I had a long rant of an entry that was accidentally deleted. I take it as a sign from the universe to breathe, rethink and try again.
I feel it is important for readers to understand why teachers and the UFT were so opposed to Teacher Data Report results being published.
1. This format was a trial run that was discontinued.Why was it discontinued, you may ask? Simple. It was statistically invalid and unreliable. It had a margin of error of up to 54 out of 100 points! For those who are unfamiliar with what that means, the easiest way to say it is this, " Those reports were not worth the paper they were written on."
2. Even the latest chancellor,who was appointed by the same mayor who appointed the last 2 chancellors who were in power when these reports were created, admits that the above statement is true.
3. This was an algorithm that was NEVER intended to rate teacher's performances in this way. Hence why it was promised to be kept internal. But the chancellor lied and the media was allowed to print information that even the courts who released it bascially stated were innaccurate.
As a teacher, I have no issue with evaluation. Have at it. I am a damn good teacher who has requested every year for the last 5 years to be placed in a SELF-CONTAINED classroom while others would run screaming from the same task. But if you want to print my review, it damn well better be accurate and valid, or you can expect to have my lawyer sue you for libel.
There is no "Union Conspiracy"or cover-up here. We just don't want to be judged by a system that is only slightly more accurate than flipping a coin for each of the indicators. If you hear someone spouting that anti union rhetoric please be informed, and ask them if they would be content to be rated and then publicly shamed by a system with that accuracy rate.
And please be aware that I did not have a TDR and therefore have no personal vested interest by saying any of this.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Processing the latest information
I am glad to say that the UFT is stepping up measures to allay the fears of thousands of teachers like myself. They have made it a point to reiterate their position that only 20% of the new teacher evaluation is guaranteed to be tied to standardized testing. They even released a framework for how evaluations will be measured.
I believe the UFT when they say they will fight for more authentic measures of learning to be used as measures of growth. While I trust them, I do not trust those they will bargain with. The interjection of the line concerning value added growth measures being able to outweigh other aspects of the framework will continue to concern teachers...especially those who teach special needs students. I am trying to be cautiously optimistic, but having been burned so many times in the past by the politics of Tweed, it is a difficult feat.
Until negotiations are completed there remains a knot in my stomach. I have confidence that our union is fighting the good fight. The problem with fighting the good fight is that your opponents are rarely bound to the code of ethics you may carry into battle. In an ideal world good and just always wins but in the shade of gray world that we exist in this is seldom the case.
Please take the time to read the UFT response in Edwize. I believe in trying to see all sides of an issue. For those who maybe strapped for time, I have added the framework mentioned in the article below.
http://www.edwize.org/setting-the-record-straight-on-teacher-evaluations-scoring-and-the-role-of-standardized-exams#more-11225
This is taken from the article, "Setting The Record Straight On Teacher Evaluations:
Scoring and the Role of Standardized Exams" by Leo Casey
Here then is a schematic of the general framework of teacher evaluations in New York:
I believe the UFT when they say they will fight for more authentic measures of learning to be used as measures of growth. While I trust them, I do not trust those they will bargain with. The interjection of the line concerning value added growth measures being able to outweigh other aspects of the framework will continue to concern teachers...especially those who teach special needs students. I am trying to be cautiously optimistic, but having been burned so many times in the past by the politics of Tweed, it is a difficult feat.
Until negotiations are completed there remains a knot in my stomach. I have confidence that our union is fighting the good fight. The problem with fighting the good fight is that your opponents are rarely bound to the code of ethics you may carry into battle. In an ideal world good and just always wins but in the shade of gray world that we exist in this is seldom the case.
