Friday, June 22, 2012

Teachers Win


The title of this post is from the headline of today's AM New York. It is referring to teacher evaluations. And, in smaller print underneath:  State votes to keep evaluations closed-to most NYers.

The politicians sell and the media buys. There is no privacy anymore. Many parents with access to this misleading report will be more than happy to share the information with friends, neighbors, the guy waiting behind them in the supermarket and the media. No one will keep these evaluations private and why should they? As a parent I know I would try to do what was best for my child and if seeing these reports might get my son a better teacher I will find the people that know and get that information. Most parents already know the teachers they want and do not want their children to have. Phones ring off the hook in the guidance office to get kids out of certain classes all the time. Counselors are bombarded now with requests for specific teachers. Imagine how this will go down once these evaluations are released and children come home with teachers whose data says they are not highly effective.

The media says teachers win. Nobody wins. The headline is just another line in the long list of things to blame the teacher for.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The ed deform types win. The push to fire senior teachers is in full effect. The red herring that was the privacy issue served as a smokescreen to cover the fact that the new cuomo teacher evaluations will see the dismissal of senior teachers. The flawed tests and the insane and twisted vam will crucify senior teachers. This is the clearest end run around tenure since the little tyrant unleashed his pogrom against senior teachers in 2003. Then as now, NYSED has rubber stamped the entire process. The craven NYSUT and UFT are part of this atrocity although they spin it as a win. It is actually a tragic loss. The end of the evil illusion of job security and due process, the end of public education.
Differentiate This

NYC Educator said...

Not sure nobody wins. The "reformers," who can't wait to humiliate and demoralize teachers in every way possible seem to have an edge here. I don't see what prevents parents from leaking scores to the Post, for example.

My Child is NOT a Test Score said...

This isn't happening for charter school teachers, right? So is this another way to align more teachers to the side of non-unionized jobs, making them seem more desirable? Another way of union busting?