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Monday, May 28, 2012 | 2 a.m.
Many people are complaining about the possible layoffs of Clark County School District teachers and saying that the new best and brightest will be gone while the older teachers will stay because of seniority.
I look at other professions such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc., and we all want the older, more experienced professionals. As professionals gain experience, they are perceived as being better because of that experience.
However, when the professional is a teacher, the opposite is believed: The younger the teachers, the better they are. The years of classroom experience are meaningless for the older teacher. Why does the experience of a teacher automatically mean they are not as effective as a younger teacher?
Nobody said that
What is clear is that in private business the low performer are weeded out over the years.
In schools low performers are never weeded out .
Since the best teachers also can get jobs elsewhere -- when they leave only the low performer are left in the schools
That is right, Future. Last year, in my school alone, five promising teachers left because they felt uncertain about their future at CCSD and in Nevada. They could have been great teachers with proper training and exposure. I wonder how many of those left other schools in the district.
I do not argue that there are young teachers with promise, i.e. they have the 'heart' to become really good teachers. Being a great teacher takes a 'heart' and a few years. They don't teach us in college how to handle homelessness, neglect, abuse, apathy, and indifference. They don't teach us about handling familial dysfunction, insanity in administration and leadership, and how to deflect them. They don't teach us that learning is not the ONLY focus, but politics as well, and a teacher must know how to navigate all these to become a great teacher.
And, that takes a few years to realize, after you feel comfortable about teaching, the students, the parents, the administrators, and the curriculum.
As mentor-facilitator, that is what we old teachers do. Yes. There are many new teachers with promise, but they 'ain't seen nothin' yet.
For the sake of argument, yes there are 'tired' 'old,' 'bad' teachers and there are 'irresponsible,' 'i'm-in-it for the two-month vacation,' and 'it's-an-easy-job' new teachers. These are products of our culture and society. You find those types in any profession, but to lump people together, as people who hate teachers do, is rather ignorant and prejudicial.
We all need vocabulary lessons. Focus is the SINGLE or primary issue. By definition, "focus" does not involve multiple issues. Further, I am unaware of any "hatred" towards teachers. It's not all black and white. Teachers are usually talented individuals trying to make a contribution while being handsomely rewarded with a clear career path and few issues that other careers involve (competing for promotions rather than pay for seniority, limited opportunity, to name a couple.) We cannot afford to support every individual who had a passing thought to jump into the career benefits of being a "teacher." Those people SHOULD BE washed out as soon as possible. If a few are not washed out, they could become complacent, rather useless, highest paid.... It is not a crime to try to be a teacher and fail. But if it's not you, if you are not a good to gifted teacher, get out of here. Our economy should be able to support FORMER teachers who move into other career fields. I suppose there may be envy (not hatred) of teachers solely for their visibility but there can't be many people dwelling upon envy. Unfortunately, we live in a new world, a new reality, a new economy that is not going to turn around into the way it was. We must re-assess the concept of 1 teacher for 15 students and head back to the tradition of 1 teacher for 35 students--when classroom results meant kids could read and write and even graduate.
The desperate only need apply;whether it's health care, construction or education. The business predators or "job creators" as they like to be called want clueless hostages not competent employees. They and their rich kids can retreat to their gated communities, schools and hospitals.
For the sake of argument, yes there are 'tired' 'old,' 'bad' teachers and there are 'irresponsible,' 'i'm-in-it for the two-month vacation,' and 'it's-an-easy-job' new teachers. These are products of our culture and society. You find those types in any profession, but to lump people together, as people who hate teachers do, is rather ignorant and prejudicial.
Sorry Nancy, in the private sector, the I'm in it for the vacation and its an easy job doesn't wash. You will be let go with that attitude. And especially after years on the job private sector employees know the difference. This train of thought comes only from people protected by unions.
If you needed a serious operation, would you want a new doctor or an experience doctor? If you were arrested for a murder you didn't do, would you want a first year lawyer or an experience one? If you are getting on a plane, would you want a first year pilot or an experience one? If your roof needs fixing, you would want a first year roofer or an experience one? If you child enters school, would you want a first year teacher or an experience one?
"EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER - "The great Roman leader Julius Caesar recorded the earliest known version of this proverb, 'Experience is the teacher of all things,' in 'De Bello Civili' (c. 52 B.C.)."
Carmine A. DiFazio
There is a war on in education.
In order for the 1% to win, it must privatize the schools and get rid of union protections, so that large profits will be easy. It must also vilify teachers to get them out of the way, making way for low-paid temp workers who "succeed" by teaching test prep, then move on or get fired before they get too expensive.
If you are not getting this, if you are not grasping that this is what's going on in education - just as our federal government is now rotting and failing big time due to politicians selling themselves - then you are either not paying attention, or you're living in Happyland, or you're intellectually challenged.
Future, you are wrong. Most bad teachers are weeded out by students early on. (Some leave, but others go into admin.) There are remarkably few "bad" teachers, though there are many who are not the best and brightest, because the best and brightest mostly don't go into teaching with the mediocre students.
The best and brightest generally don't aim at jobs where they work too hard under too-stressful conditions for too little money, and have to work under administrators with little classroom experience who appear to be both crazy and stupid. (And whose fault is that? Why isn't that a MAJOR issue? The CRAZY administrators in this district! The dummy administrators in this district!)
As Nancy pointed out so wisely, there is far more to teaching than teaching. I love her comment about the "insanity of administrators." It's so rampant here! Where are the objections to the crazy administrators crawling around all over this district?
Why is poor leadership never addressed? Why are systemic problems never addressed, such as allowing poorly-behaved students and their parents to effectively run the schools? (People wouldn't believe what goes on, and what indulgent policies the schools engage in.)
Thanks so much to those of you who are getting sucked in and cheering on those carrying on the war against teachers, just as bystanders cheer on bullies. (That was sarcasm, by the way.) You know what they say: Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it. I'm sure you'll be happy when the public schools are ghetto repositories and the charter schools have a revolving door of teachers who rarely last more than a few years. But they'll all be young! Yay!
Okay, enough. A salute to veterans today, particularly those who gave their lives.
Incidentally, one of the penchants for young teachers comes from parents whose kids - particularly little girls - love teachers who are "pretty" and "nice".
But those little girls have no clue whether they are getting a good education or not, because they are children.
We, the adults, are supposed to know better. Unfortunately, there is a mass of parents out there these days whose idea of parenting is indulgence and being pals with their kids.
Chuck, you are so wrong. I've been around awhile, and, as a group, I've never seen so many people who give away so much time and energy and effort as teachers do. You are just plain wrong.
And by the way, Chuck, IT'S NOT AN EASY JOB FOR ANYBODY, no matter whether you're the best at it or not. IT'S A REALLY, REALLY HARD JOB THAT MANY DON'T SURVIVE.
In what other occupations do half of the hires quit within five years, after spending all that time and money on education?
Chuck says: "Sorry Nancy, in the private sector, the I'm in it for the vacation and its an easy job doesn't wash. You will be let go with that attitude. And especially after years on the job private sector employees know the difference. This train of thought comes only from people protected by unions."
Let me see if I understood you right Chuck: In the private sector, those employees with the attitude in question would be 'let go.' I'll say, precisely!
So, let me paint a picture of a scenario: The people who have no 'talent' have other talents, and that is, 'brownnosing.' Administrators fall for this all the time. If the administrator is good and does the job well, he or she can 'help' these ineffective teachers by regularly observing how they teach and providing the necessary intervention.
If after a certain prescribed period, the teacher does not meet the criteria, then by all means, start proceedings to fire that teacher. If the administrator did his job well, there should be enough documentations to prove the case. Sadly, this does NOT HAPPEN as often as it should, not because of the UNION, but because administrators are too busy in other areas, among other things. Without iron-clad documentations, it is difficult to win a termination case.
The union simply 'represents' a teacher, just as a lawyer represents a defendant. It is called 'due process' and it is the law - innocent until proven guilty. (Why many assail this right of a teacher is beyond me. Wouldn't you want to have that right, if you were a teacher?)
