have to come up with programs to retain the best teachers… how you will identify them, and the incentives that you will use to retain them. This ENRAGES the less than spectacular teachers. They refused to be judged on their merit. Every attempt is met with scorn. Are you going to reward a 1st year teacher MORE than a 7 year veteran? How dare you!
Anyway, you get my drift. Simply acknowledging the existence of irreplaceable teachers causes chaos and discontent among the rest of the faculty and administration. Its not about the students, its all about keeping faculty happy in blissful mediocrity. For the most part, those urban school systems don’t care if the excellent teachers leave as long as the rest of the staff is happy (to hell with teaching the kids).
twee28
July 30th, 2012
1:46 pm
Paying more for teachers only makes sense if there’s a way to terminate the lemons and perpetual whiners. But then too, we have so-o-o-o many applicants for the average K-12 job.
And three months of vacation time per year often appeals to the wrong sort of person.
Howard Finkelstein
July 30th, 2012
1:48 pm
Irreplaceables? Oh brother. More liberal “storm in a teacup” mentality. Even YOU, Arne Duncan, are replaceable.
Don't Tread
July 30th, 2012
1:49 pm
Let’s see….you toss the merit system and then wonder why your best teachers leave for greener pastures?
Dr. Monica Henson
July 30th, 2012
1:55 pm
NONPC posted, “Its not about the students, its all about keeping faculty happy in blissful mediocrity.”
Bingo. Most district public schools are run as employment agencies for adults, not as places of learning for kids.
The political agenda of the NEA and the AFT, which have a strong influence on their affiliated organizations in nonunion states like Georgia, is to resist to the point of death any effort to differentiate among the skill level of teachers. There is a terrible mirage of “all teachers are great,” hanging over the seniority- and advanced degree-based salary schedule system, that has created the gridlock that is the teacher compensation system in this country.
I don’t advocate abolishing tenure altogether (although it needs to become a lot harder to earn, which is an administrator problem, not a teacher issue), and I believe that teachers with advanced degrees who demonstrate that their students have excellent achievement outcomes should be compensated accordingly. But the idea that you receive an annual raise simply for breathing, and you can self-select for raises by accumulating degrees, divorced from any performance criteria that includes student achievement outcomes (measure by a variety of sources), is ridiculous.
Mary Elizabeth
July 30th, 2012
2:17 pm
Most people, including teachers, will not function as well within an overall environment of fear and intimidation, as they will within an overall environment of nurturing, care, respect for all, and respect for excellence through inspiration and motivation.
When emphasis within a school’s environment is placed upon teachers’ improvement and teachers’ training, rather than upon the stratification and dismissal of teachers, the school’s overall environment becomes less threatening, fearful, and tense for all within the school, as well as more productive for teachers and students, alike.
Test scores should be used primarily for diagnostic purposes to target and enhance instruction for the benefit of students. The purpose of the data should be enlightenment, not punishment.
When students are instructed according to individual need, they generally succeed
————————————————————-
Moreover, as citizens, perhaps we should begin to consider what degree of competition versus what degree of cooperation we wish to perpetuate within society, as a whole. Perhaps, it is time to question whether the more “muscular” concepts of power, dominance, winning, and wealth (a hierarchial vision) are the values more to be sought within our nation, as opposed to the values of cooperation, collaboration, and intellectual and spiritual development (an egalitarian vision).
Blue dog
July 30th, 2012
2:17 pm
What would happen to our medical care if we elected local “Boards of Medicine” to control the quality of our healthcare ?
The key word here is “Elected”.
Georgia has 150+ locally “elected” school boards. These individuals control the superintendent, who hires the principals, who hires the teachers. This system allows for way too much disparity in quality of our education.
Parents want….”local control”, but that allows the “Clayton Counties” to happen.
The states should hire “EVERYONE” from the best and brightest available to them…as State Employees. Then, new hires can teach anywhere in the state. Just think of the way all other state employees are hired and sent around the state.
This would have the great benefit of having ONE PERSONNEL DEPT…..like all OTHER state employees, thus saving most of that 50% of total funding for administrative cost, saving at least 1 billion+….which could then be used to boast teachers pay reduce class sizes and provide some serious bonus money to talented teachers willing to teach in the poorest performing schools.
I know…i know…that would mean losing your precious “local control”.
But just like we continue to elect the local Court Clerk, Coroner, probate judges, sheriffs, tax commissioners, etc…we too often vote for incompetents or popularity over ability.
Elect your County Committee, then let them hire and fire as needed.
Unfunded pension
July 30th, 2012
2:17 pm
Any system that cannot identify and disincent the incompetent and failing will not be able to reward and keep the best either. They go together.
williebkind
July 30th, 2012
2:26 pm
Everytime I tell other staff I am irreplaceable they just laugh or smile and walk away.
Digger
July 30th, 2012
2:29 pm
Smart people tend to not suffer fools forever.They leave. Dumb people are fools. They stay.
dc
July 30th, 2012
2:34 pm
Of course we are losing good teachers. Each semester, their classes fill up with students whose parents ask that their kids be put in the best teacher’s class. The best teacher’s get an increased workload, while the worst teachers have less work. And their is ZERO financial reward for the best teachers, and ZERO financial penalty for the worst ones.
Who in their right mind would last in an environment like this….where being good is penalized, and being bad is rewarded.
Daniel S.
July 30th, 2012
2:44 pm
I find it interesting that the study claims first year teachers are irreplaceable. “Meanwhile, about 40 percent of teachers with more than seven years of experience are less effective at advancing academic progress than the average first-year teacher.” “Teachers who cannot teach as well as the average first-year teacher should be considered ineffective and dismissed or counseled out (unless they are first-year teachers). IMHO It usually takes first year teachers two to three years to learn the ropes, to learn what works and what doesn’t. That kind of knowledge can’t be learned in college; it comes from on the job experience.
NW GA Math/Science Teacher
July 30th, 2012
2:47 pm
Speaking from the perspective of excellent test scores and high “value-added” marks – the pay is the least important of the points made in the original article. The culture is, to me, screamingly important. I’ve moved again this year – this school looks very promising. I keep believing that hard work and glowing results would be appreciated by administrators. Not so thus far. Maybe, as my wife tells me, I just haven’t been at a “good school” yet. Maybe this year… [there's your mobility]
NW GA Math/Science Teacher
July 30th, 2012
2:50 pm
Administrators – if you were to honestly say (maybe anonymously here?) what would you really be looking for in an employee?
lee ann
July 30th, 2012
2:57 pm
PLEASE PLEASE stop using the light gray fonts!! it’s simply NOT NECESSARY AND VERY HARD TO READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Parent and Teacher
July 30th, 2012
3:09 pm
“Its not about the students, its all about keeping faculty happy in blissful mediocrity.” So true. The most sad part of this is that almost every administrator I’ve ever met had no idea what good teaching looked like. They do not tend to be academics and have no criteria for identifying good teachers. Basically if parents are not complaining too much and the kids are placated (not too challenged, somewhat entertained), then everything is fine! Of course, they look for hard evidence like word walls, etc. LOL!!! We needed serious brainstorming to get out of this situation. Can you imagine what the next generation of teachers and administrators will look like? I am afraid we have let a lot of talent walk right out the door, and in some cases asked it to leave. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one who realizes how grim the situation is.
