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I noticed cameras and a few of those television vans with the big antennas up right outside PS 321 this morning. I had to run by fast, but I saw someone being interviewed. Anyone have more details? Just curious what was going on. Maybe it was related to the teacher ratings that were recently published.
Brooklynian » Forum » Park Slope »
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you hit the reason right on the head
BROOKLYN — Park Slope parents are notoriously picky about everything from their preschools to stroller brands — but when it comes to the controversial teacher evaluations released by the city's Department of Education, many parents at the neighborhood's highest-performing elementary school said they either hadn't bothered to check the scores or didn't put much stock in what they saw.
"I refuse to look at the scores. I will not be complicit in this witch hunt," Martha Foote, a parent at P.S. 321 on Seventh Avenue, among the city's top elementary schools, said Monday. "The scores are meaningless, and it’s a waste of my time." -
Ugh that whole mess is such a waste of time and resources.
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Like any profession, education has members who are incompetent.
However, I have yet to be convinced that the unions are so powerful that teachers can not be effectively purged from the ranks by determined parents and administrators who have cause.
As a result, I agree with Stacey: I do not know what the point of this excercise is, and believe it is doing more harm than good. It seems to merely provide scapegoats to people looking for simplistic solutions to very complex problems, and serves as a distraction from the monumental challenges inherent in preparing all of NYC's children for productive futures.
For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor. -
Currently teachers are graded either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Last year about 93% of teachers were rated satisfactory. Does not seem like a good system for evaluating teachers has been devised yet, although there is a broad outline of an agreement between the union and the governor to establish one.
Seems to me that the primary purpose of the teachers' union has been to protect even incompetent teachers from any evaluation system. The union seems to believe that, unlike virtually every other profession, teachers can not be evaluated on their performance. I think they have been shameless in making this argument. Just my humble opinion.
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I think that is part of the union's job.
Much like the Legal Aid Society in criminal court, the teachers union tries to put up a fight to ensure that only teachers that are actually guilty of something are fired or disciplined.
Often, this means their job is defending someone whom they believe committed the act (or incompetence) they are accused of.
If theu union is doing its job, everyone should hate them: Teachers should feel the union leadership is too wimpy. School admins should feel unions are a pain in the ass. The public should feel both the admin, the teachers and the unions should stop arguing and focus on the kids.
We may be on our way to nirvana.
For better or worse, the change on Nostrand is going to make the change on Franklin look minor.
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