Please take the time to read the UFT response in Edwize. I believe in trying to see all sides of an issue. For those who maybe strapped for time, I have added the framework mentioned in the article below.
http://www.edwize.org/setting-the-record-straight-on-teacher-evaluations-scoring-and-the-role-of-standardized-exams#more-11225
This is taken from the article, "Setting The Record Straight On Teacher Evaluations:
Scoring and the Role of Standardized Exams" by Leo Casey
Here then is a schematic of the general framework of teacher evaluations in New York:
MEASURES OF TEACHER PERFORMANCE (60 of 100 points) | MEASURES OF STUDENT LEARNING (40 of 100 points) | ||
| Minimum of 31 Points | Up to 29 points | 20 Points | 20 points |
| Supervisory Observations | Other Measures such as Peer Observations and Portfolios of Artifacts of Teacher Performance | For Teachers of ELA and Math, Grades 4 through 8:Value-Added Growth from State Standardized Exams | For All Teachers:Growth on Local Assessments, such as Performance Assessments |
AND | OR | ||
| For All Other Teachers:Growth Measures on “Student Learning Outcomes” | For Some Teachers:Different Measures of Growth from State Standardized Exams | ||
Angered by Politics
This has been a sad week in education in NY. So much so that I am finding it hard to write about it all. So what I am going to do is sum up what has happened and will ask that you take the time to read some of the attached articles. Please pass them on! People need to understand what politicians are doing to our education system!
1. After a show down between the UFT (United Federation of Teachers) and the mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg, Governor Cuomo took it upon himself to break the stalemate by threatening to implement his own teacher evaluation plan by inserting it into a budget bill. The brilliant "compromise" that resulted... teachers will now be graded on a 100 point system. 20 points on state standardized tests (which is ridiculous in NY considering it was only a few years ago the state had to throw out their scores because they were proven to be invalid, unreliable and in short a statistical joke. Now teachers jobs will depend on the very same tests); 20 points on other standardized tests or the same ones used in a different way (I have no clue what "used in another way"could mean so I won't even try to guess) and 60 points on performance in the classroom.
Now if that were the end of it, it wouldn't sound so bad. However the state department added language to the agreement which states, “Teachers rated ineffective on student performance based on objective assessments must be rated ineffective overall.” This means that a teacher who does not raise test scores will be found ineffective overall, no matter how well he or she does with the remaining sixty percent. So in the world of politics, math has now changed. The 40 percent allocated to student performance actually counts for 100 percent. Two years of ineffective ratings and the teacher will be fired.
Now think of it from a special needs teacher's point of view...my kids come to me on the average of 2-3 years behind in reading and math. Usually my students come to me at a kindergarten level. By the end of a year in my classroom many students are on the cusp of reading at a high second grade level. I have had students who have gone up as many as 10 reading levels in pretty much a yearly basis since 2006. Very few of my students do very well on these tests though. This system means that I will be most likely be in a firing position within 2 -3 years. Ask any of the parents I have worked with if they feel I am "ineffective" and they will either laugh or go off at that idea. I have parents asking to have their children in my class, even though they know I teach a self contained class. I am not an "ineffective" teacher. Quite the opposite.
2. The UFT lost the suit to keep teacher's names and their students testing scores out of the media. The media has every right to create "bad teacher lists" and publish them. They can do this even though it has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be erroneous and invalid.
These two events make strong special needs teachers wonder if this job is worth it anymore. I plan to stick it out and try to fight for my rights, but many teachers will not be as masochistic as I am in this case.
Just writing this is upsetting me. I will post again later once I have cooled down. Sigh.
Without futher ado...the links I mentioned earlier. Please pass this information on to others.
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/feb/21/no-student-left-untested/
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/2012/02/a_dark_day_for_new_york.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/you-are-so-smartwhy-did-you-become-a-teacher/2012/02/19/gIQA2vBNNR_blog.html
1. After a show down between the UFT (United Federation of Teachers) and the mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg, Governor Cuomo took it upon himself to break the stalemate by threatening to implement his own teacher evaluation plan by inserting it into a budget bill. The brilliant "compromise" that resulted... teachers will now be graded on a 100 point system. 20 points on state standardized tests (which is ridiculous in NY considering it was only a few years ago the state had to throw out their scores because they were proven to be invalid, unreliable and in short a statistical joke. Now teachers jobs will depend on the very same tests); 20 points on other standardized tests or the same ones used in a different way (I have no clue what "used in another way"could mean so I won't even try to guess) and 60 points on performance in the classroom.