Randy Glover
July 30th, 2012
3:09 pm
Does it surprise anyone that a good teacher will be gone with the wind as soon as he or she gets the chance? They may have to go to work in a tough district, as I did, their first few years of teaching. After that, and this is true of most all of the teachers at my first school, it is on to greener pastures. There is no way they had enough money to ‘retain’ me; also, no way I would have taught for 30 years. Most of us join this profession to be teachers, not policemen, referees, or babysitters.
Tonya C.
July 30th, 2012
3:26 pm
Dr. Henson:
While I don’t disagree with you, let’s all be reminded that even the supposedly GUARANTEED increases based on years of experience have been forfeited the last few years. I absolutely can say some type of merit-based system is needed but where will the money come from? Or will be like the NBCT program?
Randy Glover: Exactly! How many of these teachers are leaving the profession vs. those just going to greener pastures?
Nikole
July 30th, 2012
3:30 pm
Off-Topic
For those interested in helping real teachers who stay in difficult settings, I have a Donor’s Choose Project up.
http://www.donorschoose.org/nallen
Hillbilly D
July 30th, 2012
3:31 pm
What they need to be figuring out is how to keep people who can be top teachers coming into the system and how to retain them after they do.
As for irreplaceable, the graveyards are full of people who couldn’t be replaced.
Nikole
July 30th, 2012
3:31 pm
For those interested in helping real teachers, who stay in difficult settings, I have a Donor’s Choose Project up.
http://www.donorschoose.org/nallen
Ron F.
July 30th, 2012
3:38 pm
“Strengthen the teaching profession with higher expectations. Leaders at all levels should set a new baseline standard for effectiveness”
I’m so, so, so tired of hearing “higher expectations”…..it comes down to this. If there is a supportive, collegial, respectful environment where good teachers are praised personally and meaningfully by administrators, then they tend to stay and keep doing their best. I’ve spent the better part of my career in a poor, rural school teaching the lowest academic level kids, and I love it because my efforts are recognized and I know I’m appreciated. I could go to a more affluent district, but why would I, knowing that my administration supports me fully. That’s the key- plain and simple. And my prinicpal makes no bones about the fact that the bad teachers aren’t staying- and he jumps through any hoop necessary to get them out.
Mirva
July 30th, 2012
3:40 pm
Top teachers are smart, capapble people. They know they are smart and capable and feel they deserve good working conditions with reasonable pay. I don’t feel lucky or thankful to have a teaching job, I think that my very good school is lucky to have me. I know that I could get another job, even in this economy. I love what I do and I think I”m very good at it, but if or when the administration becomes indifferent or abusive, or whatever, I know with full confidence that I can get another teaching job, or leave the profession. If you want smart, capable people in your classrooms, you have to treat them well. Otherwise, be content with half wits you can intimidate or push around because they fear for their jobs. You can’t have both.
bootney farnsworth
July 30th, 2012
3:56 pm
@gsmith
just wondering – who launders your hood?
bootney farnsworth
July 30th, 2012
3:59 pm
the surprise shouldn’t be urban systems lose their best teachers, the surprise should be they keep them as long as they do.
edugator
July 30th, 2012
4:04 pm
Interesting blue dog. How about adding a legitimate national curriculum?
mark
July 30th, 2012
4:29 pm
I want a free agency in teaching. Take my score on my teacher evaulation and post it along with my resume on Teach Georgia. Schools could bid for me by paying me more, just like football or baseball, true capitalism. Since science teachers are in higher need, therefore my pay should be higher than and english teacher.
Scott
July 30th, 2012
4:38 pm
gsmith tells it EXACTLY how it is Bootney. Provide ONE spec of factual evidence to point otherwise and someone may listen to you.
Blue dog
July 30th, 2012
4:48 pm
edugator
“How about….National curriculum”.
That should the first change….Our “National interest” in promoting a quality education is no different than other “equal rights” under the constitution. States famously default on these rights so enforce changes “legally” from the Federal level….and hear the “states rights” winers begin.
Mary Elizabeth
July 30th, 2012
4:57 pm
Mark, 4:29 pm
“Schools could bid for me by paying me more, just like football or baseball, true capitalism. Since science teachers are in higher need, therefore my pay should be higher than and english teacher.”
=====================================
Mark, you may be paid more than an English teacher in time, based upon the economic principle of “supply and demand” within capitalism, but you could still use the services of an English teacher. Notice, below, the grammatical corrections that this former English teacher has made to your last sentence within your post.
We must not diminish the value of English teachers to society.
———————————————————
Incorrectly written: “. . . my pay should be higher than and english teacher.”
Corrected version: “. . . my pay should be higher than an English teacher’s.”
long time educator
July 30th, 2012
5:09 pm
I have worked as a teacher and administrator. As a teacher, I would not work for someone who was not supportive. I, like Mirva, feel confident I could get another job inside or outside education and would not stay where I was not appreciated. As an administrator, NW Ga Math/Science Teacher, I looked for someone who was competent and ready to go on day one. I wanted enthusiasm for teaching and maturity in personal relationships and a classroom where I would place my own child. I treated the teachers in my building the way I would want to be treated.
Adult Educator
July 30th, 2012
5:36 pm
Mary Elizabeth makes some great points. Her following statement is brilliant in its insight:
“Moreover, as citizens, perhaps we should begin to consider what degree of competition versus what degree of cooperation we wish to perpetuate within society, as a whole. Perhaps, it is time to question whether the more “muscular” concepts of power, dominance, winning, and wealth (a hierarchial vision) are the values more to be sought within our nation, as opposed to the values of cooperation, collaboration, and intellectual and spiritual development (an egalitarian vision).”
SBinF
July 30th, 2012
5:37 pm
I’m in education. I work at a private school. I’ve been teaching for about 6 years. Once I finish my master’s, I plan to begin a new career. I enjoy teaching, but the income growth simply isn’t there to entice me to stay in the profession for much longer. Let’s not even begin with my frustrations in dealing with parents. Most parents are very supportive, and I am fortunate to have a supportive administration. Unfortunately, there is the 5% of parents who make life incredibly difficult for the teachers. I guess there are difficult people in all lines of work, but I am going to take my chances elsewhere.
CY 2.0
July 30th, 2012
6:00 pm
Schools need to do more to retain the best teachers and make it easier to remove ineffective teachers. However, there is a difference between getting rid of bad teachers are getting rid of teachers who have never been nurtured or mentored. We need a holistic approach here. You cannot throw teachers into the classroom and simply wait for them to sink or swim. I have seen many promising teachers leave of get forced out when they don’t succeed right away. More often than not, in my experience anyway, it has less to do with the teacher’s potential and more to do with a lack of support. Talent and potential are not enough. We need support across the board, both for new teachers and for veteran teachers trying improve their practices.
Bernie
July 30th, 2012
6:06 pm
if you think losing top teachers is bad, just wait until the Georgia Republicans introduce the school voucher payment system, shortly after the marginal success of the charter school plan. Georgia’s education system will look more like the current Mississippi
State Education system.
mountain man
July 30th, 2012
6:23 pm
Is anyone surprised by this? I know I’m not. I have been saying this for a long time. The working conditions are so atrocious now that lots of teachers are leaving the profession, and it is not the bottom 50% that are leaving, it is the top 50%.
