Brown introduces D.C. teacher incentive bill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:42...glad kids aren't allowed on here...or are they?....it's unfortunate that we live in a society where some ADULTS don't get their act together and the kids have to suffer...good luck with fixing that.

Those ADULTS were kids at one point. And the current set of kids are going to be...wait for it...ADULTS too at some point.

The fact that you can't seem to wrap your head around the concept says a lot more about you than it does about anything else. And yes, while we can't fix the broken adults, the fact that we don't even try to help the kids is a pretty sad indictment of society at large.

Well I hope you have time in your day to go home with these kids and help them with their homework

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

It will be interesting to see how west of the river parents react to the migration of their best teachers to east of the river.

I wouldn't assume a mass exodus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In that case will we now see it's not just the teachers teaching that will get his or her scores up but the assistance of an active parent. Then again some parents aren't able to help their children with homework etc. so what happens then. I myself remember a little Algebra etc. but still pay for a tutor for my child. What I'm trying to say is that it's more to just getting a highly effective teacher in a low perfoming neighborhood, who knows what goes on in a child home, which could effect their learning.

Given that you seem to think teacher quality doesn't make much of a difference, why on Earth are we bothering to get certified teachers in these inner city schools, anyway? Why not just save some cash, and pick up a bus full of "teachers" every morning from in front of the Home Depot?

Teacher quality makes a difference, and teachers know they can be more successful with kids who have help at home.

...or with kids who are from wealthy families. Or kids whose mother has a high level of educational attainment. All this is well-known. I'm just puzzled that the counter-argument is inevitably "Sure we can try to get effective teachers into these struggling schools, but that will only have a relatively small impact compared with "Solving Entrenched Social Problem A".

Personally, I'd like to see a mandatory national minimum wage of $50k, as that would do more than any other thing to improve educational outcomes (along with everything else). Maybe someday that will happen. Maybe it won't. But DCPS will not be solving that particular set of problems.

Wow. That's a great way to send unemployment from 10% to 20%. You go girl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:42...glad kids aren't allowed on here...or are they?....it's unfortunate that we live in a society where some ADULTS don't get their act together and the kids have to suffer...good luck with fixing that.

Those ADULTS were kids at one point. And the current set of kids are going to be...wait for it...ADULTS too at some point.

The fact that you can't seem to wrap your head around the concept says a lot more about you than it does about anything else. And yes, while we can't fix the broken adults, the fact that we don't even try to help the kids is a pretty sad indictment of society at large.

DCPS would say that is is trying to help the kids - by developing a complex teacher evaluation system, by giving merit pay to teachers and firing teachers rated ineffective and hiring instructional superintendents inexperienced temporary teachers and if that doesn't work -- too bad for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Nathan Saunders, president of the WTU, is working with the Chairman on this bill. Hmmmmm.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens to the highly effective teacher once she/he doesn't get those high remarks/scores that she received before....what will the outcome be then.

I believe the bill includes stipulations that teachers that take this deal get to maintain their rating.

I believe the term is "relief from IMPACT".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In that case will we now see it's not just the teachers teaching that will get his or her scores up but the assistance of an active parent. Then again some parents aren't able to help their children with homework etc. so what happens then. I myself remember a little Algebra etc. but still pay for a tutor for my child. What I'm trying to say is that it's more to just getting a highly effective teacher in a low perfoming neighborhood, who knows what goes on in a child home, which could effect their learning.

Given that you seem to think teacher quality doesn't make much of a difference, why on Earth are we bothering to get certified teachers in these inner city schools, anyway? Why not just save some cash, and pick up a bus full of "teachers" every morning from in front of the Home Depot?

Teacher quality makes a difference, and teachers know they can be more successful with kids who have help at home.

I agree that teacher quality makes a difference. But that difference is not measurable using a standardized test.

[Anonymous]

I have my doubts that many highly effective teachers will want to give up their coveted, stress-free NW jobs to teach in a stressful, SE school environment with limited resources. I am a teacher and I would not do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have my doubts that many highly effective teachers will want to give up their coveted, stress-free NW jobs to teach in a stressful, SE school environment with limited resources. I am a teacher and I would not do it.

There is no such things as a stress-free teaching gig with DCPS.

[Anonymous]

I would move to a Southeast or Northeast school if I didn't think it was about to be closed or restructured.

[Anonymous]

"There is no such things as a stress-free teaching gig with DCPS."


It's all relative.

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher (and a parent). One of the parents asked me to make sure that her DC has an attitude of not giving up. The child is a 3rd grader (held back) and considered as an underperformer. She is an absent mother (yes there're those out there) and not really doing much for him. I can't do what she is asking without her/someone at home reinforcing.

What incentives do I have to bring this kid up to speed?

[Anonymous]

It takes a village in educating our kids. Parents can't just give the kids to schools and hope schools will do everything for them. Unfortunately some parents have that mentality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It takes a village in educating our kids. Parents can't just give the kids to schools and hope schools will do everything for them. Unfortunately some parents have that mentality.

Unfortunately this is the mentality of DCPS administration. They don't hope schools will do everything, they demand it.

Brown's proposal is in part an acknowledgement that this attitude is not working and in part an insult to current ward 7-8 teachers who cannot receive cash awards because of their student don't have parents like the ones in ward 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When will these council members get it, it's not solely a teachers teaching that will get a child to perform well. It helps, but once that child gets home who is going to help them with their homework, projects, study for test. If the parents aren't reinforcing what their child learned in school that day how can they succeed. This idea is a waste of tax dollars and is stupid. What happens to the highly effective teacher once she/he doesn't get those high remarks/scores that she received before....what will the outcome be then.

Not sure when folks like you will get it. You whole approach is a little bit like saying, "When will public health officials get it??? While putting suntan lotion on a baby will help prevent sunburn, what's really the problem is that the sun puts out harmful UV rays!!"

Great. The fact that we can identify an environmental factor about which we can do nothing has no bearing on whether we should take steps which we *can* control.

How is it possible not to comprehend this?