Teacher Evaluation

At the risk of great peril to my personal safety (My beautiful bride has been a Teacher for over 40 years and I have multitudes of Teacher friends), I am going to hammer this Chicago situation again.

Evaluating teachers on how much their students improve is a key component of Obama’s education policy. His administration has approved waivers freeing many states from the most onerous requirements of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law. In order to get a waiver, each state had to promise to show in other ways that its students and schools are improving, and to more closely link teacher evaluations to student test scores. The Chicago union argues that the new teacher evaluation system relies too heavily on standardized test scores without considering outside factors such as student poverty, violence and homelessness that can affect performance. (Yahoo News)

I have taught public school, private school, post-graduate studies, Church school and home school – which is just to say, I am not a neophyte at education. Some students can’t learn. Some students won’t learn. Some students ignore instruction like untrained mules ignore plowing.

But, really. Doesn’t each Teacher deserve credit when his/her students succeed? The answer, in this Country, is a resounding YES! But, to SOME DEGREE they also deserve the criticism, the blame, and even loss of employment when their students fail. Competent supervision and evaluation of Teachers regarding performance in the classroom, and its effect on students, should never be a problem or an issue to avoid. (If it is, fire the supervisors.)

It seems true to me that almost (I don’t like to use words like “always” or “everyone”) all of us (tell me about your job) are evaluated and compensated, retained or fired, in some kind of direct relationship to the outcome of our performance. Teachers are (should be) no different.

There are brilliant, wonderful, excellent, perceptive, caring, giving, inspiring, fascinating, committed, hard-working Teachers in (almost?) every school. Many schools have employees that “teach” because they can’t “do;” employees who have none of the characteristics listed above and should be in another line of work. As long as we are unwilling to admit that, as long as we fail to address that issue, and refuse to act on the knowledge we have in that regard, many of our kids are doomed to be “below grade level,” “illiterate,” “un-salvagable,” “at risk,” and “dropouts.”

Blaming the entirety of the problems on the “parents,” “the neighborhood,”  or the “environment,” is a cop-out. Read, really read, the studies of incredible successes in the worst of environments including poor parenting, distressed neighborhoods, and whatever other “problems” existed before a great Teacher(s) showed up.

Adding an “hour” to the school day is cosmetic. If the Teachers we have can’t get the job done in the time allotted, find those who can. Students, mostly, don’t need more time in the class, they need more class in the time. (And yes, I am familiar with the concept of remediation)

Now, I will hear your criticism of my thoughts, but remember, I work in a teaching environment. Our curriculum is “life and death.” We use our very best people at doing what they do. If we didn’t – well, our students wouldn’t come. If I personally don’t perform up to expectations — I’m very soon “outa’ here.”

Now, all you Chicago Teachers who are reading this note – get to work! You are in charge of two most precious treasures. Our very most precious? Children and Young Adults! And our most precious? Knowledge! And if that is not what drives you, ask Rahm to find you something else to do.