Education: teacher testing

A groundbreaking study has found that the tests we teachers are required to pass have little value in determining whether a candidate will be a good teacher. Wow. Quick, call the papers. Oh, wait, someone already called USA Today with the shocking news.
And here I thought there was something wrong with me last year. After I passed one of those content-specific exams (required to add an area of certification), I didn't feel any smarter or more competent than before. I wonder why that was? *smacks head* Duh! (can you see the sarcasm dripping here?)
If you're interested in the article, it's on the USA Today website here:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-04-09-teachers_x.htm

What do you have to say? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Have you had to take one of these magic exams that determines your competence?

Education revelation- wow!

News flash! The longer a student struggles with reading skills, the harder it is for that student to catch up. Meaning, 5th graders with reading deficits have more trouble than 3rd graders with similar trouble, when provided similar interventions. Duh!!!
It took a high-level University study of 772 students in 50 schools to discover that it's harder to help older students than younger students.
Isn't this why the phrase "early intervention" exists? Why are we not intervening when these kids are in 1st, 2nd grade? I had a teacher tell me once,"I don't believe in referring". She was talking about referring kids with learning problems for testing and possible help. It makes no sense to me to wait till a kid is illiterate in middle school before deciding this needs to be addressed. What do you think?
Here'e the link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06097/680249-298.stm

Separation of church and state education

NY Times again. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/education/29bible.html?ex=1144468800&en=697d0d416b3e79bb&ei=5070

The rest of the country just noticed Georgia's new bill (passed, not signed yet) that creates 2 new high school electives, with the Bible as a mandatory primary text. Supplementary material is allowed. Well, that's a relief.
One statement stands out. The one about how kids are illiterate of the Bible. Huh? Maybe I missed something, but Georgia is the most churched state I've seen. You can't walk down the street without tripping over a couple of churches. You get people bragging about how much time they spend in church-related activities. And the Bible isn't part of that experience? Seems there's something very wrong with that equation.

Education choice and NCLB

Ok, so there's yet another article indicating that very few eligible students are taking advantage of the tutoring or transfer options available under NCLB for those in low-performing schools. What, like this is a surprise? The tutoring contractors are spread thin and are unknown quantities (research-based techniques notwithstanding). Plus, that puts responsibility back in the hands of parents, where it should be, but my experience is that many do not want it. Unfortunately theirs are the children who most need someone to advocate for them. The article ran in the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/education/06educ.html?ex=1301976000&en=f58c78796bd4840f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss). Best part is the Margaret Spellings quote at the very end. Puh-lease! Does she really believe that?

The Philadelphia Enquirer is running another one on the gender gap in reading. Once again, there's no news here, nor surprise. Any elementary school teacher could tell them that boys are less invested in reading as a skill and pasttime than girls. As to why, is it possible that classrooms are not more 'accepting' of boys' learning behavior because we teachers (largely female) just can't relate? I sure don't. Article here: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/14247197.htm

Comments welcomed.

The Baltimore Sun ran an op-ed piece last week, written by a teacher. Link here: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.teacher27mar27,0,1082198.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines This teacher points out for the first time that I've seen, that we routinely put in extra hours beyond the official workday.Yes, there's "planning time", but mine was cut in half this year. Half the time to do more work than before. And most of that time gets eaten up with meetings, parent conferences, and calling home to tell parents what's going on.So, when do I "plan"? After hours. Sometimes it's staying an extra couple of hours to prep a lesson for the next day, type up lesson plans, nail down details of a project, grade papers, etc. Sometimes it's a few hours of research at home to get something ready that I want to use.Right now, as I write this, I should be working on some paperwork that needs to be turned in on Monday. This is my spring break, by the way. I'm NOT on a beach, NOT relaxing. Instead, I'm stressing about the crap that isn't done yet.Oh, and grades are due in when we get back from break. If that's not an assumption that we'll work on it during our break, I don't know what is. I've never actually kept track of the extra hours I put in, partly because I don't want to know, but also, I'm afraid of what the numbers might show. I can report that last week I stayed at least an extra hour from Monday till Thursday. How about all of you out there?

Why do they do it?

I'd love to know why it is that parents insist on doing their childrens' schoolwork. Do they get some feeling of accomplishment out of doing a 6th grade assignment? Please, enlighten me. I have been engaged in battle lately with a parent whose child refuses to complete any assigned work. Consequently, he has a failing average. In the past week, I've been promised the missing work to be done in in-school suspension, done at home, faxed in, dropped off. So far, not one single piece of paper. It's obvious to me that the child is manipulating the mother into doing the work. The problem with that scenario is, simply, that she was not present for the lessons or instructions, and therefore has no idea what needs to be done. Of course, the child couldn't possibly give an accurate account of what work is pending. Did I mention this student is 14 years old and due to start high school in the fall?

job-hunting

I've been looking for a teaching job in a different field from the one I'm in right now. That, basically, means going to a different school, possibly a different district. My current principal has shown no interest in my staying put. She could move me into one of the open positions in my preferred discipline, but chooses not to, even though there is now a public posting for exactly the job I want. Three of my colleagues are moving on, and they are all in the same subject area, the one I want to take on. In the years I've been here, there have been at least 5 teachers hired from the outside in this subject, and a few internal reassignments. I've never been considered for any of these opportunities. When I raised the subject last year, I got a brush off. Bottom line, they feel it would be harder to hire for the job I'm in now, rather than replace someone else. In the process, however, it will become necessary to fill BOTH areas. I'm determined to get out as soon as I can.