I’m reposting the email I received from Carol Burris this morning. I think it’s important to pay attention. In particular, the portion about how “teacher training” is conceptualized within this model. It basically tells teachers to be “badass”! Goes against what we know about good teaching.
Dear colleagues and friends,
I attended the Governor’s commission on education in NYC on Thursday. It was an eye opener. Three other principals, two teachers and leaders of parent resistance to over-testing and I asked to testify. We followed all of the rules. Yet, we were not given time to speak, and the “open” part of the meeting was cancelled. However “CEOs” of organizations sponsored by Michelle Rhee and Bill Gates were given the mike. You can read about what happened here: http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2012/07/poor-planning-shown-by-cuomo-commission.html and here
http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2012/07/cohen-denied-on-cuomo-commission.html.
They gave time to a former principal who left her school for Rhee’s and Klein’s StudentsfirstNY. She told the commission that they should abolish tenure. Read about it here http://gothamschools.org/2012/07/26/studentsfirstny-adds-an-educator-in-time-for-cuomo-task-force/. Others from the reform organizations who were allowed to testify advocated imposition of teacher evaluation systems if they are not negotiated, the end of LIFO. They advocated for evaluating teachers by test scores and for merit pay.
The head of charter schools was allowed to speak. If we do not speak up, public schools as we know them, will become a thing of the past. Mike Petrilli, a conservative education reformer with a large following talks about how we need to bring charter schools to the suburbs to give parents choice
About a year ago, NYS certified a new graduate school called the Relay Graduate School of Education. It is not associated with a university. Its faculty are charter school people. A new one, called Match opened up. One of their prospective teacher candidates, appalled by their practices, sent me, via a friend, their handbook on classroom management. Surprise moved to shock. I have excerpts and pictures from it here:
Like public schools, schools of education are now being criticized and soon they will be judged by the test scores of the students of the teachers that the school of ed taught. I kid you not. I know it is the summer, but take the time to read this and then pass it along. Sit down first….
Send this link to a friend and ask them to sign on to our letter…
http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/support-the-paper
thanks,
Carol