Good luck with that education model that you have. Call me if you want to hear a plan that will work.
Jordan Kohanim
July 30th, 2012
6:52 pm
Sadly, with the economy the way it is, I doubt teachers will ever regain the “STEP” raises once promised to them.
I never saw a STEP raise. It was absolutely one of the reasons I left teaching. Not the only reason, but it was a reason to be sure.
dbow
July 30th, 2012
7:53 pm
I often wonder what I would do if I left teaching. I’m going into my 18th year and I keep thinking about that scene from Shawshank Redemption when the old man killed himself and Morgan Freeman said he was so used to being in prison that he couldn’t handle the outside world. I could go into real estate, but that’s in the dumpster now. I could go into sales, but working on commission is scary to me. I could go back into the engineering field. Oh wait, I love teaching and have come to terms with the FACTS that I will never be paid what I consider my true value, I will constantly be put under a microscope and held to a higher, almost impossible to reach standard than any of my non-teaching peers and I will probably have a heart attack from all the testing and stress(Sorry for the run on sentence). I honestly can’t picture myself doing anything else and enjoying it or reaping the same benefits as being a teacher.
bootney farnsworth
July 30th, 2012
8:00 pm
@ Scott
since you asked….
Baldwin Hills, Ca.
Bloomfield, Conn
Springdale, Md
Cascade Heights, right here in Atlanta
I could go on at great length, but I’m a big believer in not trying to teach pigs to sing
Megan
July 30th, 2012
8:01 pm
You would be crazy to become a teacher today. Our society no longer wants our children to be educated and we will soon be a third world power.
bootney farnsworth
July 30th, 2012
8:05 pm
@ Jordan
the 2000s will be known as the decade of lost wages -administrators not included, of course.
all of us lost $100s of dollars in take home pay we’ll never see again. I expect we’ll see a very modest increase this year since its an election year, but it won’t keep up with benefits, let alone inflation.
the year after, back to frozen wages and furloughs
Jordan Kohanim
July 30th, 2012
8:10 pm
Bootney- Agreed. Everyone lost money in this economy. I just don’t know that the public sector will ever see it back.
bootney farnsworth
July 30th, 2012
8:11 pm
NW Ga asked
Administrators – if you were to honestly say (maybe anonymously here?) what would you really be looking for in an employee?
the simple answer: relatives
mommamonster
July 30th, 2012
8:21 pm
Bootney…you make me giggle! Thanks!
Mary Elizabeth
July 30th, 2012
8:28 pm
Adult Educator, 5:36 pm
Thank you, Adult Education, for your most kind remarks about my thinking. It is my belief that the world is rapidly moving toward a more egalitarian consciousness, emerging from an older hierarchial consciousness, of years past.
If you are interested in reading more of my thoughts regarding this, here is the link from my personal blog which probes the idea, in more depth.
http://maryelizabethsings.wordpress.com/2010/12/26/a-new-year-a-budding-world-consciousness/
—————————————————-
I believe, also, that the stealthy, power/wealth influence of ALEC, and others, to dismantle public schools springs from their hierarchial worldview of the primary value of wealth, power and dominance in society, and that the service-oriented philosophy, upon which traditional public schools have been based, is more attuned to an egalitarian consciousness. We must improve public education from within, and we must encourage public charter schools to work in harmony with traditional public schools in a collaborative, and not a competitive, spirit in order to foster this growing worldwide egalitarian consciousness within our educational delivery models for students, teachers, and families, imo.
Mary Elizabeth
July 30th, 2012
8:29 pm
Correction: Adult Educator, not Adult Education
mommamonster
July 30th, 2012
8:45 pm
@twee88
I got out of school on 5/30 and will go back on 8/6…not quite 3 months AND I went to a total of 5 days’ Professional Development classes as well!
Cobb County used to have a high-priority (Title 1) school longevity bonus but has gotten rid of it due to budget woes. I missed receiving the $2500 bonus by one year when I left because of family. When my children get out of high school (I have an upcoming freshman and an upcoming 6th grader) I plan on going back into a Title 1 school. I really liked the challenge and the kids and even thought it funny when I was called a “bitch”. I just smiled and said, “Thanks! I work really hard at it”. The only reason I left was because my school was 40 minutes away and my own kids were getting the short end of the mommy stick. Baseball and lacrosse practices have to take precedence…
You have to have a certain attitude and demeanor when working in a Title 1 environment…it is NOT for the faint of heart or for those who get their feelings hurt easily.
Ron F.
July 30th, 2012
9:21 pm
@bootney 8:11- LOL!!
@Jordan: no, the public sector will never see those lost wages or get anywhere close to the pay level for a long, long time. And the excuse will be either: A. look at the private sector- we get what we get without unions and compete for our bread crusts, or B. we have to get rid of all the slackers who expected pay for nothing. But then, it’s all going to be privatized anyway, so what do we have to worry about? Military privatization has, over the last three decades, bloated the defense budget and lined the pockets of the billionaires currently trying to buy elections as we speak, while they rant about “smaller government” (smaller number of government employees, HUGE increase in budgets to pay the private contractors). Just wait until they get ahold of education dollars. That’s where the real money is.
Beverly Fraud
July 30th, 2012
9:25 pm
Arne Duncan comes to Atlanta not once, but two times, in a desperate, pathetic attempt to politically prop up Beverly Hall even after was obvious to any multi-cell organism, that she was at the heart of the largest cheating scandal in United States educational history, and he laments why the best and the brightest are leaving the teaching profession?
Can anyone say “You wouldn’t know what integrity is if it slapped you on the head with an eraser”?
Fled said it best: Flee.
Jordan Kohanim
July 30th, 2012
9:28 pm
Ron F- Very true!
Really amazed
July 30th, 2012
9:29 pm
Studies show…really??? You need a study to tell you this???? No wonder people don’t believe in gov’t schools anymore!!!
Beverly Fraud
July 30th, 2012
9:29 pm
Yet for all this wringing of hands, and gnashing of teeth has anyone come up with ANY legislation that would address the rampant problems of LACK of discipline and administrative RETALIATION, which are at the heart and soul of poor working conditions?
Or are we going to continue to pretend these two things don’t exist?
Beverly Fraud
July 30th, 2012
9:40 pm
Why is it no one talks about “counseling out” ineffective ADMINISTRATORS, since they are the ones most likely to create school environments that LACK discipline and rely on RETALIATION to bully teachers, which creates the VERY fertile environment for having the ‘irreplaceables” leave?
Or is that conversation just a little bit more HONEST than the ones we are willing to have on education “reform”?
Beverly Fraud
July 30th, 2012
9:43 pm
“America’s best teachers are truly irreplaceable,” said Secretary Duncan.
Arne’s mouth says this, but his ACTIONS said he was more invested in Beverly Hall remaining in power, than he was good teachers remaining in the classroom?
poor_richard
July 30th, 2012
9:43 pm
Dr. Monica Henson,
I’m a teacher, and I’m sorry, but just reading your post and every time a co person speaks like that makes me want to quit.