Now if that were the end of it, it wouldn't sound so bad. However the state department added language to the agreement which states, “Teachers rated ineffective on student performance based on objective assessments must be rated ineffective overall.” This means that a teacher who does not raise test scores will be found ineffective overall, no matter how well he or she does with the remaining sixty percent. So in the world of politics, math has now changed. The 40 percent allocated to student performance actually counts for 100 percent. Two years of ineffective ratings and the teacher will be fired.
Now think of it from a special needs teacher's point of view...my kids come to me on the average of 2-3 years behind in reading and math. Usually my students come to me at a kindergarten level. By the end of a year in my classroom many students are on the cusp of reading at a high second grade level. I have had students who have gone up as many as 10 reading levels in pretty much a yearly basis since 2006. Very few of my students do very well on these tests though. This system means that I will be most likely be in a firing position within 2 -3 years. Ask any of the parents I have worked with if they feel I am "ineffective" and they will either laugh or go off at that idea. I have parents asking to have their children in my class, even though they know I teach a self contained class. I am not an "ineffective" teacher. Quite the opposite.
2. The UFT lost the suit to keep teacher's names and their students testing scores out of the media. The media has every right to create "bad teacher lists" and publish them. They can do this even though it has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be erroneous and invalid.
These two events make strong special needs teachers wonder if this job is worth it anymore. I plan to stick it out and try to fight for my rights, but many teachers will not be as masochistic as I am in this case.
Just writing this is upsetting me. I will post again later once I have cooled down. Sigh.
Without futher ado...the links I mentioned earlier. Please pass this information on to others.
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/feb/21/no-student-left-untested/
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/2012/02/a_dark_day_for_new_york.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/you-are-so-smartwhy-did-you-become-a-teacher/2012/02/19/gIQA2vBNNR_blog.html
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Choosing to be overworked...
It amazes me sometimes that I am able to sit at this computer and type. My schedule is beyond hectic...some would say it borders on the psychotic. I go to work an hour early every day to try to align curriculum maps with the new Common Core standards. I work my full day as teacher/counselor/tiny injury nurse/ part time parent/ etc. Then I go home to my husband and to an amazing little 2 year old. I care for my family, get 6 hours of sleep if I am lucky only to start the cycle all over again.
During my "free hours" (I can hardly keep my face straight as I type that) I work on lesson plans, grade work,watch webinars, read articles, and attend conferences to refine my craft. Now I am trying like heck to be chosen by the UFT (United Federation of Teachers) as one of the 25 teachers they are planning to select for the Teacher Leader pilot program. I have had several people ask me if I have completely lost my mind. After all the pay for this program would be a $500 stipend. So obviously I am not in it for the "money".
As I explained to a friend of mine from work, I feel compelled to do this. I watch my students suffer from the foolish decisions of men and women who have obviously never taught a day in their life. The few that have taught have resigned their minds and souls to be tools for a corrupt system. Services are being cut left and right. Pressure from up high comes all the way down the pipe to cut services, cut paras...to cut and cut until there is nothing left to hack away at.
My students work so hard for me. They have gone up so many levels in being able to read and write. They are some of the kindest and best behaved children in my school. They love to read and to learn. But if the mayor and others have their way my "success" as a teacher will be based on their test scores. The fact that many of my students started out on a kindergarten level of reading as third graders and are now starting to read early chapter books will not matter. No...my success will be based on high stakes testing scores.
I wouldn't mind it so much if my students were given differentiated texts to read. After all that is what we teachers are expected to do all day. Alter and reteach the same idea at many different levels for the various levels of understanding in our classrooms. But of course, why would these vital tests embody the very sentiments that we teachers are beholden to? That would make sense and goodness knows we couldn't have that!
Change needs to happen and in order for that change to happen we need people who are willing to stand in the public eye and say what needs to be said. Anyone who has met me knows I am not afraid to voice an opinion and I will fight like heck to voice obvious FACTS as well. I will not yell or rage. I will use my humor and my talents to reach people on deeper levels...to bring others to a cause.
In the meantime I continue to work myself into exhaustion...all in the hopes that one day my daughter will not be a prisoner to a system that is out to steal her childhood.
