tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post3055342256966193369..comments2024-03-28T04:13:42.906-04:00Comments on A Principal's Reflections: Looking at Teacher Accountability Through a New LensEric Sheningerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13733305358794643322noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-28251208079782192642015-03-08T19:45:39.330-04:002015-03-08T19:45:39.330-04:00Unfortunately, decisions are made based on the wor...Unfortunately, decisions are made based on the worst. Worst schools, worst teachers, and worst administrators. Because of this, the good people are not trusted to do their jobs.ryanpatrickmclanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17119809603395588942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-12060014430277462032015-03-08T19:45:26.613-04:002015-03-08T19:45:26.613-04:00Unfortunately, decisions are made based on the wor...Unfortunately, decisions are made based on the worst. Worst schools, worst teachers, and worst administrators. Because of this, the good people are not trusted to do their jobs.ryanpatrickmclanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17119809603395588942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-50772739925375317072015-03-01T02:05:51.916-05:002015-03-01T02:05:51.916-05:00hi eric, thanks for great post. I totally agree wi...hi eric, thanks for <a href="http://sscadmitcardresults.com/" rel="nofollow">great post</a>. I totally agree with you.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05799806600831203879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-83280173578497617562015-02-28T15:24:51.819-05:002015-02-28T15:24:51.819-05:00Thoughtful and important post. It really is mind b...Thoughtful and important post. It really is mind boggling that our field seems to have devolved. It is as if the whole enterprise has been co-opted by naysayers. I see many of our excellent teachers really struggling right now to stay positive. The great irony--as you know all too well-- is there are ever more ways to engage students creatively and empower them to become contributors and true citizens of the 21st Century. And we need teacher leaders to support them. This really resonated: "Leadership is about action, not position. Schools need more teacher leaders who are empowered through autonomy to take calculated risks in order to develop innovative approaches that enable deeper learning and higher order thinking...." Amen. Looking forward to meeting you this week at the Leading Future Learning Conference in Worcester, MA. I'll be attending with our Assistant Superintendent who wants to learn how to support our 'tech pioneer' teachers.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06119217598369528623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-33048099657653934502015-02-24T20:53:20.944-05:002015-02-24T20:53:20.944-05:00I think to expect 30 inspired, energetic years out...I think to expect 30 inspired, energetic years out of an educator is an old outdated MO that doesn't always work. How about a new compensation model that can actually attract mid-life career changers who can impart real world applications and career know-how to kids? I'm a former engineer and know a few who would jump into teaching - if they could only afford to. I've also worked alongside 2nd career educators who are all outstanding!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-44208951242838727062015-02-23T12:15:44.408-05:002015-02-23T12:15:44.408-05:00Thank you Eric for fighting the good fight to disr...Thank you Eric for fighting the good fight to disrupt the status quo. You are right Eric we have too many messiah complexed people who fly around the country who think that signing people up for Twitter is leadership. Leadership is grabbing your boots and digging those tough trenches right alongside your students, teachers, and parents to excavate a better future for everyone. Too much emphasis is placed on the actual technical part of learning that we lose focus on the human side.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10290094039787239675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-39791757932054587792015-02-23T12:12:56.818-05:002015-02-23T12:12:56.818-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Adminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01114739856585488808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-34662030508594555472015-02-22T21:59:01.007-05:002015-02-22T21:59:01.007-05:00Hi Eric, I totally agree with you it's the sam...Hi Eric, I totally agree with you it's the same in NZ also. Wouldn't it be great if teachers were accountable for the levels of engagement they enable students to attain?<br /><br />RobRob Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04384110240734941402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-66615807638233838082015-02-22T16:56:28.405-05:002015-02-22T16:56:28.405-05:00The image depicts education "experts", n...The image depicts education "experts", not parents, as the impetus for the failing school rhetoric. At least that is the way I see it. I agree that there are inherent issues in all systems that consists of a combination of teachers and admin and more autonomy needs to be given to deal with these situations. My blame is in fact isolated to a group of people motivated by politics and money that believe our education system is broken. The attempts to "fix" it with a one-size-fits-all approach has resulted in the narrative described above and is doing more harm than good. This perspective comes from my practical experience as both a teacher, administrator, and parent. Eric Sheningerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13733305358794643322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-34396557192261449692015-02-22T16:51:25.398-05:002015-02-22T16:51:25.398-05:00You pose a great challenge here, Eric. And you pro...You pose a great challenge here, Eric. And you provide teachers like me with encouragement and support. One group of advocates in this regard is parents--parents who want their children to learn in vibrant, student-centered, engaging ways. As an educator, I'll continue to push forward by embedding standards into worthy learning endeavor as much as possible. So far we've made some good progress in this regard. I'll continue to listen to the ideas others present as well. Thank you for your leadership. Teach Children Wellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15445866699209731255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-32550842909161028062015-02-22T13:34:08.215-05:002015-02-22T13:34:08.215-05:00If the author expects public support for the teach...If the author expects public support for the teaching profession, as a start, I think that the accompanying cartoon to this article ought to be removed, and the reasons why it was even included in the first place deserves introspective examination. Sure, there are some parents with poor parenting skills, but there are poor teachers and administrators also. In general, parents want the best for their children but are operating under the same sorts of societal pressures of lack of time and money as faced by teachers. <br /><br />Our historical success in schools is not all rosy. We've had Creationist teachers or ones like my "Blacks were happier before the Civil War" history teacher. We've had children with disabilities and children from racial minorities whose educational needs were ignored. We now have some curricula in some schools, like the AP or IB programs, that offer some students the ability to learn to their ability levels. <br /><br /> We need a mutually supportive, "It takes a village" collective attitude to move forward. That needs to reach down to the preschool level. And also to encompass summers. And seek to find students ready to advance at younger grades. Like the real life Jaime Escalante as opposed to the one year wonder of the "Stand and Deliver" movie.<br /><br />I'd also raise communication and collaboration to the top of this list. And, autonomy is not one of the values that teachers ought to have without limits. While there are stellar teachers out there, ones that ought to be leaders and providing framework and guidance to other teachers, there are also many who are in need of more of that guidance and some that ought to be drummed out of the profession in a much more rapid fashion than is currently the case. <br /><br />I do think that medical doctors are a good analogy. Doctors must operate within the framework of the best available science and modern medicine practices. But the also must listen to their patients and ultimately follow the lead of those patients in designing their individual care plans. They also must attempt to meet the needs of society overall. Children should be vaccinated. Similarly, children should be able to accomplish basic skills, like reading, writing and arithmetic, which serve as a tool kit for higher level skills and critical thinking. Some of what is going wrong with the way that the basic precepts of the Common Core Curriculum are being transformed into meaningless drivel and redundant exercises in the classroom must be laid at the feet of teachers and administrators themselves. <br /><br />If you don't want to collect blame, you should avoid attempts at isolating blame among others. But rather recognize this as something we as a society needs to work on overall.Gaythiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452722350108290000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5931834670826653533.post-16974824918698976462015-02-22T10:36:29.105-05:002015-02-22T10:36:29.105-05:00Thank you Eric for spotlighting one of the biggest...Thank you Eric for spotlighting one of the biggest issues plaguing our schools today... we are still preparing kids for a world that existed yesterday... not for tomorrow's world! Keep shedding light on these important issues my friend- your voice is heard by many!<br />TonyTonySinanishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00624064743310267544noreply@blogger.com