Beverly Fraud
July 30th, 2012
9:49 pm
“Strengthen the teaching profession with higher expectations.”
School systems for the most part cannot HONESTLY do this. Because to HONESTLY create “higher expectations” you have to also increase SUPPORT for good teaching-namely good teaching conditions, meaning support for discipline and protection against administrative retaliation.
That means that ineffective administrators have to be secure enough to give up POWER. And we’ve seen how, time and time again, they aren’t willing to do that.
Irreplaceables leaving is a NATURAL CONSEQUENCE of ineffective LEADERSHIP. But we aren’t willing to talk about that, only talk about how we must “fix the teacher.”
Mary Elizabeth
July 30th, 2012
9:55 pm
Ron F, 9:21 pm
Well said, Ron! I like it when you call what is happening to our nation exactly like it is.
“Freedom of speech” to say precisely what is occurring is the only thing that will stop the out-of-control greed that is turning our great nation, which was based on egalitarian principles, into a competitive money market of “survival of the fittest” intent. The propaganda tactic implemented has been to divide the masses, by pitting them against one another, so that the very top of wealth and power will control the nation, its wealth/power – and its destiny.
Our nation was based on the concept of “we the people.” The hard part is getting the people to see. That is why Jefferson supported the education of the masses – so that the masses would see into the machinations of the wealthy/powerful to serve their own interests, and not serve the interests of people, by using the people, who are blind to see, for their own stealthy interests. Tell the people what is happening – again and again. They must not be used. The nation is based on the self-government of the people to control their own destinies and their own interests, even though they are not of the top in wealth and power. The word “self-government” is half controlled by the word “government,” within. And, the people can control what type of government they will have through their vote. The government is not your enemy. The government should represent YOU.
Dr. Monica Henson
July 30th, 2012
10:01 pm
Beverly Fraud posted, “Irreplaceables leaving is a NATURAL CONSEQUENCE of ineffective LEADERSHIP. But we aren’t willing to talk about that, only talk about how we must ‘fix the teacher.’”
You are absolutely correct. Strong, effective leadership that supports and nurtures both new teachers and terrific veteran teachers is what is needed. Working conditions have been shown, over and over, to be the most significant factor in whether teachers leave a school. This factor is a direct reflection of the quality of the school’s leadership.
Mary Elizabeth
July 30th, 2012
10:41 pm
And, the pitting of the masses against one another, precisely, is the pitting of the private sector workers and the public sector workers against one another. Both are workers. Both work for salaries. Both depend on their salaries to survive; their income is not from great wealth. Both need medical insurance, the education of their children, a good job, old age security through pensions and/or Social Security. They should be on the same side, not enemies of one another. Think about it.
Divide and conquer.
SGaTeechur
July 30th, 2012
10:53 pm
Bootney just put one outta the flippin’ ballpark.
My system could hold a faculty meeting and it would almost be a family reunion! Those who are not family members are drinking buds, golfing buds, party buds, and ho-hopping pals. (I apologize for that, but I knew the 5-letter word would never be allowed.)
ScienceTeacher671
July 31st, 2012
6:13 am
Mary Elizabeth, July 30th, 2012, 4:57 pm excoriates Mark for a typographical error, or possibly a spell-check error from his computer or smart phone, and then at 8:28 pm makes her own typing mistake.
Oh, the humanity!
ScienceTeacher671
July 31st, 2012
6:22 am
As others have said, it’s all about the culture. And, as Dr. John Trotter often says, “You can’t have great learning conditions until you have great teaching conditions.”
A good teacher might stay in a bad situation for a year or two hoping for improvement (we teachers are all about hoping for and working for improvement!) but eventually s/he will go where s/he is appreciated or at least not beaten into the ground.
Suburban HS Teacher
July 31st, 2012
6:35 am
I am used to effectively teaching 20-25 kids per class. We are starting this school year with 35-40+ kids per class. One of my rolls has 42 kids; there are 38 tightly squeezed desks in my class. When we tell parents we don’t have the seats to allow their kid in the class they need nor the $ to hire more teachers, they yell and scream at us rather than taking their grievances to the gold dome, where apparently there’s $ to advertise and fund a mass transportation project but nothing for schools. The good teachers aren’t just leaving the “inner city” schools. They’re leaving the field all together. After twelve years I, too, think I’ll be throwing in the towel after this year.
Old Physics Teacher
July 31st, 2012
7:55 am
“…40 percent of teachers with more than seven years of experience are less effective at advancing academic progress than the average first-year teacher.”
Oh please. I’ve been teaching 20 years. I managed operations for major corporations for 10 years before that. The possibility that there is any evidence to back the statement above approaches zero. There is an old statement on ethics: One thousand truths do not make an honest man, but one lie forever condemns the man as a liar.
That sentence above negates everything else in the article. That is such a patent falsehood that the rest of the article’s value is neglible. It’s another teacher hit piece; full of made-up data done by incompetent researchers with an obvious bias for a specific agenda… just like Waiting For Superman. Forty percent, really? Almost half the faculty is no more capable than a first year teacher? What a bunch of flat out liars.
Solutions
July 31st, 2012
8:11 am
Public schools are at their core socialist institutions that reward the party faithful at the expense of the meritocracy. Eliminate tenure, let the faulty elect the school administration, then hold the elected administration and all the teachers responsible for the educational outcomes each and every year. Rank the teachers by how much each of their classes improved over the year based on an initial test and a final test of the course material. Fire the poorest performing teachers, such that if half the students did not improve by the required minimum, half the lowest performing teachers are also fired, without recourse.
LeeH1
July 31st, 2012
8:38 am
Eagles come and go.
Turkeys stay forever.
Once you hire a turkey, it is impossible to get rid of them.
cobbmom
July 31st, 2012
8:56 am
Solutions, you just fired the entire special education staff. Teachers don’t get to pick and choose their students like corporate employers get to choose their employees. Due to NCLB students with IQs of 72 are expected to perform as well as students with IQs of 120. Compared to the corporate world that is expecting the medical lab custodian to come up with the cure for cancer right along side the doctor. Until local school boards have guidelines for service, Cobb County currently has a board member who is a high school graduate party planner, there will be no change. Favortism and back biting retaliation will continue until school boards are truly held accountable. SACS is a joke, when will we have school board members legally held responsible for their decisions?
Mary Elizabeth
July 31st, 2012
9:13 am
Science Teacher671, 6:13 am
“Mary Elizabeth, July 30th, 2012, 4:57 pm excoriates Mark for a typographical error, or possibly a spell-check error from his computer or smart phone, and then at 8:28 pm makes her own typing mistake.”
======================================================
Science Teacher, my intent in addressing Mark – through my teasing, tongue-in-cheek words to him – was not to “excoriate” Mark, but to point out to all readers, as well as to Mark, the value of English teachers to society because, today, the value of English teachers, in our more “muscular” society is often overlooked. Hopefully, English teachers offer more than simply their knowledge of grammar to others, but also – and more importantly – their expertise in the comparison of ideas in literature, as well as an understanding of the irony, tone, and intent of different kinds of writing.
Also, you must admit that, at least, I recognized my typing error, immediately upon posting, and self-corrected that error publicly. Oh, the long-standing habits of an old English teacher!
