The State of Education in 2013

Wow! five years ago I predicted school district would face enormous budget issues due to overspending on wasteful things such as elaborate teacher trainings, multiple curriculum overhauls, teacher turnover and so on.

So, where are we today in 2013?

Lets start with parents. Whom, as you may have heard are the rightful owners of their children.

* Today, parents simply view public schools as a babysitting service. Of course, there are the few who wants their son or daughter to achieve, but most just send them to school to get the kid out of their hair.

How about administrators:

* Did you know that principals only have to spend 3-4 years working as a teacher? Most of the principals are handcuffed under the district guidelines and mainly serve the school from a political standpoint. With very little actual experience in the classroom, most principals do just as well as the test scores of the school.

Teachers?

* Other than the backlog of qualified young teachers looking for work, there is a halt in the hiring of new teachers due to budget cuts. Old ones stay because of the security, new ones stay because if they leave then they won't be able to find another job elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, teaching is very rewarding, however the lack of student motivation and parental support can be breathtakingly painful at times.

Students?

* Those who we serve are sadly the victims. With poor structure and systems, these kids suffer from what is called, 2013 "public education." Charter schools admit only the best and brightest, leaving the public school kids without positive role models in terms of their peers. An imbalance of correct scheduling and school supervision open the possibilities for them to self-destruct. Discipline has lost it's meaning.

So, where do we go from here? EVALUATIONS! That's the new buzz word. Let's evaluate the teachers so they feel like they need to teach better. Thus, once they teach better the students will become righteous citizens of this earth. No need for parents, no need for discipline. The answer is to evaluate teachers.

By 2015 all teachers will have been evaluated, and all will be fixed.

I can't wait!

Featured Interview with Erin Klein

- Can you tell us a bit about your history as an educator?

I began my college career as an interior design major. While at Michigan State University, I was about eighteen credits shy of completing my program; however, when my husband and I found that we were expecting, I found it a perfect time to reflect on my long-term goals. I decided to change my program and start coursework geared towards education. After my daughter, Riley, was born, I knew that I wanted to be the type of teacher I’d like for her to one day have.

I completed my undergraduate degree and immediately got a job teaching first grade.  The following year, I was transferred to the middle school where I worked doing literacy intervention work with sixth and seventh grade students for a Title I school.  I also completed my Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction.  During this time, I traveled the country attending professional development workshops to strengthen my knowledge in the area of Response to Intervention.  I had the opportunity to co-teach the next year at the middle school level.  This was an enriching experience full of personal and professional growth.

The next year, I decided to return to the elementary level and joined the private school sector.  I now teach second grade to a fabulous group of students.  I'm fortunate to be a part of an amazing community of professionals, parents, and students.

- What grade levels and subjects have you taught?

I have taught first, sixth, seventh, and second grade.  I have also taught both in the public and private sector.

- After being in the classroom, what have you learned about kids?

I have learned that kids love to create, they love to share their ideas, they love to be accepted, and they love to build relationships with their peers and their teachers.

- If you could go back in time and give advice to yourself about teaching, what would it be? What would you tell someone thinking about becoming a teacher?

I would tell myself to save my books.  There have been so many wonderful children's books that I've passed along to others or sold at garage sales.  I wish I had all of them for my classroom library.

Something I'd tell someone thinking about becoming a teachers... Being a new teacher is one of the most precious times of your life.  There will be hugs, tears, and smiles.  Always be true to yourself and honest with others.  Stay current on best-practices and always keep strong pedagogy in mind.  Remember that technology is not about bells and whistles but rather a tool to enhance the learning objective.  Remember to stay organized and do not become overwhelmed with the ‘little stuff.’  Enjoy every moment and stay grounded in your purpose for your profession.

- Public or Private school? Why?

Both - I honestly believe the community is what makes the school (not the public/private factor).  I've worked in a wonderful public school and a terrific private school.  