During my "free hours" (I can hardly keep my face straight as I type that) I work on lesson plans, grade work,watch webinars, read articles, and attend conferences to refine my craft. Now I am trying like heck to be chosen by the UFT (United Federation of Teachers) as one of the 25 teachers they are planning to select for the Teacher Leader pilot program. I have had several people ask me if I have completely lost my mind. After all the pay for this program would be a $500 stipend. So obviously I am not in it for the "money".
As I explained to a friend of mine from work, I feel compelled to do this. I watch my students suffer from the foolish decisions of men and women who have obviously never taught a day in their life. The few that have taught have resigned their minds and souls to be tools for a corrupt system. Services are being cut left and right. Pressure from up high comes all the way down the pipe to cut services, cut paras...to cut and cut until there is nothing left to hack away at.
My students work so hard for me. They have gone up so many levels in being able to read and write. They are some of the kindest and best behaved children in my school. They love to read and to learn. But if the mayor and others have their way my "success" as a teacher will be based on their test scores. The fact that many of my students started out on a kindergarten level of reading as third graders and are now starting to read early chapter books will not matter. No...my success will be based on high stakes testing scores.
I wouldn't mind it so much if my students were given differentiated texts to read. After all that is what we teachers are expected to do all day. Alter and reteach the same idea at many different levels for the various levels of understanding in our classrooms. But of course, why would these vital tests embody the very sentiments that we teachers are beholden to? That would make sense and goodness knows we couldn't have that!
Change needs to happen and in order for that change to happen we need people who are willing to stand in the public eye and say what needs to be said. Anyone who has met me knows I am not afraid to voice an opinion and I will fight like heck to voice obvious FACTS as well. I will not yell or rage. I will use my humor and my talents to reach people on deeper levels...to bring others to a cause.
In the meantime I continue to work myself into exhaustion...all in the hopes that one day my daughter will not be a prisoner to a system that is out to steal her childhood.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Why Do You Do It? The most infamous question in a teacher's life
Special Needs teachers laugh when they hear people say the following things:
Your job is so easy...you only have 12 kids!
Truth: In most schools the self contained teachers have up to 3 three different grades in their classroom. They are expected to teach 3 different curriculum at the same time to students who are an average of 2 grade levels below in their abilities from where they should be! Imagine working in an office where you are doing 3 people's jobs and and you have equipment that is extremely outdated and not working properly. We also tend to have the children who have been removed from other classrooms due to behavioral issues. I have been pushed, threatened and cursed at by my students.
Would you call that job "easy"? I would say this is a fair comparison for what our job is like.
Teachers are in it for the money.
Truth: My husband works for NYC too as a firefighter. By his 5th year, he will make nearly double what my base pay is after 5 years. Not to mention the thousands of dollars I have spent of my own money on my classroom. I spend an average of $800 dollars on my classroom every year and the most I was ever reimbursed was $150. (Which was cut this year by the way!)
But you get summers off!
Truth: Most teachers have to take 2nd and 3rd jobs to live so they usually work over the summers. They also tend to tutor for money over the summer. We also use the summer for creating curriculum calendars and lesson plans. I will be taking classes and going to seminars to start collecting the 175 hours of professional development that NYS mandates I complete every 5 years just to KEEP my teaching licenses! (And all of the seminars, certifications and conferences I have attended over the last 5 years DOES NOT count. )
All of these myths, when debunked, usually lead to 2 inevitable questions...then why the hell do you do this job? Are you crazy or on crack?
This answer is not simple. It changes from day to day. There is nothing like the moment you realize you may have changed a child's life. When a child reads a sentence for the first time because of you, you have a feeling in your heart that is overwhelming. When a parent starts the year thinking you are too hard on their child and then at the end of the year pleads with your administrator to keep their child in your class, you are overcome. I have students who hated school because they read at a kindergarten level by the 3rd grade, who now beg me to do a running record with them because they are improving by at least one level each month!
Are all teachers great at their jobs? No. Are all teachers in it for the right reasons? No. Some go into the field believing the above mentioned myths and spend their years angry and bitter when they realize the truth. But most of us do this job to change lives.
My favorite quote sums up why I do my job:
"...he found something that he wanted, had wanted and always would want-not to be admired as he had feared; not to be loved,as he had made himself believe; but to be necessary to people, to be indispensable. " F. Scott Fitzgerald - " This Side of Paradise "
Your job is so easy...you only have 12 kids!
