On 25/07/2010 8:00 AM, John H wrote:
...the priority in the DC school system.

http://tinyurl.com/2g5jg6z

Liberals better be careful. Start educating folks and the Dems will start losing
power.

As long as it is done statistically and fairly, removing the politicis
out of it -- could be good and revolutionary. Teachers should be ranked.

But if not statistically and impartially as possible, justifies why a
union needs to dig in.

For example if a teacher with ghetto students is rated against say
against a teacher middle class without adjustments, this would be
wholely unfair. In the ghetto, children go home and worry about srvival
and education does not mater. In middle class the child goes ome and
does homework and parents talk up education futures...teh stock of
quality students may vary to demogrphics.

You could get the opposite effect. If you solely rate a teacher on most
improved, you might drain the middle class shool teachers of value to
the ghetto where the largest improvements can be had. This would not be
good as you trash a sucessful school for the needs of a failing one.
When both need to have the bars raised.

One thing not discussed in the article, are admin staff like principles
and superintendants also rated this way? Teaching is a team excercise,
as a teacher is often powerless to correct issues by themselves. Does
the principle back up the teacher when the teacher tells irate parents
to send their child to school fed and not high from their parents dope
smoke?

One could easily get a situation where the teacher wants to just kick
out the lowest performaers. Which might not be wholely bad, as often
they do disturb the class. But what do you do with slow learners that
disturb he class?

But at least they are looking at it. While I didn't grow up in DC, I
have noticed with the children we have had (since graduated) that math,
science and reading were not as good as it was when I grew up. And
getting a better educational system will go a long way to fixing many of
todays issues. Even makes for better voters if they can read and think
for themselves.
--

Government has liberals, idealists and lawyers, but where is the common
sense?