- A common notion that society has on teachers is that they have a lot of vacation time. How do you spend your vacation time and is all the time off as good as people portray it to be?

Being a teacher isn't something I do.  Being a teacher is who I am.  Therefore, I'm always tweeting, pinning on Pinterest, archiving resources, Skyping with educators, attending conferences, blogging, and having conversations with others about teaching.  Yes, my school day ends at 2:40; however, we are required to be available until 3:15.  By the time I prepare for the next day, it's often 4:00 or so.   Additionally, I work at a school that is 63 miles from where we live.  Driving through metro Detroit traffic after school takes a good 90 minutes to get home.  As far as vacations, I use my time off to catch up on dentist appointments, attend summer workshops (this summer I'll be at ISTE and a few A Plus workshops), and spending time with my family.  I also use my summer time to redesign my classroom space and organize for the upcoming year.  Plus, even though the students aren't back to school doesn't mean the teachers aren't.  We spend a few weeks before the kids return attending in-service professional development meetings and grade-level planning meetings.

- How do you feel technology has impacted education today?

I am very passionate about educational technology.  While in college, I managed a business for a number of years. For this corporation, I developed all of their training materials. I traveled to new locations and facilitated the launch of new openings. This process from hiring, training, and developing materials helped to solidify my passion for education. It was easy for me to work with the adults I coached. I had a lot of time to shape the manner in which I dealt with different individuals and personalities. This practice opened my eyes to a style of management that proved to be quite effective: facilitation. I enjoyed presenting the framework and then observing the collaboration of the staff. Their collective creativity brought a heightened sense of quality to the company. I quickly learned that they were much more invested in their position by the ownership they had in their ideas. Therefore, I absolutely believe that my role in business helps (even today) the role I play in the classroom. Regarding technology… it’s simple: if the tool fits – use it. There are days where my students are so very invested in technology, (even as second graders) and there are days where we simply create using our hands and collaborate with each other. I believe balance is the key. It’s important to integrate technology not because ‘it’s the way of this generation’ but because it is effective and streamlines instruction. As the famous quote goes… “The more ways you teach, the more students you reach.” Because technology is engaging and offers platforms to differentiate, when used appropriately, it truly can impact learning in a positive manner.

- What are your main interests in the field of education? What educational topics do you focus on?

My main interest in education include: technology integration and Socratic teaching.  

- What influenced you to want to become a teacher?

I began my college career as an interior design major. While at Michigan State University, I was about eighteen credits shy of completing my program; however, when my husband and I found that we were expecting, I found it a perfect time to reflect on my long-term goals. I decided to change my program and start coursework geared towards education. After my daughter, Riley, was born, I knew that I wanted to be the type of teacher I’d like for her to one day have.

- Complete this phrase: Teaching is…………….who I am, not what I do.

Why it’s fun to Post on Teacherlinx

For those of you who don’t know, Teacherlinx is a free K-12 Network for sharing educational resources and ideas.

One interesting feature of Teacherlinx is that users can “Post” resources by way of links, videos, lessons, worksheets and more…

For example, have you ever wanted feedback on a worksheet or lesson you created? Have you ever wanted to share something great or not so great going on in schools today?

Benefits of posting include feedback from our community by way of comments and voting. In addition, you will receive points and badges which symbolize your contribution and expertise.

It’s totally free! So post today.

Welcome to Teacherlinx.

Earn Points and Badges Today!

What is the Teacherlinx Race?

- The Teacherlinx Race rewards teachers who contribute to our community. Through posting links, videos, lessons, worksheets and more, teachers receive points and badge recognition!

How do I start?

- To begin, register or login and post through the "Post" page.

What do I get for posting?

- Users who post receive points and badges. Posting a lesson, worksheet or assessment receives 10 points! Posting a link or video receives 5!

I gain points, but what are the badges?