Truth: In most schools the self contained teachers have up to 3 three different grades in their classroom. They are expected to teach 3 different curriculum at the same time to students who are an average of 2 grade levels below in their abilities from where they should be! Imagine working in an office where you are doing 3 people's jobs and and you have equipment that is extremely outdated and not working properly. We also tend to have the children who have been removed from other classrooms due to behavioral issues. I have been pushed, threatened and cursed at by my students.
Would you call that job "easy"? I would say this is a fair comparison for what our job is like.
Teachers are in it for the money.
Truth: My husband works for NYC too as a firefighter. By his 5th year, he will make nearly double what my base pay is after 5 years. Not to mention the thousands of dollars I have spent of my own money on my classroom. I spend an average of $800 dollars on my classroom every year and the most I was ever reimbursed was $150. (Which was cut this year by the way!)
But you get summers off!
Truth: Most teachers have to take 2nd and 3rd jobs to live so they usually work over the summers. They also tend to tutor for money over the summer. We also use the summer for creating curriculum calendars and lesson plans. I will be taking classes and going to seminars to start collecting the 175 hours of professional development that NYS mandates I complete every 5 years just to KEEP my teaching licenses! (And all of the seminars, certifications and conferences I have attended over the last 5 years DOES NOT count. )
All of these myths, when debunked, usually lead to 2 inevitable questions...then why the hell do you do this job? Are you crazy or on crack?
This answer is not simple. It changes from day to day. There is nothing like the moment you realize you may have changed a child's life. When a child reads a sentence for the first time because of you, you have a feeling in your heart that is overwhelming. When a parent starts the year thinking you are too hard on their child and then at the end of the year pleads with your administrator to keep their child in your class, you are overcome. I have students who hated school because they read at a kindergarten level by the 3rd grade, who now beg me to do a running record with them because they are improving by at least one level each month!
Are all teachers great at their jobs? No. Are all teachers in it for the right reasons? No. Some go into the field believing the above mentioned myths and spend their years angry and bitter when they realize the truth. But most of us do this job to change lives.
My favorite quote sums up why I do my job:
"...he found something that he wanted, had wanted and always would want-not to be admired as he had feared; not to be loved,as he had made himself believe; but to be necessary to people, to be indispensable. " F. Scott Fitzgerald - " This Side of Paradise "
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Opening Remarks
I fell into teaching quite by accident. I was studying to be a psychologist and had decided to take some Social Work classes. One class required that I observe at a local preschool, so like a good little college student I signed up. After 2 unfair grades and an argument with the professor in front of the class, I began to realize this class was not the right fit for me. So I withdrew from the class (and could feel my blood pressure drop almost instantaneously).
At this point, I was still scheduled to observe one more time. I decided to keep the appointment and simply volunteer my time there. When I arrived there was a flurry of activity! An emergency meeting had been called and the class I was assigned to was in dire need of coverage. I was asked by the director to run a classroom for about 15 minutes. As is my nature, I agreed to help out. Next thing I know I had 10 pairs of eyes staring at me and I realized...oh hell now what do I now? So I tapped into my early years of babysitting and found myself reading a story. By the time I was finished I looked up to see the teacher and the director looking at me oddly.
Many thoughts ran through my head at this time. I did a quick mental count to make sure all kids were accounted for. 10 kids...check. OK...no missing kids and yet there were these professionals staring at me as if I had 3 heads. After a moment of silence that seemed to span an eternity the 2 women began to whisper to each other. When the director called me over, the teacher spoke first. "How did you get R to sit down and listen to the story?" she asked in an incredulous voice. I responded with the truth."I don't know." Next the director asked me,"Do you have a job?" I of course responded no to which the following question was posed,"Would you like one?"
So began my illustrious career! When I realized my degree was not worth the paper it was written on, I applied for a teaching assistant position. I was made lead teacher within weeks.
I have worked in hole-in-the-wall preschools.(I had a 4 year old offer to pick me up for a "ride in his dad's car" only to have his dad offer me the same deal...only far more provocatively.) I had a 3 year old try to kill me once. I would later take a demotion in order to have a higher paying job with the creme de la creme of the NYC upper crust society. I am talking diplomats' children, the offspring of federal judges...even bonafide royalty!