BTW, is my belief, from my previous English teaching experiences, that – based on Mark’s specific errors – the second and third of his three errors were grammatical ones, rather than simply typing errors. I hope that he, and others, learned from my corrections of those grammatical errors. It should be pointed out, also, that I will not usually comment about a poster’s grammatical errors. I did so, in Mark’s case, only because he was explaining the value of science teachers over the value of English teachers, based on the economic principle of “supply and demand” that exists in our society, which values the “muscular” concepts of power, winning, wealth, dominance, and competition over cooperation and collaboration. My intent was to demonstrate the irony of Mark’s comments, in a light-hearted way, not only to Mark, but more importantly to the public, in general.
And, I fully agree with your remarks at 6:22 am!
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P.S. to Mark:
Mark, if you are reading this, I have noticed your graciousness in not responding negatively to my corrections of your errors. I want to acknowledge – to all – that that choice was a “classy” one on your part, more important than your written errors. Thanks!
Moreover, the content of your post was substantive. Keep posting!
Howard Finkelstein
July 31st, 2012
9:22 am
Arne Duncans statement regarding “irreplaceable” yet again reveals his ignorance and/or stupidity.
pioneer
July 31st, 2012
9:34 am
The vast majority of “urban” schools over the last generation have become test mills; i.e. students are prepared to pass the state’s exit exam. The vast majority of parents, and mass media, have therefore come to define “good” teachers as those whose students pass the standardized test or tests. I know many awful teachers – little knowledge, less ability to explain, no interest in children – whose students can bubble correct answers from their own preparation.
deegee
July 31st, 2012
9:35 am
Something tells me that there are a lot of petty, vindictive principals that find themselves in a position of authority without the proper skill set. I would bet that the challenge from experienced teachers is too much for the principals and they would rather get rid of the challenge than meet it and beat it.
Elizabeth
July 31st, 2012
9:44 am
So first year teachers are “the best’ but teachers with 7 ( or more) years of experience are no longer good teachers? So when these wonderful first year teachers reach 7 years or more of experience, they will become the ones who are no longer good and need to be removed?Maybe we should be asking what changes for them in 7 years? Maybe we should be listening to those in the classroom who say that the job becomes MORE overwhelming , discouraging, and difficult with each passing year instead of getting better? Maybe THE SYSTEM is to blame? Maybe the article is completely ridiculous with no basis in fact. There are excellent first-year teachers; there are more who are not even adequate teachers their first year. IThese generalizations only mean that first year teachers are cheaper to hire and more malleable to the robot system of administering a process (formerly called TEACHING)than experienced teachers who know what works and what does not, but are ignored by the system as being old and ineffective. This article deserves NO credibility because it is not credible. Such generalizations would be blasted by experts if they were made about any other profession. This article is garbage.
Beverly Fraud
July 31st, 2012
9:50 am
The following solution may slow down the petty, vindictive principal. Make THEIR evaluation dependent upon a vote of confidence of staff.
But might that possible hamstring the principal’s ability to make some decisions about staff?
Yes.
So lets set the bar RIDICULOUSLY low. Let’s say if 65% or more of staff give the principal a vote of no confidence, the principal gets replaced.
After all, isn’t it hard to make a case that a principal is “fully effective” if LESS that 35% of the staff has confidence in them?
Is there an administrator out there that can make a case against this?
Beverly Fraud
July 31st, 2012
9:54 am
“America’s best teachers are truly irreplaceable,” said Secretary Duncan.
Yet you came to Atlanta, not once but twice to politically prop up a now DISGRACED superintendent who made bad teaching conditions (in terms of administrative RETALIATION) part and parcel of the “corporate culture”
Arne Duncan: best described as having integrity or having a LACK of integrity?
catlady
July 31st, 2012
9:55 am
I went to the TRS to talk to them about retiring. The counselor I was talking to looked at my income records and said, “Well, your two highest years were 5-6 years ago.” And of course we both knew why–counting the new year, a total of 34 days of furlough!–over $15,000 of lost wages!
jj
July 31st, 2012
10:01 am
My wife has taught in multiple grades and multiple states. We are very near the end of our working lives, and her retirement is not for the betterment of Cobb County Schools. Year after year she moves from grade to grade and subject to subject because she is qualified and has always produced the results admin wants. Is this how you reward success? Or as I say, no good deed goes unpunished.
Each year admin gets worse, parents get worse and students, if you can call them that, get worse. I’m shure she would stay beyond 60 if just once she heard she is doing a great job, and they let her just teach. Average pay, average benefits and a lousy working environment, and anyone wonders why the average teacher is out of the profession in 5 years? Not me, i’ve had a front row seat for more years than I care to count.
God bless all of you who stick it out, I don’t know how you do it.
Disgruntled Employee
July 31st, 2012
11:36 am
I teach in a low performing urban school. The teachers who last at this school and are “happy” are the teachers who try to fly under the radar. They pass all their students and hold them to very low standards with little accountability. In DCSS if you have more than 20% of your students failing you are put on notice and “encouraged” through public embarassment, increased paperwork, etc to lower that rate regardless of what the students did or did not do. So you learn to “play the game” and “juke the stats”. If you have high standards and expectations, you often stand out for the wrong reasons when the school culture is so mediocre. Teachers learn to adjust to the school culture or they leave which does no service to the students. There are always a devoted few who continue to bang their heads up against the wall and not conform. Thanks to those teachers for fighting the good fight.
@Disgruntled Employee
July 31st, 2012
12:09 pm
I think teachers have gone into self-preservation mode.
Howard Finkelstein
July 31st, 2012
12:11 pm
Disgruntled Employee
July 31st, 2012
11:36 am
Just more evidence that school funds should be diverted for prison construction.
Old Teacher
July 31st, 2012
12:16 pm
Administrators in my county are not evaluated on how good a job they do for the students or the teachers, instead they are evaluated on being perfect little yes men “and women” for the superintendent who makes as much as the President of the United States. Excellent administrators who do not toe the line with “B
DekalbTeach
July 31st, 2012
12:18 pm
There was an announced policy change last year in DeKalb County that said a teacher would be retained if there was a “RIF”, reduction in force, based on effectiveness and professionalism, etc. and ONLY if those factors were equal between two teachers would seniority determine who would be retained.
This years budget cuts in DeKalb have resulted in larger classes and reduction if force at schools. SENIORITY is the ONLY factor that is being considered. I guess it the safe way to do it
for the county and for principals who have yet to figure out what makes a good, effective teacher. Some of the best just haven’t been teaching that long. Too bad, seeya.
Things will NEVER get better as long as how long you have been teaching trumps any measure of effectiveness or teaching ability.
The report is right on target for pointing out how really good teachers are not aknowledged in any way, by a principal or anyone else. Instead, all the teachers are lumped together, good and bad, and told patronizingly at faculty and county meetings: “You’re All Great! Give Yourselves A Big Hand!” No, we’re really not, actually.
Old Teacher
July 31st, 2012
12:18 pm
ig Daddy” his term not mine” are removed or reassigned. Is it any wonder that teachers have such low morale and leave in droves? We were told that there were dozens waiting to take our positions if we were unhappy.