The district legal department decides what goes to trial and what doesn't. Believe me, the legal department knows what it is doing and knows when the district has a good chance of winning and not winning.
'This train of thought comes only from people protected by unions.' That train of thought is, sadly, a common 'trait' of human beings in all walks of life.
Sorry to disappoint you, Chuck. There are far too many who do not belong to the Union than those who do, but they too are entitled to the same rights of due process as you and I. "Es la ley!"
As the author of this letter, Richard Tellier, has suggested, who would you entrust your most precious possession to: an experienced or inexperience professional/teacher?
Believe me, experience is a layer of protection for children, parents, and at times, the newer staff. When the chips are down, when a crisis suddenly appears, those who are unsure seek the experienced professional/teacher for guidance and service. One who is experienced is less likely to make mistakes. They are aware of more options or solutions to a given problem, situation, or emergency. They serve as the calm where chaos presents, and those who are troubled find relief and solace. Parents are assured that experienced professionals will do everything possible to assure a positive outcome. That is how dedicated professionals are wired. They share their experience in their duty, feeling a sense of great responsibility to the People that they serve. There is honor in a job well done.
We all have been trained or schooled. But wouldn't you say that it is the "experience" where you learned what you KNOW?
Teachers just pass it on....
Blessings and Peace,
Star
@Roslenda. I would call your attention to the recent announcement of the CCSD high school ratings. There were 14 schools that were ranked 5 stars. The schools that were ranked 5 stars were most of the technical academies in Las Vegas which get to pick and choose their students. The other schools that made the list were the small schools outside Las Vegas that have small teacher to student ratios. Schools like Moapa, etc. How does that fit with your idea that class size doesn't matter. Additionally if you look at the AYP results for last year, many small schools from Education Services Division (ESD) made AYP, but the large schools didn't. ESD gets the kids that aren't successful in large comprehensive schools.
This is a link to the AYP results.
http://media.lvrj.com/documents/no_child...
The Governor and Michelle Rhee would have you believe that "education reform" is changing how teachers are evaluated and getting rid of teachers unions, and binding arbitration.
Those are cosmetic changes, that really don't change anything in a classroom. If you want to talk about education reform, look at the countries that rank ahead of the US. Do they give their students three months off from school in the summer? No, they don't. Do they have a longer or shorter school day than the US. Their school day is usually longer. Are teachers respected and admired in their society, or are they treated like American teachers? In most other countries, teachers are respected and admired members of society. Are parents involved in their children's education. Yes, much more than in the US.
One last thing, and it is an important one. If you know the staff at your child's school, how many of the teachers are under 35? Not many, I would guess. Why would anybody go into teaching now? What happens when the older teachers retire, and there are no teachers to replace them?
Tanker: small class sizes should be "easier" to teach with better results but that hasn't been the case, based on results. Even so, we just can't afford to keep dumping money down a broken K-12. And we can't afford to educate our kids when we "have to" educate illegals, roughly 30% of the kids in K-12. And now we get to pay for Obamacare, maybe, and it'll cost upwards of $150 million. So forget about business as usual. K-12 HAS TO downsize the cost.
@Roslenda. We "have to educate" illegals because the SCOTUS has said we have to. Want to change that, contact your Senator and Representatives. Please provide your source for your claim of 30% of the kids in k-12 are illegals. CCSD doesn't track that information.
Obamacare is a completely separate issue, not related to education.
The 2012-2013 budget for CCSD is just over 2 Billion, and that is after cuts of 500 million in the past several years. The state of Nevada has never adequately funded education, and won't until the revenue structure of the state is changed. Mining, the national chains, all need to pay their fair share of taxes to provide the basic services that all Nevadans should have.
You're right smaller class sizes are "easier", but that hasn't been the case in CCSD for a number of years. Enrollment has remained steady or increased slightyly over the past several years. And based on next years budget, don't count on classes getting any smaller.
Tanker: We cannot afford small classes. We must return to methods that work. Teach our kids to read and write.