-- Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow.
Riiiight. So THAT's what's wrong w. public education. Bad teachers.
"I don't think this is a huge problem with public education but it is a small one that the media makes huge." And you even see that yourself .
So... why are we discussing this and not.... well, privatization, middle class abandonment of urban districts, traditional $$$ school corruption issues --- all of which are exacerbated by the current corporate school "reform" movement, cluelessness ( lack of familiarity w. public school education both as providers and consumers) of the overwhelming majority of people who are actually shaping ed policy ( Beginning with President Punahou-Sidwell Friends on down.) ?
But OK. First off, you do realize that 50% of new teachers leave the profession within the first 5 years, yes? So... for the other half, there are already procedures in place, at least in all the districts I know of. For instance, in the right to work states ( the old 'cotton curtain", Bible Belt states) the procedure is "go clean out your desk and get lost" ( assuming they HAD a desk).
In the places the reformer$ have not gotten to yet, ( where there is still a unionized workforce, collective bargaining, etc.) there are annual performance reviews, two of which, if they are negative, can and usually do result in termination.
Negative reviews are effectively unappealable ( in NYC, 99.6% of negative rating appeals are rubberstamp-approved by the "paid by the school system " "hearing officer."
At that point one can take it to court at one's own expense and face the probability of losing anyway. (Courts take the position that school systems can run their systems as they see fit.)
What would be BETTER? Probably independent classroom evaluators ( not building administrators ) if there was a way to keep that
arrangement from being corrupted by big $$$.
Edit history
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read