NONPC
July 31st, 2012
1:07 pm
And, the pitting of the masses against one another, precisely, is the pitting of the private sector workers and the public sector workers against one another. Both are workers. Both work for salaries. Both depend on their salaries to survive; their income is not from great wealth. Both need medical insurance, the education of their children, a good job, old age security through pensions and/or Social Security. They should be on the same side, not enemies of one another.
One pays for the other. The private sector worker (and private sector companies) are the source of funds for all Federal, State and local government spending, including the compensation of private sector workers. When a public sector employee wants a raise, where do you think it comes from? When a public sector employee wants a new school, who do you think pays for that school? This is not a partnership. In a partnership, everybody pays. The government wasn’t laying off 800,000 employees in Jan 2009…. the private sector did that. When private sector employees were losing their jobs (and getting new jobs a year later at 30% less salary), public sector workers were b*ching and moaning about furlough days and no salary increases. When the Obama administration was spending $200 million to save jobs, he was saving public sector jobs. Two months ago, he said “the private sector is doing find” in his concern for the public sector, yet total employment is at a 40 year low. Average compensation and benefits in the public sector are FAR above their private sector counterparts, yet it is the private sector that pays for everything.
We are NOT all in this together.
Mountain Man
July 31st, 2012
2:10 pm
“I know many awful teachers – little knowledge, less ability to explain, no interest in children – whose students can bubble correct answers from their own preparation”
Pray tell how these “awful” teachers’ students were able to bubble in correct answers on the graduation test if they didn’t learn anything? (unless they cheated, of course)
People talk about how bad it is to “teach to the test”. If the test measures basic learning, then I hope that all teachers are “teaching to the test”.
CCMST
July 31st, 2012
2:32 pm
NONPC – I beg to differ – you describe a one-way linear exchange – I believe it is circular: public employees will take their salaries (after they pay their share of taxes into the pot), and will buy things from the private sector: houses, cars, food, gas…they put the money right back into the circle of cash. What about the “private” companies (like Lockheed) that own the bulk of their money to government contracts? Please cite your source that shows public sector salary and benefits are FAR above private…from what I am reading, they are shrinking for both sides (and FWIW, empirically speaking, my private sector employed husband and daughter both have better benefits than I do as a public school teacher).
While you could say, that as a public employee I am biased, I would say that you are failing to see the big picture. In your perfect world, every road is a toll road, every school is private, and you’re billed for the firefighters putting out fires. You really want to live there?
On topic, I’m not surprised at the report – many good teachers I know are leaving – they are not leaving for greener pastures in another school; they are leaving the profession for good. Make no mistake, it’s the good ones – the “irreplaceable” – that will not only leave and thrive in the private sector, but also raise the level of competition for those slots.
Jerry Eads
July 31st, 2012
2:49 pm
Yes, I couldn’t get at it as directly as I wanted, but my data suggested the same. This is NOT limited to “urban schools” by any stretch; the best teachers leave first in any bad situation – because they can. And it’s not just school and system leadership that drives them away. One of most hated elements is the endless bonehead minimum-competency testing (e.g., CRCT, EOCT, GHSGT, etcCT) that leaves only room for factoid drill and kill. Those best teachers are those who teach your kids to THINK, not just recognize factoids on a bubble test or parrot a “5-paragraph essay” (WHERE in the real world do you write 5-paragraph essays?).
Lest I be misunderstood, there are MANY fabulous school leaders out there in our schools, and there are a few of the many fabulous teachers who get to virtually ignore the testing because their gifted and AP kids can pass them in their sleep. But not all leaders are good, and most teachers are stuck with making kids memorize factoids rather than teach. As long as we have these problems (and others), the best will continue to leave first.
Jane W.
July 31st, 2012
3:16 pm
@CCMST:
The threat of teachers abandoning education is both arguably true … and unarguably irrelevant.
In the first instance because, as in all other states, teachers’ unions in Georgia such as GAE/NEA resist any efforts to objectively quantify learning results through comparing the test scores of students.
Or to compensate teachers accordingly.
In the second instance, teachers leaving merely makes more teaching jobs available for the never-ending supply of graduates which newly flood the market each year. And who’s to say that many of these younger teachers wouldn’t in fact be more effective than those they (more cheaply) replace?
Regardless, they’d whine far, far less.
As for contract negotiations, Franklin D. Roosevelt famously opposed allowing government workers to unionize because—unlike in the private sector—there effectively is no one for them to negotiate with. Elected officials can in no way be expected to adequately represent the interests of “management” effectively—being as they are forever dependent, in part, on these very same workers for votes on election day.
Any way you look at it, the situation just isn’t the same as in the private sector when it comes to contract negotiations. Just ask the taxpayers of bankrupt and near-bankrupt cities in California and states nationwide—and tellingly in Obama’s “home” state of Illinois.
Leftist teachers oppose privatization IN THE MAIN because the free marketplace would end their privileged bargaining position an, no doubt deliver as good or better results at far less cost to the rest of us taxpayers!
Mary Elizabeth
July 31st, 2012
3:24 pm
NONPC, 1:07 pm
“We are NOT all in this together.”
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You have chosen to perpetuate a feeling of “enemies” between the public and private sectors. That is sad to me. We are all Americans. One sector is not better than the other, and one sector is not using the other. The nation needs for both public sector jobs, and private sector jobs, to be in operation in order to create a balanced economy, as well as to create a more harmonious nation.
Are you aware that private sector jobs have grown for 24 straight months under President Obama, but that public sector jobs have been cut significantly, especially in states, during this same time period? Employment numbers originally fell significantly at the beginning of 2009, in large part, because of the prior administration’s policies (tax cuts, unpaid for wars), which culminated in the Great Recession of 2008.
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You write: “Average compensation and benefits in the public sector are FAR above their private sector counterparts, yet it is the private sector that pays for everything.”
Private sector personnel do not “pay for everything.” Public sector personnel pay taxes to support the overall functioning of our nation, just as private sector personnel do. In terms of benefits, I would hope that the nation would move toward making the benefits of citizens in the private sector equal to the benefits of citizens of the public sector, instead of creating a society in which both the private and public sectors will forego all of their benefits, and only the top 1% will thrive. Both the private and public sectors should have old-age pensions and/or Social Security. Moreover, proper medical care and a good education should be human rights for all Americans – in both the public and private sectors.
It is sad that some of the leaders in our nation, who hold an ultraconservative agenda which benefits primarily the top 1%, continue to spread propaganda, through certain media channels, that divides our nation’s middle/working class. I hope that you will recognize that this propaganda is not working in your best interests, and that you will give objective thought to what I have tried to share with you.
Matt
July 31st, 2012
3:50 pm
Education does not reward the best and the brightest. I can’t reward my best teachers, and I can’t be rewarded for being an effective administrator. The current system causes teachers to hang on after they have lost the passion to teach in order to collect a higher salary. Meanwhile, there are great young applicants with have no chance at a job. I’m aware this goes against current trends, but I believe site-based management is the answer. Give principals a budget and more control over personnel. Have discretionary funds to retain your best teachers. If a teacher in not effective then fire them. If a principal his not successful he/she should also be fired. I believe the system should run the same way. The superintendent should have discretionary funds to retain principals and other leaders.
