Reform Politics

Politics is my least favorite part of the educational reform process while at the same time being the most fascinating part of the process.  While politics at a federal, state and local level will undoubtedly always play a crucial roll in sustainable educational reform it also appears to be the constant cog in the wheel of change. It is always reported as one "side" fighting against the other "side" even though at the end of the day we all claim to be basing our decisions on what is best for the children of our communities. I was particularly interested in this article as I have been following the work of Michelle Rhee and her organization and was surprised by their involvement in this school board race. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/education-reform-los-angeles_n_2774978.html?utm_hp_ref=@education123

Oscars for Educators

 

This month the Milken Family Foundation honored an Arizona Master Teacher, Ms. Ferreria, from the Deer Valley School Distict with the Milken Educator Award. This award is often referred to as the "Oscar" for educators. Teachers cannot apply for the recognition rather they are recommended for the award by a state appointed committee. The committee recommends educators in their early to mid careers that have a proven track record of effective instructional practices, exemplary personal academic accomplishments and an "engaging and inspiring" presence that motivates their educational community. In her acceptance speech, Ms. Ferreria, humbly accepted the award but stressed that this recognition was not just about her but also the other teachers that work to make their school a great place for kids!

http://www.mff.org/newsroom/news.taf?page=videos&init=&dateYear=&vid=1313

"College or No?"

Stuck Between Present Realities and Future Promises.

I found this article written by Holly Korby to be fascinating. Her focus is on young adults
who aspire to be what she calls, "edupreneurs" or future school reformers and whether or not they believe that a college education is necessary for 
them to be successful in this field. 

The ideas and opinions of the young adults who are associated with groups such as, Student Voice, UnCollege and The Future Project have opened up a completely new world of research to me. These are the students that I taught, these are the students that I will work alongside as I continue to strive for meaningful and successful school reform in my city, my state and my country.

As Ms. Korby states, the jury is still out on whether a "well-paying job and career opportunity" would be available to a "school reformer" without a college degree or whether a "school reformer" could be considered credible without ever having worked as an educator in the current system. However, the young adults who are forming these reform organizations, in my opinion, are worth taking a look at.

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=134855925252353728#editor/target=post;postID=1943381008104019406

Skype in Education

Technology has done amazing things for students, teachers and schools across our nation.
Mobile computer labs have afforded teachers in the classroom the opportunity to link their students to interactive learning websites, individual iPads have allowed students to connect to Podcasts created by students in another state and SMART Boards have created a classroom environment that is interactive and captivating. These are but a few advances in educational technology that I have personally seen improve education in our schools. 

Recently I have read a lot of discussion about the ways Skype is working with schools and educators to connect students to people and places that otherwise would not be possible. Skype is currently partnering with NASA to facilitate a project that allows students to connect with scientists to ask questions, observe creative developments and participate in interactive experiments. 

In the attached article, Mind/Shift has highlighted five virtual field trips that are available to students of all ages via Skype. These field trips span from Iowa to New York to Burma and provide amazing opportunities for students to "travel" across the world without leaving their classrooms. 

http://t.co/oK1gQfUL

Education Innovation in the Slums

I spend a lot of my time reading about educational innovation and researching what is working in states, schools and cities similar to mine. It seems as though if we could just replicate what others are doing that is working we would see a huge change in our schools that are still falling short. Charles Leadbeater, a member of the London think tank Demos, has had the opportunity to travel to some desperate areas in Africa, Asia and India where they are making radical changes to their education systems. He outlines some of these changes in his TED Talk linked below.

Three things from Charles' Talk stuck out to me the most. First, the idea of a McDonalds Model of education. Everyone knows what to expect from a McDonalds chain - all restaurants are similar and reliable whether in Phoenix or Philadelphia. This idea is linked to taking what is working in one school and simply replicating it in another school, in another area and expecting the same results. Charles relates this to the 19th century or factory model of educating.  Instead he poses the idea of a Chinese Restaurant Model of education. There are very few Chinese restaurant chains yet we all know a Chinese restaurant when we see one. This model of education would have schools that operate with the same underlying principle but with varying applications and subtle differences based on the conditions of their setting. In essence, schools that meet the needs of their environment instead of pushing one "chain" model of education that is indifferent to location.

Second is the idea of providing "disruptive innovation" in "informal settings." The large school with classrooms and desks for all students is not a reality in many places. How do you begin to see other settings as opportunities for education and how do we push innovation so that it is not a small change but instead disrupts the current state of education in a positive, productive and supported way?

The third idea that Charles shared that resonated with me is where we look for the answers and ideas. Right now, according to all the test scores, Finland has the answer. They are leading the way in education for the rest of the world. And they are, Finland is doing great things but he would suggest that we also pay attention to areas where education affords individuals the opportunity to earn a living that literally saves their lives. Areas where there is a huge need, an unmet demand and not enough resources. Areas that must figure out how to pull individuals into their system not push their system on the individuals.

http://www.ted.com/talks/charles_leadbeater_on_education.html??utm_medium=social&source=email&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=ios-share

Thoughts on "Across the Board" pay increases

On Wednesday, I shared the most read opinion essay in 2012 from Education Week with you. It was centered around performance pay for our nation's teachers. I found it fascinating that the #3 most read opinion essay from 2012 was also centered around paying teachers more but in this article, Jason Richwine of the Heritage Foundation and Andrew Biggs from American Enterprise took a very different stance on the topic than did Linda Darling-Hammond in her essay.

Mr. Richwine and Mr. Biggs conducted a study through the Heritage Foundation that determined the average teacher in the United States is paid more than he/she would earn with the same education and skill-set in the private sector. It is clear that they have an underlying agenda in publishing this study which is okay because, remember, these are opinion essays. In their essay, they lay out a data driven case for eliminating "across the board pay increases" and a not so data drive case for restructuring the pension system for teachers.

It continues to be an exciting time to be involved in reforming our nation's education system. There is no doubt that the debate regarding teacher compensation and "bonus pay" will be a hot topic in 2013 as well!

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/01/11/17richwine.h31.html?tkn=WMZFonHh6R6%2FhW61v0EXkIPs0RVhBhXrqi4X&cmp=clp-edweek 
 

More About Teacher Evaluation Reform

One can get lost in the sea of editorials and commentaries on education and educational reform. It seems that nearly everybody, no matter what walk of life, has an opinion on how our nation's schools and teachers are performing. So when I came across the Top 10 Opinion Essays of 2012 published by Education Week I figured they were worth a look (some of them for my second time).

The most frequently read article was titled Value Added Evaluation Hurts Teaching. This immediately captured my attention because of my passion for improving teacher quality and my experience with performance based compensation. In this article, Linda Darling-Hammond, author and Professor of Education at Stanford University, lays out her case against teachers being evaluated and rewarded based on student test scores. Instead she makes a case for a teacher evaluation system that is designed on the premise of rigorous, on-going assessment of classroom practice by "teaching experts."

Based on my experience, I can't help but believe that there is an effective way to combine both into an evaluation system that supports teachers in improving their practice as well as measures student achievement growth based on those practices. 

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/03/05/24darlinghammond_ep.h31.html?tkn=WSMFkBB1JZ4QAr9lABQIX42ND5MtaGVfNBk5&cmp=clp-edweek