March 29, 2008

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The Teaching Penalty And NYC Teacher Pay

Filed under: Education by Leo Casey @ 1:28 pm

The Economic Policy Institute [EPI] recently published an important comprehensive study, The Teaching Penalty: Teacher Pay Losing Ground.

As the title suggests, this study shows that there is a long run decline in teacher pay in the United States. The wave of teacher unionization of the 1960s and early 1970s brought with it a substantial increase in teacher pay, but for the last 25 years, teachers have been losing ground relative to other professions with similar levels of education. Moreover, the growth in the gap between teaching and other educated professions has been particularly dramatic for women and for those who make teaching a life time career.

For New York City public school teachers, there are two important lessons that can be gleaned from this report. First, the significant pay increases in New York City over the last three contracts — a minimum of 43% for all teachers, and a maximum salary that will break the $100,000 ceiling in May — are all the more significant, given that they run directly against the grain of the national trends. Second, for these increases to be sustained here in NYC and spread throughout K-12 education, it will be crucial to build the power of teacher unions across the nation. No teacher union local is an island. The strategic imperative of organizing the charter school sector grows with each day. (more…)

March 28, 2008

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The Public Educational Agora: How Should School Systems Be Governed/Ruled?

Filed under: Education by Peter Goodman @ 2:09 pm

[Editor’s note: Peter Goodman blogs at Ed in the Apple, where this post originally appeared.] 

Although mayoral control does not sunset until June 30, 2009 it is looking increasing likely that the NYS legislature will be taking a careful look during this session.

The City Council, the Office of the Public Advocate, the Supervisor’s Union (CSA), the Teacher’s Union (UFT) and a range of other organizations are creating plans or carefully exploring modifications in the current law.

A number of universities and foundations have sponsored forums to explore mayoral control.

A threshold question: Is the current system of mayoral control flawed, or, is it the implementation by the current chancellor? (more…)

March 27, 2008

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My student and Army recruitment

Filed under: New Teacher Diaries by Eric Blair @ 1:23 pm

[Editor’s Note: Eric Blair is the pseudonym for a first-year teacher of math in a Manhattan high school.]

I had never heard a student describe a set of ratio problems like this before, as being “just like the Army test.” It was a sophisticated way of broaching the subject, I suppose, of why Stephanie had not been in school on Monday. She had been at home with her mother, entertaining a visit from a US Army Recruiting Sergeant. It was a productive meeting from the Army’s point of view. (more…)

March 19, 2008

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Test prep vs. building literacy

Filed under: Education by Readingteacher @ 11:12 am

[Editor’s Note: Readingteacher is a first-year elementary school teacher in Brooklyn.]

The time came for me to put my Fordham Master’s in Education in Literacy to work this past September as an elementary school reading teacher for the Department of Education. This is a golden opportunity, I thought to myself, to share with great enthusiasm all the knowledge, skills, strategies and expertise in literacy with children who could truly benefit from it.
 
As it turns out, I continue to have the privilege to inspire and encourage small groups of struggling learners and English Language Learners. Valuable instructional time to really move these students forward, however, is often truncated by standardized test prep texas holdem romatexas holdem no limitpoker in tourtexas holdem flashpoker su internet gratissoftware poker gratispoker online gamesmultiplayer pokerscommesse on linepoker gratis multiplayerpoker on line,online poker,online poker game3c texas holdem pokerwww super poker comgioco carte pokerpoker tour italiaomaha poker in linea,omaha poker,giochare omaha pokeril poker onlinescaricare gioco pokergiochi giochi onlinepoker no onlinedownload giochigioco strep pokertorneo poker on linegiochi seven card stud inlineapoker texano gratistornei poker livegioco poker on line gratisgioca pokerpoker multiplayer onlineper giocare a pokergiochi carte pokerpai gow pokerpoker flash on linegioco poker per pcgioco poker freewaregiochare omaha poker in lineapoker online bonuspoker online downloadtexas holdem gameomaha poker in lineadownload gioco poker,gioco poker,gioco a pokeritalian pokergioca poker on line888 pokerbet and win pokerinternet pokerbonus europa casinogiochi black jackgiochi roulette gratiscasino bonus senza deposito as well as administration of these tests and pretests as well. Since part of my job requirement is to be part of the school-wide test team, I had to learn, along with all other teachers, how to find ways and time to prepare students for standardized tests without sacrificing best teaching practices; most important, I needed to discover how to include ample test prep without depriving them of authentic literacy experiences that could enrich and make a difference in their lives.
(more…)

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The Picador Precedes the Matador: The Toreadors Begin To Encircle Mayoral Control

Filed under: Education Guest Bloggers by Peter Goodman @ 10:50 am

[Editor’s note: Peter Goodman blogs at Ed in the Apple, where this post originally appeared.]

