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DC Public and Public Charter Schools
DC Loses Another Terrific Teacher
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Anonymous
Anonymous
| I looked for this info on the TFA website, but didn't find it. I did a search of their annual report and was struck at the pride they took in alumni who were in elected office, "policy entrepeneurs," etc. |
Anonymous
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Thank you to 15:18, 22, & 23 for your quick and helpful responses. I read the information from the TFA site and second link as well. Although the information is from the TFA site and a recently published book, not from a government agency, the information/statistics were very interesting.
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Anonymous
TFA is a highly prized resume item. |
Anonymous
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TFA is a two-year program. Some stay beyond two years, but no one is expected to. The idea is to move on to bigger and better things.
I think of TFA as a jobs program for the people who need it the least. |
Anonymous
Well, to be fair, many of these kids do have a lot of debt and the lousy economy affects everyone. |
Anonymous
For example, like Michelle Rhee? |
Anonymous
Yes, but, as I say, they need it the least. The world is their oyster, really, especially compared to the students they are practicing on. TFA teachers are praised for their sacrifice. They could be doing GREAT THINGS, being paid MUCH MORE - but instead they spend two years of their precious time with the lowly ghetto children - with the unfounded assumption that because they made good grades in good schools, they will be better teachers - with no teaching experience - than people who have been teaching for years. School reform was supposed to be all about what's best for the kids. This doesn't sound like it. And getting back to Joe Riener - his long-term success teaching a certain kind of DCPS student was considered meaningless because it didn't fit with the Rhee model of all teachers can do all things. It's just as silly as the concept of implicit TFA superiority. |
Anonymous
This quote is either quite naive or totally disingenuous. ". . . it seems reasonable for a high school English teacher to teach 11th grade English". This suggests that there is only a marginal difference between higher and lower achieving 11th graders and why shouldn't a teacher be able to slightly modify their lessons to accommodate their students. The reality of the situation at present is that many of the 11th graders are performing at several grade levels below proficiency. So, it's not a matter of simply teaching the varying needs of students performing within the normal parameters of 11th grade English. No, far from that; actually that would be a very reasonable professional expectation. No, the reality is that present day 11th graders achievement levels span the the range of barely literate to highly gifted. I don't believe that anyone can be all things to all people and I don't believe that one teacher can possibly teach essentially eleven different grades of English to a hundred different students all in the course of one day. Mr. Riener lasted fifteen years. Do you think every one of those days consisted of nothing more than nice leisurely strolls through Nirvana with intellectually gifted, kind, thoughtful, fully engaged students who always passed their work in on time and who never asked for any kind of special consideration? No, that's not the way is works. The preps for advanced classes are longer and grading essays that may be indecipherable and the time commitment can seem interminable. Can anyone do it? The answer unfortunately answer is no, not everyone can teach writing and literature. It takes many years to acquire the multi-dimensional understanding of all of the characters and all of the symbolism present in A.P English assigned reading and writing. Why in the world would anyone want to disparage this man for reaching the level of being a master teacher in his field of writing and literature, because he maybe reluctant to shift gears several times per day between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Elementary School Punctuation. Just how thin can any human being be stretched day-in and day-out? In an earlier post a seemingly younger teacher wrote that almost any English teacher could teach advanced classes. I believe that person is sincere in their belief. That's not surprising, because most young hard charging teachers believe that they are ready and that they can change the world. Thankfully, there are such young people still coming into the teaching profession and one day they just might change the world, but it won't be today. Ask just about any seasoned teacher and they will tell you that they thought they were pretty damn good when they started their careers only to find out that they had improved exponentially over the next several years. It simply takes several years or more of teaching to learn the nuances of all of the characters and to be able to draw meaningful links and parallels with earlier reading and contemporary events in a way that the majority of students will make a connection. Advanced classes are much more difficult to teach than standard grade level courses. Rather than disparage individuals for their willingness to teach these difficult courses, teachers should praised and encouraged for teaching advanced courses. Furthermore, do you have any idea how many college recommendations Mr. Riener has written for his students through the years? Quality teacher recommendations for college admissions are always personalized addressing the strengths, personal growth, and academic potential of each student. During the these past several years as college acceptances have become more competitive it is not uncommon for students to ask teachers to provide them with recommendations for ten or twelve different colleges. The integrity of the process dictates that the recommendations cannot be given to the students themselves. Teachers must write the recommendations, make enough