Matt
July 31st, 2012
3:53 pm
@Ron F. Dead on. Businesses see the amount of money spent on education as untapped profits.
mitch
July 31st, 2012
4:00 pm
We lose some teachers and many students because of the subject matter being taught. Example, only about one in three thousand people will ever use calculus. Maybe one in a hundred will use Algegra, Lord knows how many will use the other math. Yet, students are forcefed these and if they can not or choose not to get it they are deemed a failure for life. They drop out mentally even if they stay in the class. How can a teacher, good or bad, cope with this?
TimeOut
July 31st, 2012
4:22 pm
I’ve never known a school system in Georgia to promote quality instruction. I have watched as unprincipled principals have done anything and everything except what would be necessary to retain some of our best teachers. I have stayed at the same school for the past 15 years because I like the community, not because the parade of administrators has inspired me to continue in the profession. My students are often a source of inspiration as are my colleagues and many, many dedicated parents. The superintendent, county office staff, and board of education have engaged frequently in behaviors that have resulted in the loss of some of the most talented and effective instructors our department has ever seen. These same teachers are working elsewhere, some still in the profession, none still in any of the large metro counties. I am surprised that anyone would consider this to be a topic worthy of research. It is like receiving a grant to verify that water is wet.
another comment
July 31st, 2012
4:52 pm
I went with my 17 year old about to be a Senior, today to her high school in Cobb County, to get the guidance counsler sign off and approval for letting her into the Dual Enrollment program and found they cut her counselor position to 1/2 time. So if your name is at the end of the alpabet S-Z, you now only have a counselor until 12:00. All the front end of the alphabet still have thier same counselors full time. The school is 2,200 + but the new part-time counselor who is being sent to training for the rest of the week ( how brillant Cobb County), now has the same portion of the alpabet still have their full time person.
The Counselor who they cut to 1/2 time, just happened to be put to Maternity Bedrest for all of May and perhaps portion of April last year. Did the ignorant one who is the Principal, just automatically assume that she would want to come back off Maternity leave 1/2 time. No, she told them she needed full-time so they moved her to another school because she had enough senority. Of course, they haven’t bothered to update the Website as of yesterday, or even change the handwritten assignments in the office. To me it is a little suspecious how the one who was on Maternity leave, had her job shopped to 1/2 time.
The whole time I was sitting waiting to meet the new counselor and get the sign off’s for my daughter to attend the dual enrollment, I thought for sure one of those Pink and Green wearing sister’s would come out. Thank God, that the Principal was not able to bring one of her Sor. Sister’s ( the one you have to be a certain race to belong to. The one that has doomed Atlanta and Dekalb Systems). We luckily have an artriculate and knowledeable woman. Who left with two babies, and now they they are in Preschool, has come back to work refreshed. My guess is her children are in Private School.
I asked her what are they going to do when the number counts are up with students, as they claimed they were down. Smyrna has been tearing down the low end apartments. The hall had a line up and down with the transient students looking to register today. Someother apartment either got Section 8 approval or ran a rent special to replace the ones torn down. The new immigration signed by the President is more incentive for the Latino population to keep their kids in school so they can get “their papers”
All of the college’s stress working with your counselor for college applications. How do the S-Z’s who are seniors do now that with no notice, we are the only group without a full-time counselor. Plus the counselor will not know the seniors to write letter’s for them.
Another Fulton school just over the river only has 1,200 students and has more counselor’s. Why do they have more kids going to better colleges? As I told me daughter good thing she has a mother with a real graduate degree from a Top University.
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
July 31st, 2012
5:19 pm
What percentages of schools and school systems pay lip service to teaching excellence for the sake of public image while effextively encouraging pedagogic mediocrity in the interest of faculty comity?
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Georgians for Educational Excellence
July 31st, 2012
5:21 pm
“effectively”
CCMST
July 31st, 2012
6:18 pm
Jane W. – since I have only taught in Ga, and I am alternately certified so I never went the traditional ed prep route, I have no idea what you are talking about when you talk about unions. I don’t belong to one, I have never had a contract negotiated by one, nor have I ever had an issue with a parent or administrator settled by one. With Race To The Top, I can be evaluated by student test scores regardless of what a union wants or doesn’t want (or whether it has even been shown to be effective or not).
Do you have children? If you do, are they public, private, or home-schooled? I ask, because as a parent, it matters to me that good teachers are leaving – I want my children to have good teachers to complement what I do at home, and help instill a love of learning. It bothers me that we seem to be okay as a society with allowing the best to walk away. My children have had first year teachers, and with one exception (who sadly no longer teaches in public schools), they were NOT good. They also had veteran teachers that were out of this world, and worth their weight in gold. I don’t understand you people; I really don’t.
HSTeach
July 31st, 2012
8:08 pm
As a teacher going back for my fourth year of service in a challenging urban setting I face a sad reality. If I perform well with the 39 plus students in each of my classes, in a few years I will receive a whopping $100 a year raise. Yep, half a decade of service will bring me $100 pretax dollars more a year. Despite accolades, stellar scores and the joy of seeing students succeed, I am seriously considering leaving the profession after next year. I would like to start a family of my own and can’t dream of that on a teaching salary. What have we come to when teachers can’t afford to have children of their own because they have chosen a career that involves teaching the children of others?
Once Again
July 31st, 2012
8:20 pm
Private schools are not losing their best. The free market knows how to reward quality. The government only knows how to reward failure.
FLteach
July 31st, 2012
8:34 pm
“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.”
My two cents on how these Irreplaceables should have reconsidered their own end of the bargain as more often than not I see these folks leave the profession because of their own personal belief in what a teacher should be. You’ve gotta play the game.
The nature of the beast, currently, involves implementing the district’s ridiculous amount of unsupported mandates and keeping data of how/when it’s done. You (amazing teacher) are hired by a school district to teach for that school district… you are not some wandering sage that gathers pupils to impart knowledge on a grassy knoll. You have to get over yourself.
So, if the district wants a “94% pass rate”, give them a 94% pass rate. You were hired by them to work for them.
If the district wants credit/grade recovery, assign credit/grade recovery. You were hired by them to work for them.
The good teachers are the ones that can find the loopholes and cracks in the massive, Atlas-like load of mandated curriculum that you are given and find ways to still teach. The great teachers find ways to mold the mandated stuff into their own ideas, and don’t burn-out from double duty.
So, don’t burn yourself out, become even more badass, and the praise, fame, and glory will come.
I realize that this post might get blasted by some as “caving in” to such things is highly unpopular and leaves very little fodder for vent-fests by the Coke machine. Just know that your administration will love you, and your fellow teachers will soon come around and want to learn how you’ve achieved a balance and worked through the loopholes. All of a sudden you’ll have most of your department shining in the district’s eyes as well as feeling ethically satisfied with the job they are doing.
This coming from a new dept. head that is in the process of winning over his team.
CCMST
July 31st, 2012
8:37 pm
Once Again – with some high-priced exceptions, private schools generally don’t pay well – not sure how that’s “rewarding quality.” It is a lot less stress – less CYA paperwork, fewer problem students, smaller classes, and more involved parents – that’s worth the pay cut if you can afford it.