On Tuesday, a combined meeting of the New York State Assembly and Senate selected three members of the Board of Regents, they reappointed Geraldine Chapey and appointed two new members, Betty Rosa and Lester Young.

Rosa was the Community Superintendent in District 8 in the Bronx and highly regarded by the Bronx political and educational pre-Klein establishment. Young was Community Superintendent in District 13 in Brooklyn, served a year under Klein as the first Director of the Office of Student Placement, Youth and Family Support Services (SPYFSS).

Both spent decades working their way up through “the system” and represented all that Klein has been so busy tearing down. (more…)

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Learning from fairy tales

Filed under: Education New Teacher Diaries by progressiveteacher81 @ 8:50 am

[Editor’s Note: Progressiveteacher81 is a pseudonym for a second-year elementary school teacher in Manhattan.]

The day back from Christmas break, wondering what I should put on my 1st and 2nd graders’ tables as morning work, I decided, two minutes before arrival, on fairy tales. A few kids already seemed particularly interested in these stories and the whole class needed work discussing and writing plot. Immediately, it was a successful move. Students loved exploring the stories. I had fun reading them. Students also started to understand the elusive concept of summarizing and quickly began writing fairy tales of their own. (more…)

March 18, 2008

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UFT Accountability: A Better Approach to Get Results

Filed under: Education Testing by Jackie Bennett @ 8:56 am

Over at Eduwonk Andrew Rotherham expresses cautious praise  for the UFT’s accountability proposal, which asks that schools and their systems be held accountable for more than tests.  Rotherham says, “Weingarten is on to something with the idea that a district-level accountability matrix should measure more than just test scores and should incorporate some concept of reciprocal accountability.”  Since we are a union, we can hardly expect Rotterdam’s praise to come without its share of caveats.  Still, it’s a start.  Rotherham invites dialogue, and in that spirit, I address here his chief concern.

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March 17, 2008

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Surviving Parent Teacher Conferences

Filed under: New Teacher Diaries Teaching by Ms.K @ 10:27 am

[Editor’s note: Ms. K is the pseudonym for a second-grade teacher in Brooklyn in her first year of teaching.] 

My first round of Parent Teacher Conferences in November went fairly smoothly. The parents were kind and supportive, and as a first-year teacher, I was secretly surprised by how confident they were in me and my judgment. That was why I wasn’t too concerned about Parent Teacher Conferences this month. I know my 2nd-grade students much better than I did in November, and I know what they are capable of. Sure, I had been a little more critical in the report cards this time around, but I felt I could back up all the number grades I had given with work samples, and all the behavior comments with specific examples. Shows how little I know.

(more…)

March 14, 2008

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New York Media Reacts To UFT Accountability Framework

Filed under: Education by Leo Casey @ 8:04 pm

New York Times: Union Urges Change In Grading for Schools.

In what she called the most controversial part of the proposal, Ms. Weingarten suggested that the Education Department also be judged on what kind of support they provide to schools, from how much money spent on each student to class size and staff access to computers and student data.

(more…)

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UFT’s Accountability Framework: Fixing The Schools, Rather Than Fixing Blame

Filed under: Education by Leo Casey @ 8:24 am

On Thursday morning, UFT President Randi Weingarten unveiled the UFT’s accountability framework in a speech before a meeting of the Association for a Better New York [ABNY].

The accountability framework is our contribution to the public debate over how schools and school districts should be held accountable for the achievement of their students. [It is the product of an effort mandated by a resolution of our November Delegate Assembly.] Our goal is to organize accountability in a way that provides a road map on what a school and a school district needs to do to improve the quality of the education their students. As Randi said in her ABNY speech, a system of accountability in New York City and in American education more generally should be focused on “capacity-building – not finger-pointing.” (more…)

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