Today, I heard two news stories (headlines more accurately) with very little detail that I have been unable to verify on line and but since it comes from an impeccable source (WQXR) I have no reason to doubt their veracity.
The first story deals with a grant that enables food stamp recipients to purchase them online. I was shocked to hear that people who are eligible for food stamps have computers and internet connections. I thought these things cost money. My internet cable for instance costs about $50.00 a month. And my computer wasn't cheap either, at least not by food stamp standards. On the other hand, everyone in that class seems to have a giant screen HD television set or two and that's not considered unusual. I have two television sets which would be appropriate for museum exhibits. Even though I bought conversion boxes for each of them to enable them to receive digital signals (the government paid for some of their cost, but that is fodder for another blog) I haven't been able to receive any popular programming since the fateful day that analog signals were turned off. It's not the broadcasters' fault but that of my antenna which stands inaccessibly in my attic and is either not tuned correctly or is the wrong type - vhf instead of UHF.
Where was I?
Ah yes, the second story.
This was that the NY Board of Education will begin using student test scores in its evaluation of teacher's bids for tenure even though it is against state law. The union is understandably up in arms about this. The BOE seems to have backed down a bit to union outrage and said that observation of teachers in the classroom setting will also be used to determined eligibility.
I initially heard this news with glee because "If the unions are agin it, how can I not be for it?" The teachers unions in New York have been protecting incompetent and burned-out teachers for years to the detriment of the entire student body. In truth though, upon reflection, I can't really agree that the BOE is on to something. After all, why blame a teacher if the lunkheads he/she is trying to teach just don't get it. We know that their interest is anywhere but in the classroom or with the subjects they are being taught. If you don't want to learn, the best teachers in the world won't be able to teach you. Remember, we are talking here about New York City public school students. On the other hand, we do need metrics for competence, a concept the unions have been fighting since they established themselves. What better way to judge effectiveness than by test results.
I remain open minded on the question and invite feedback from my readers.
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3 comments:
You've still got to figure out how to get through to the kids. The teachers may not have support coming from the homes, though the school system still is abliged to figure out how to get them to sit and learn something, absorb it and move on in life. Without that, we all know the direction the kids'll all go.
It's never going to be a perfect system, though they have to work on any possiblities to get something into the kids heads. The excuse of "they're bad kids that won't learn" is not acceptable. The teachers need to be dedicated - and if they're no good, then they need to go. The City needs to do whatever possible to figure out how to get through to the kids - curiculum or bouncing wrotten teachers, they need to put their heads together, ship the unions off to some deserted island, where they can try to unionize the local schools of fish and other wild life, so that we can actually get something working in the city school systems.
1. some of the flat screens tvs are rentals. there are stores that rent long term to people which is a brilliant idea since some people can't afford the tvs but still want the luxury. Meanwhile the renters get a huge return on the cost of the tv.
2. Dr U is almost right. Dedication doesn't always get through but it's not the case that you can claim that some people simply won't learn. Charisma goes a long way toward getting people to do things and while teachers shouldn't necessarily be judged on charisma it does work. If people don't want to learn for their own sakes they will do it out of desire to please the charismatic.
I think that student test scores should not be the only thing looked at for teacher tenure but it should not be ignored. A very good teacher will get through and teach enough children as to be reflected in the test scores. They should also be observed (by an independent agency not by the UFT) for more than 3 minutes as some teachers recently were!
As for food stamps, I believe you qualify based on your salary (or lack of it) how you spend your money (the little of it you have) is not of the concern of the government, though maybe if they are paying your food bill it should be.
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