- Badges are symbols of contributions to our community. Once you gain points, you automatically start to receive badges. The Freshman badge is 10 pts., Sophomore is 50pts., Junior is 150 pts., and the Senior is 250 pts..

When can I get started?

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Featured Interview with Andrea Knope

Andrea Knope


- What grade and subject do / did you teach? Why did you want to become a teacher?

I have taught 4th, 1st, and kindergarten. I also taught for two years at Sylvan. I have wanted to be a teacher since I was young, but I managed in retail for several years while my husband was in the military and when my son was young. I finally went back to school in 2001 for my degree and just in 2010 received my masters in teaching.

- What is your stance on education?

Education is more than academics; it’s motivating and inspiring students to learn and grow. Furthermore, education is not just in the classroom; it’s a myriad of learning experiences that come from home, the community, families, friends, varying cultures, and life experiences. Also, the education of life should and hopefully is a positive one for our youngsters. We, as teachers & parents, strive to assist and guide our children towards the most healthy, constructive and prosperous education, in both the social & academic avenues of learning.

- Do you believe in merit pay? Why or why not?

Personally, I do not feel merit pay is fair simply because of the fact that every teacher’s classroom of students is different with a variety of needs, especially for special education teachers. Not every individual student is the same, they all have different weaknesses and strengths and some take longer to learn, whereas some learn quickly. One cannot base a teacher’s effectiveness on how much a student learns from a single test in a small amount of time. This is not a true measurement on how each student was able to learn and how much he/she has grown academically.

- Do you have any horror stories dealing with your class or students?

Every teacher has had ups and downs throughout their years in teaching, but what’s most important is knowing that the children are learning…truly learning and seeing that “spark” in their eyes once they have understood a concept.

- Can you recall an inspirational or memorable experience you had while teaching?

My most memorable experience is when a student has said to me “Learning is fun!”

- If you could go back in time and give advice to yourself about teaching, what would it be?

My advice to myself would be “take one step at a time” and “move a little slower”. I tend to get very enthusiastic when I teach and find that I may speak too fast or loud and I have had to learn to slow things down a little, as well as tone down the volume.

- What would you tell someone thinking about becoming a teacher?

You must truly want to teach-it’s not an easy job. It takes dedication, patience, strength of character, flexibility, and a motivation to continue to learn and improve on one’s own skills.

- Public or Private school? Why?

Either school is fine. I have taught in the public school setting but would not have a problem teaching in the private school setting, as well. Teaching is teaching. However, I do not think private schools have the ability to insure their employees as much as the public schools.

- Do you think that education in America is improving? Why or why not?

{Oh dear! That’s a tough topic.} I think that it has improved through the years since I went to school, because there is a more thorough set of standards for the school curriculums, and teachers are held at a higher standard. What I mean by this is that teachers are required to go through stricter procedures and schooling in order to become a teacher. However, I personally feel that education has NOT focused on the fact that each and every child is different in their strengths, weaknesses, how they learn, and how they grow.

- Can you please share with us your website? What is it about?

My website is Knope’s New Educators’ Website at http://www.knopesneweducatorswebsite.com/.

I first developed the website to help my colleagues with activities to use in their classroom. Now it has grown into a website for any teacher to find ideas and activities they can also utilize in the classroom, along with articles and other rich resources.

- Teaching is……………….an art, a skill in all skills, a commitment, and a myriad of inspiring ideas transferred from one mind to another.

