Everyone is talking about education, and yet few seems to be listening to TEACHERS! As a result, many teachers are feeling frustrated, silenced, even attacked. This blog is a forum where teachers can post videos, explaining to the public what their work entails, what they think about reform, and what it feels like to be the subject of so much one-sided media coverage... If you want to hear it from teachers themselves - or speak out as a teacher yourself - you've come to the right place!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
TTB Video #1... Dave Greene, longtime educator and current support provider for new teachers!
Teachers Talk Back Project: Critical Points from an Interview with master teacher Dave Greene
Henry Louis Taylor, Jr. University at Buffalo Center for Urban Studies Department of Urban and Regional Science
1. Good teachers are forced to do teach in a way that does not allow them to use good teaching skills. The bottom line is that “teaching for the test” does not require good teaching skills, and they know it. So, some really good teachers either leave the profession or take jobs in school systems that give them the freedom to teach in an effective and creative way.
2. Low pay is another reason that some good teachers leave the profession. They are not willing to endure the frustration of “teaching for the test” and getting low wages.
3. Some people are now trying to rate the performance of teachers based on the test scores of their students. The problem is standardized tests do not measure the progress that students are making in the classroom. There are some students whose academic performance is improving, but these increments in achievement do not show up on the standardized test. So, you have children who are improving in the classroom, but this progress is not shown in their test scores. Consequently, a good teacher may get a poor evaluation based simply on the test scores of their students.
4. The problem with the public school reform movement is that it is driven by the non-education community. Thus, you have non-educators telling the educators how to do their jobs.
5. We should use tests only for corrective purposes. The test should be designed to help us develop strategies to improve a child’s skills and academic performance, rather than determine what schools are doing well and what schools are doing poorly.
Teachers Talk Back Project: Critical Points from an Interview with master teacher Dave Greene
ReplyDeleteHenry Louis Taylor, Jr.
University at Buffalo Center for Urban Studies
Department of Urban and Regional Science
1. Good teachers are forced to do teach in a way that does not allow them to use good teaching skills. The bottom line is that “teaching for the test” does not require good teaching skills, and they know it. So, some really good teachers either leave the profession or take jobs in school systems that give them the freedom to teach in an effective and creative way.
2. Low pay is another reason that some good teachers leave the profession. They are not willing to endure the frustration of “teaching for the test” and getting low wages.
3. Some people are now trying to rate the performance of teachers based on the test scores of their students. The problem is standardized tests do not measure the progress that students are making in the classroom. There are some students whose academic performance is improving, but these increments in achievement do not show up on the standardized test. So, you have children who are improving in the classroom, but this progress is not shown in their test scores. Consequently, a good teacher may get a poor evaluation based simply on the test scores of their students.
4. The problem with the public school reform movement is that it is driven by the non-education community. Thus, you have non-educators telling the educators how to do their jobs.
5. We should use tests only for corrective purposes. The test should be designed to help us develop strategies to improve a child’s skills and academic performance, rather than determine what schools are doing well and what schools are doing poorly.