http://doe.in.gov/
If you haven't had a chance and have some time, watch or read Tony Bennett's State of Education Address.
If they want good teachers in the schools, the responsibility starts with principals hiring good teachers and evaluating them. However, by basing pay and evaluation on test scores and things of that nature is not fair to teachers. Sometimes, teachers cannot control the classes they are dealt, and the type of involvement their students' parents have in their children's lives. No matter how good a teacher you are, if the kids don't actively get into their education and if they don't have parents who are active, then it is extremely hard for teachers to succeed. What do you all think??
This is such a hot topic right now. I agree that our pay should not be based on test scores. I teach special ed students and most are unable to handle the stress that goes along with taking a test that is required for graduation. With schools being given a window of time for testing to occur, and a student is going through a tough stretch of time mentally or behaviorally, it doesn't allow for any flexibility in working with these students to be successful on these tests.
ReplyDeleteIt's very true. You have to allow for flexibility based on student's needs. In teacher education we are trained to adapt to each given student, yet our administration and government doesn't seem to understand what teachers have to go through.
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