“…one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater. “~Gail Godwin

“..leaving a vestige of one-self in the development of another.”~Eugene P. Bertin

“…cultivating a garden, and those who would have nothing to do with thorns must never attempt to gather flowers. “~Author Unknown

One thought on Teacher Evaluations and Education in 2011

The year of teacher bashing

Yes, it’s that time again. Time to look at where your tax dollars are going in education. Around five years ago I wrote about how there were multiple instances of wasteful public spending in education that included teacher ed. Programs and lavish lunches for training sessions all paid for by “The District.” As we have seen, those expenses have been cut back due to the downturn of the economy and state funding for education across the nation. Yay! Order has been restored, for now……

Now, we’re into teacher bashing. With films such as “Waiting for Superman,” the public now knows the truth. They know teachers don’t work hard enough and unions are a huge umbrella protecting their jobs. It’s the union that shot that kid in a Gardena public school. Or, it was because of a teacher that a school lockdown kept students from going home for around five hours. Let’s look at “teacher scores,” and not “student scores.” As the L.A. Times suggests, let’s evaluate the teachers. Wait, what year are we in? Isn’t it a little late in the year 2011 to finally suggest this. No one must have thought of this idea before. Why golly, haven’t they done this before, shame on you public education.

So let’s take a little look into the reality of teacher evaluations.

Teacher Evaluations:
“I demand that a public employee such as a teacher perform to their best potential. I pay them for that!” So, here comes the good ole’ L.A. Times to the rescue. The same newspaper that has gone scummy by adding an LA Extra section to develop a tabloid reputation. And we all know how credible tabloids are. So, L.A. Times to the rescue to publish almost all elementary school teacher test scores over a range of around four years. One teacher commits suicide over their test score. Thanks L.A. Times. But, thankfully I can rest easy at night knowing my child’s teacher ranked as “very effective.” That makes me feel better because I know at least they’re not going to a babysitting service Monday morning like I thought they were the past five years. I was getting used to the free lunches and after school programs that the public schools offer. I was getting so used to it, I even thought of looking into charter schools.

Test scores to the rescue. But, one wise veteran teacher once told me, “if you want to know what’s going to happen in the future, simply look at the past.” But, what exactly has been the past of public education? Has it been good? Has it been bad? I wonder what my teachers evaluation was when I was going to school? Why couldn’t I look it up online? I missed out!

But wait, I do remember the principal walking in the classroom from time to time and not only evaluating the teacher, but making sure the class was ok. Ask yourself, how many times a year did the principal actually do this. Now, let’s do some “elementary” Math. If your principal came in at least five times a year, and there are around 180 school days a year, what’s the percentage of him visiting for either evaluation or supervision. Now, ask yourself if you feel that 2% visitation percentage is enough to fairly make a decision to fire your hard working Mrs. Magu who works so hard everyday trying to help you with spelling. And my friend, you have just solved the equation to the problem with teacher evaluations and public schools today. Congrats, and for the L.A. Times, please do your homework before you come to class.

Featured Interview with Mr. Perez, Educator

What do you think about the concept of Teacherlinx?

- I think it's an excellent concept. It builds on what is already out there and offers more. One can say that Teacherlinx is not new, because there are websites out there for teachers, which is true. But, they're not really user friendly. Second of all, it seems that Teacherlinx has more interactive criteria effects and it's a way for teachers to directly communicate with each other. I think that message boards are great and hopefully we can see chat-rooms where teachers can talk to each other on real time. I like it and it's great to be a part of that community.

What grade and subject do you teach? Why did you want to become a teacher?

- Currently I teach eighth grade Algebra I and Physical Science. The reason I got into teaching is because I've heard other people say, when asking the question, "Teacher wise, who do you remember as a one who has had an impact on their lives?" When I look back on my education when I was younger, I honestly couldn't tell you one teacher who made a difference in my life. So, it seemed interesting that I never had someone who made an impact on my life as a role model. I thought, if I were to do that myself, what kind of teacher would I want to have as a student? I said I would do this. I'm not here to be popular and not someone's favorite teacher. I'm here to do my job, which is teach. Which is to have them come away from this classroom and learn something. Learn something to help them in a positive way. Some kids aren't into Math or Science, but we have that in our lives. We experience it everyday. So even if you don't like it, you're going to have to deal with it. What I see as my task as a teacher is to teach them these things and show the students that they must deal with this. So learn.