A serious accident in London later left me unemployed and I went back to school. All the while I was basically blackmailing my former employer for medical benefits over 2 years. I obtained my masters and was an appointed teacher by August of that same summer.
I ended up in a school in Chinatown for one year. It was my trial by fire! There will be far more on that topic later. The one thing I will say is that by surviving that year, I realized I was a greater teacher and a stronger woman than I had ever imagined.
This blog will be a collection of anecdotes and memories. It will not follow the typical chronological order one comes to expect from a blog. I will meander through my hall of memories in a similar fashion to a tourist exploring a city. I will take you to the bright and shiny spots that will try to call you to this profession and I will explore the seedy and "dodgy" (Thanks Gerald for that fantastic word!) memories that might send an Ed student running for the hills (and to their nearest therapist!)
Come join me on this adventure as it continues to grow. For those of you who may be parents of children on the spectrum ( As I am. My toddler has a diagnosis of borderline PDD-NOS) please feel free to follow me on my other blog http://seeingthroughthespectrum.blogspot.com/. I will be working hard to update each blog as frequently as possible. I thank you for reading the wandering thoughts of an overstressed, underpaid, and over achieving 3rd grade teacher for Students with Special Needs! Until next time!
At this point, I was still scheduled to observe one more time. I decided to keep the appointment and simply volunteer my time there. When I arrived there was a flurry of activity! An emergency meeting had been called and the class I was assigned to was in dire need of coverage. I was asked by the director to run a classroom for about 15 minutes. As is my nature, I agreed to help out. Next thing I know I had 10 pairs of eyes staring at me and I realized...oh hell now what do I now? So I tapped into my early years of babysitting and found myself reading a story. By the time I was finished I looked up to see the teacher and the director looking at me oddly.
Many thoughts ran through my head at this time. I did a quick mental count to make sure all kids were accounted for. 10 kids...check. OK...no missing kids and yet there were these professionals staring at me as if I had 3 heads. After a moment of silence that seemed to span an eternity the 2 women began to whisper to each other. When the director called me over, the teacher spoke first. "How did you get R to sit down and listen to the story?" she asked in an incredulous voice. I responded with the truth."I don't know." Next the director asked me,"Do you have a job?" I of course responded no to which the following question was posed,"Would you like one?"
So began my illustrious career! When I realized my degree was not worth the paper it was written on, I applied for a teaching assistant position. I was made lead teacher within weeks.
I have worked in hole-in-the-wall preschools.(I had a 4 year old offer to pick me up for a "ride in his dad's car" only to have his dad offer me the same deal...only far more provocatively.) I had a 3 year old try to kill me once. I would later take a demotion in order to have a higher paying job with the creme de la creme of the NYC upper crust society. I am talking diplomats' children, the offspring of federal judges...even bonafide royalty!
A serious accident in London later left me unemployed and I went back to school. All the while I was basically blackmailing my former employer for medical benefits over 2 years. I obtained my masters and was an appointed teacher by August of that same summer.
I ended up in a school in Chinatown for one year. It was my trial by fire! There will be far more on that topic later. The one thing I will say is that by surviving that year, I realized I was a greater teacher and a stronger woman than I had ever imagined.
This blog will be a collection of anecdotes and memories. It will not follow the typical chronological order one comes to expect from a blog. I will meander through my hall of memories in a similar fashion to a tourist exploring a city. I will take you to the bright and shiny spots that will try to call you to this profession and I will explore the seedy and "dodgy" (Thanks Gerald for that fantastic word!) memories that might send an Ed student running for the hills (and to their nearest therapist!)
Come join me on this adventure as it continues to grow. For those of you who may be parents of children on the spectrum ( As I am. My toddler has a diagnosis of borderline PDD-NOS) please feel free to follow me on my other blog http://seeingthroughthespectrum.blogspot.com/. I will be working hard to update each blog as frequently as possible. I thank you for reading the wandering thoughts of an overstressed, underpaid, and over achieving 3rd grade teacher for Students with Special Needs! Until next time!
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