copies for all of the schools. fold them, lick the envelops and get them into the mail to meet the college deadlines. For all of that work in which they receive no compensation whatsoever, very seldom do teachers even get a written thank you note from those students or their parents. If you fall into this category, perhaps today may be a good time to make up for a past oversight. If it has come to the point where teachers are criticized, held in contempt, and punished for their work; why would anyone want to do it? They do it because they love the work, but eventually they will be stretched so thin that they won't be able to live with the pain. For all of those young teachers out there who may be saying at this very moment that Mr. Riener is unreasonable and he is getting what he deserves, do me and do yourself a favor. Write that thought down on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope. Place that envelope in a safe place where you'll be able to find it some day in the future. Write on the outside of the envelope, "OPEN ON THE LAST DAY OF MY TEACHING CAREER". It may serve as an interesting time capsule. |
Anonymous
| 21:01, thank you. Great analysis, great post. |
Anonymous
| I had a Mr. Reiner in high school, he taught, American History and would do anything for his AP students, except really teach. Can't imagine the plight of the "regular" kids. Those of us that were motivated to study would did fine, but most did not and his AP scores showed it. However he was incredibly popular, always took kids to cool field trips held long class debates if bombing Hiroshima was right or wrong. Twenty years later, I would not want my kid to have him as a teacher. I think in the end he was board with teaching and rather enjoyed instigating debate, but he was not really a teacher. If terminated, I am sure he would have many defenders for all the work he did for trips ect. But here is the deal, too many teachers are not teaching and too many of our kids are unmotivated because they know they have teachers that just don't really give a damn about them and are waiting to retire or at the very minimum to get to June. Classes are not debating societies, out kids do need to know something and that is content. At some point teachers have to sign on to the agenda that they are working to help every kid not the one's that are easy or motivated. I don't think most people can do the same inspired job day in day out for twenty years, we need to rethink the life-cycle of a teacher. No, I am not one that believes that TFA solves anything, but I do think we need to put in sabbaticals and think more about dealing with burnout. |
Anonymous
| Thank you 21:24! Your post explains a lot about the tone of the "open letter" and the uber pro Reiner tone of 21:01 that sounds A LOT like his letter. (Sock puppet alert Jeff) College rec stamp licking for AP kids? Boo frickin' hoo. Anyone who "just doesn't have it in me" to teach should get the [bleep] out. TFAs included. |
Anonymous
| I don't support many of the things that Michelle Rhee has implemented and I don't know Cahill but I can tell you that Reiner had to go and he should've been given the axe ten years ago. When I was at Wilson his classes were ridiculously small because he refused to accommodate anyone other than the students who didn't really need to be taught. On the surface that's a stupid statement but there are a number of students at Wilson that are incredibly well prepared when they walk through the doors in 9th grade. Generally these students are the products of extremely hard working, well educated parents who were not born wealthy or privileged but have managed to mold the world around them and have produced children that are incredibly perceptive and intuitive. The interesting thing about this is that when I was there many of those same generally very liberal students would flee from his classes. Reiner's pass rate on the AP tests were indicative of a bias towards self and preselection. His pass rate was often worse than many of the other AP teachers because he didn't prepare them well for the test. He didn't teach rhetoric. He taught from a moralistic standpoint and often graded based on viewpoint. Overall, I liked him as a person and I think he did some wonderful things for the school but his holier than thou attitude finally caught up with him. The real measure should've been his scores on the tests. If he could've translated them beyond his chosen few then perhaps he could've been given the benefit of the doubt but as such his attitude made that impossible. |
Anonymous
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22:10, interesting insight.
New poster here, and I just wanted to add an anecdote. My father taught HS English for 32 years and, like Mr. Reiner, faced an assessment near the end of his career that suggested that after decades of extremely successful teaching, he wasn't meeting some arbitrary standards and thus was no longer up to snuff. He, like Mr. Reiner, was seemingly punished by having some of his AP classes taken away and replaced with 9th grade classes. Unlike Mr. Reiner, though, he had always enjoyed teaching all levels and (despite great success with his gifted students) never expected to teach anything but a diverse course load. And he believed that the least skilled kids needed the best teachers. Still, the contentious relationship with administration wore on him, and he retired as teaching became less enjoyable. When I shared the story of Mr. Reiner, he commiserated in terms of IMPACT-type assessments, but he was immediately suspicious of any teacher who expected special treatment in terms of class assignments. When you sign up to teach, you sign up for the full slate, he said. If you are unwilling to do that, it is time to hang 'em up. Can we just consider for a moment the gall of someone looking to the community to get him reinstated to his public school teaching post so that he can teach only the kids he wants to teach? Really. |
Anonymous
You should have had a better english teacher...you need a better analogy. They are asking him to teach within his subject.. that is his expertise |