What is your stance on education?

-Well, it's the key. Education happens everywhere. It's not just inside the classroom. It's outside. It happens at home, walking down the street, everywhere. You can't just categorize education into the subjects you teach at school. Education is being book smart and street smart.

Do you believe in merit pay? Why or why not?

- I think that if you do a good job, yes you should be rewarded. We give our students rewards for doing a job well done. Years ago, companies used to give out bonuses. I'm sure not everyone in the company got one. If you were a below average worker you wouldn't get stuff like that. As far as the teaching profession, I do see teachers who are here until six and seven o'clock at night. They're putting in time, effort, passion, and love. They don't see the financial rewards. Maybe they do get rewarded by seeing the students learn and grow their knowledge. But, what's wrong with also saying that you can earn a bonus. Wouldn't that motivate you to keep doing a good job over and over? So who doesn't like money? Yes or no? So I do believe in merit pay. Definitely.

What's the worst thing that has happened to you while teaching?

- As far as hearing people tell you that we're here to support you and actually getting the support. All these people tell you we're here for you and if you need help come to them. When you do need help, they're not there. That's definitely something we all relate to because unfortunately it happens more than once. I think it's a sad thing. When you have a strong faculty and administration relationship, things are run much better. You can tell which schools have that strong relationship and what schools don't by their overall performance and the appearance of the school itself.

What's the best thing that has happened to you while teaching?

- The best thing has been when I start a lesson and ask a question, and they don't know the answer. I end the lesson and they can summarize what they have just learned. Basically, give me the answer they didn't know before. That's the best thing. When I see the kids learn and get it. Go from confusion to knowledge is the greatest feeling in the world.

If you could go back in time and give advice to yourself about teaching, what would it be?

- I would say to really know what it is to be a teacher inside out. Know that it's not only presenting a lesson an that's it. There's so many other facets to it. Your not just a teacher, you're a counselor, a mediator, a ear, a listening ear, a psychologist. You're a business man because you have to keep tabs of supplies. It's so many things. Not just teaching. To go into teaching you need to understand that. It's not only one title, you have so many. Also, know what level you want to teach. The level you're best suited for. Some people enjoy high school, some people want to work with kids when young. Some people want to teach Science, English, or Math. Know what you want to get into and not so much what you're best at, but know what you're going to enjoy teaching. If you enjoy it you're going to do it well and you're going to reap the rewards of it. The kids will pick up on that and they'll see your motivation and you're going to be motivated as well. Not all of them. Remember you have twenty-five to thirty individuals. You need to learn how to work with each individual to get them motivated.

Public or Private school? Why?

- I believe you should add charter school. If I had my choice I would say private school because there's more structure. There's more control over what you can and can't do. Meaning, it's less politics. You're not dealing with government anymore. You're dealing with education. Where as in public schools and charter schools you have to deal with these government entities that are in charge of these institutions. Sometimes, what happens is that because of that you're not necessarily allowed to have control of the situation. That's not a good thing. If somebody else is controlling you from a distance then they're telling you what to do without them actually knowing what's going on here. That's not a good thing. So, my choice would be private school. Maybe it can change later. Maybe there will be public schools that will run on a private school structure.

Do you think that education in America is improving? Why or why not?

- I think it's improving in some places but it's also failing in others. To say in a broad spectrum I think that if we compare ourselves to other countries we're doing bad. We're not keeping up. You go to countries in Europe, you go to countries in Asia, South America, they value education because they know what it's like first hand to not have education and not have any form of support. In contrast, people who have education are well off. Many countries don't have public services. They don't have these agencies there to help you. It's either you sink or swim. Even with me going to other countries and see what's going on, kids look at school as a privilege not a right. I'm glad it's a right here, but kids should come in here thinking it's a privilege to be here. It could be way worse.

Teaching is................. learning and then teaching, and then learning. It's a cycle that never stops and that's the great thing about it.