I would debate your comment that the “free market rewards quality” – I can think of times that a higher quality product was shut out by a lesser quality one – Betamax vs VHS? Boutique vs WalMart? You get the point – sometimes the market rewards quantity over quality – is that the education you want for your children?
Mary Elizabeth
July 31st, 2012
8:44 pm
CCMST, 6:18 pm
“I ask, because as a parent, it matters to me that good teachers are leaving – I want my children to have good teachers to complement what I do at home, and help instill a love of learning. It bothers me that we seem to be okay as a society with allowing the best to walk away.”
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Your comments, above, are wise and caring ones.Thank you for them. I urge you to become politically savvy and to begin to recognize how what is happening to public education and to public school teachers is larger in scope and design than the education arena alone, and to recognize that what is happening has very powerful and wealthy forces behind it. Knowledge is power.
Beverly Fraud
July 31st, 2012
10:14 pm
Let’s see:
If a teacher tries to hold a student accountable for work, the student in kind can verbally abuse the teacher-and the teacher gets blamed for it by administration.
If a teacher then tries to hold a student accountable for verbal abuse, the student in kind can verbally threaten the teacher-and the teacher gets blamed for it by administration.
If a teacher then tries to hold a student accountable for verbal threats, the student in kind can physically assault the teacher-and the teacher can not only get blamed for it, but can even be put on a PDP plan for protesting the lack of support.
And we lament that good teachers are leaving? And ask why? OF COURSE we do, because we are still playing “let’s pretend” and acting like the above scenarios are not part and parcel of the corporate culture of far, far too many school systems today.
Former Math Teacher
July 31st, 2012
10:56 pm
Arne Duncan needs to take some of that responsibility, too. Race to the Top is one of the main reason why I left the teaching profession.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
August 1st, 2012
8:36 am
@FL Teach “The good teachers are the ones that can find the loopholes and cracks in the massive, Atlas-like load of mandated curriculum that you are given and find ways to still teach. The great teachers find ways to mold the mandated stuff into their own ideas, and don’t burn-out from double duty.”
I used to be able to do that…but over the last two to three years, as the pressure has increased, I have found myself caught more and more in situations in which I had to make a choice between “playing the game” as you say, and doing what was best for my students. Maybe you have not reached that point yet, but as a professional, dedicated to actually teaching my students, I can tell you, those kinds of choices are soul-killing.
MB
August 1st, 2012
10:29 am
@FLTeach The problem is that the data is flawed. When 46% of your students actually master the material at a passing level but you pass 94%, the next teacher gets kids whose scores say they should have an adequate foundation BUT THEY DON’T. That mirage of a foundation means that students leave with a high school diploma that says they showed up – maybe they slept through class, or spent half the day wandering the halls, but they showed up. If they take that HS graduate status to employers, they scream that the kids can’t read, can’t think logically and can’t make change. If they take the post-secondary route, those schools complain that students don’t have the academic skills and have to be remediated. Of course, now colleges are pressured to graduate more, without being allowed to turn away unqualified students, so what will happen to the value of a college degree? Where does the buck stop in responsibility for acknowledging the emperor wears no clothes in this?
FLteach
August 1st, 2012
4:10 pm
@I love teaching….
I hear you. I have ups and downs. I think having an open administration definitely has made that chore easier; I’m dealing with more garbage that before, but having a direct line to what needs to be done in what fashion helps. For me, the most soul-eating of assignments are the ones where the administration doesn’t seem to understand its purpose or function, yet still presses it. I guess I’ve gotten lucky in the past year in that regard.
@ MB
The data is flawed. It’s total crap. But I enjoy teaching, and I enjoy having a paycheck.
Also, I do fail on a regular basis, and perhaps I should have made that clear. I just make sure that my students do the “credit recovery” tasks the following quarter and that takes it off my conscience. They didn’t meet the standard that I know they need to meet, but if the district wants to let them go on by… so be it.
I talk with district folks about the problems we face from time to time, but there’s often so much hand-tying and finger-pointing I just let it go and just keep swimming, just keep swimming….
ColonelJack
August 1st, 2012
9:25 pm
Race to the Top … Common Core … Administrators who were themselves children when I started teaching telling me how to do what I do … NCLB … doing “more with less” (whatever that is supposed to mean) … disrespect … disobedience …
I’ve called it a career. I decided to retire over this summer, and as my colleagues in my system prepare to go back to work this week, I am not going. I wish them well. I close my 23 years as a teacher with fondness for my students, respect for those of my colleagues who have persevered, and an upraised middle finger (sorry, Maureen) to the people in charge of education in my county and this state.
Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do. Oh, heaven, do they not know what they do.
Pride and Joy
August 3rd, 2012
10:51 pm
D makes a silly comment. He or she says parents aren’t willing to make sacrifices to send their kids to private school. D, now D, do you really believe that?
Do you even know the price of a private school? I do. The Children’s School of Atlanta — price SEVENTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR PER KID. Now, let’s just say you have LESS than the average number of cihldren? That’d be two kids, 34,000 for one year….oh, and that would be in after tax dollars thank you. So, jack that figure up to at least 46,000 annually in gross income…
do you even know the average income of the American household? Around 65,000. so after taxes taht would leave you about 50,000. So now you have about 4,000 for after care, a home, car, food, medical care, and so on…AND you still have to pay the government for the low-quality public schools you don’t use….so when you say “unwilling” to make the sacrifices what you are really saying is “I am an idiot poster who doesn’t know my head from a hole in the ground.”
Every parent I know would give a limb to be able to give their kids a K-12 education at Woodward Academy. Not WANT to make the sacrifice? Bullsheet. We’re unable to make the sacrifice…who do you think you’re talking to?
Stu
August 5th, 2012
2:33 pm
Better salaries and working conditions needed to attract and retain top teachers! Let’s begin with a starting teacher salary of $100,000 and that is doable right now. Check it out, share, and retweet: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/engagement_and_reform/
N. GA Teacher
August 11th, 2012
10:38 pm
I have taught for 30 years in the public schools, and one truth about all schools is that everyone-parents,students, teachers, admins- knows who the best teachers are. In no other field is it so easy and cheap to keep your best than public education, yet it is stunning how many districts fail to do this! Salary schedules mandate pay, so this cannot be negotiated on an individual basis, and teachers are not “headhunted” and paid significantly higher by other districts or private schools, as in the private nonteaching market. No, what the best (and many of the rest) teachers want is a PROFESSIONAL WORKING ENVIRONMENT. They are craftsmen whose sense of fulfillment comes from learning by their students and helping their colleagues. They want a say in curriculum, for they know what works best in the classroom. They do not need external ridiculously high-paid “curriculum experts” coming in and telling them what to do. They DO want opportunities for legitimate professional development, including technical training and visits to professional meetings. They want to be supported in classroom discipline by the administration and don’t wish to hear the tired line “there wouldn’t be any discipline problems if you were a good classroom manager”. They are trained, certified, experienced professionals who do not want to be micromanaged, insulted, and rated by student test scores or a couple 15-minute look-ins. They do not want to work in a climate of fear created by politics. To the average professional out there,such as a CPA or engineer, this sounds eminently doable, especially in light of not salary increase, which IS the gold standard in the private sector, but if you have read this blog fro a time, you realize that creating such a situation is beyond most districts.