A culture of success is an important attribute of a high-achieving district. This means there is a rigorous curriculum for students to learn and high-quality teachers to facilitate that learning.
Team member George Mears shared a recent article, A Teacher Quality Manifesto, that speaks to this culture. Written by Deborah Kenny (CEO, Harlem Village Academies), the article points out the importance of setting the stage for success for teachers.
After reading the article, come back and share your thoughts. What do you think? Do we have a culture of success throughout our school district?
9 comments:
Let me start by saying,to my knowledge, the Department of Education has NEVER educated a single child. I believe that the first step in correcting public schools in America is to remove the Federal Government.
Back in the day when there was little Federal involvement in schools, kids actually learned and teachers actually taught. Since it's been repeatedly proven that anything the Feds touch fails, we have to get them out of schools immediately. This should be a top priority. Any Fed monies for schools should somehow be transferred to school districts with no strings attached. That would be a good trick, because there are always strings attached. Fed money isn't evil, the strings are. There is nothing wrong with the concept of the community public school. The problem is that we have given over control of our public schools to special interest groups and big government and liberal academia. (Obama come to mind?)
America's top private schools are successful because of local control. They are run as stand-alone entities, answerable only to the parents of the students attending the school and the alumni who provide financial support. That is their strength yet we do not allow public schools the same privilege. Instead, we run public schools like bloated inefficient mega-corporations (like AIG, Enron,Fannie and Freddie Mac all are failures) and have allowed the professional politicians to castrate the local administrations and parents.
Remember Ted Kennedy? The Bush-Kennedy fiasco "No Child Left Behind" is pretty much of a joke to most teachers. Most of them know how unwieldy and counter- productive this type of endeavor is. It has evolved into money acquiring statistical manipulating fodder for administrators who have to justify their existances and salaries.
Local control of public schools would solve many problems. It should not matter to anyone in Suffolk what the parents in a school district in New York or California want their children to learn. Education should be totally a local concern.
Return the control back to the local community. All children have an imagination. Let our local teachers use their imagination to teach. If a teacher isnt making or meeting the local expectations they will be weeded out.
We as a community must remind our LOCAL school adminstrators that there is no mention in the Constitution of education. Education is reserved for the states.Thus per the previous post the mentioning of Fed dollars not being evil but the strings that are attached to it are.Any federal intrusion into the field of education within the states is nothing but a usurpation of power and a violation of the Constitution. Thus, there is no constitutional authority for the Department of Education or the billion dollars Congress is spending this year for education.
Do you realize that they've already taken over the student loan program. No more competition. The "government" now mandates the rules and rates. This probably will become a political tool. With private enterprise it's called disrimination, with the government" it's call "equal opportunity" or "minority incentive" One rate for "low income", another rate for "middle class".
Beware! If the federal government can get complete control of the public schools they will next turn their sights on attacking the private Christian, parochial and home schools. Muslim schools will be safe but all others will be a target for elimination. Obviously, the goal is not to educate but to indoctrinate the children of America.The Marxists liberals and Obama want to wipe out religion, especially Christianity. Christians have been opposing oppression since the beginning of this country. Private and home schools must come under their control in order for this to be accomplished.
Here is a thought that is an example of what one can ask.I want to know how nearly all the science teachers are teaching about man caused global warming. Where are the teaching materials and information coming from? If the federal government completely takes over education, expect more OPINION to be taught as fact.
As always, all of this itervention is about total control, whether it's health care, education or energy. Slowly, but surely, we are losing all of our freedoms that over a million Americans have died to protect.
There could be some backlash over the following but I believe that the "new" younger teacher can be more influenced by liberal thinking and Marxist type thinking than the older more conservative teachers. You tend to find more conservative "older" teachers TEACHIING in private schools and "home" schooling.
The SB election is almost upon us and IS is supporting one of its own. Debroah, why havent you addressed some of the commentary posted here? I think it addresses some issues that you as a member of the SB would be confronted with.Also it would hopefully give some an idea of your thinking.
Anon, 8:32
Good point. I love to respond to questions, but haven't weighed in on comments others have made. I'll look at the two already posted here and respond. I do want you to know what and how I think.
I do not believe it is a job of the Federal Government to have a role in our local public schools. I am an ambassador for LOCAL CONTROL of our schools and our curriculum.
I also do not believe we need a U.S. Department of Education, which places new requirements on states, schools and districts every year.
As I work in schools and districts in Virginia and around the country, one thing I have noticed is that the research for a curriculum is not always done as thoroughly as it could be. I like to know what is in the curriculum and why it is in there. I also believe in fair and accurate representation of different sides of issues - such as global warming.
I am anonymous (?) Oct 2, 12:29 p.m.
Deb Wahlstrom
Will a candidate agree to drop the tenure security blanket for teachers that do not belong teaching. They all called leeches and belong in a pond not a classroom.
With the results we now get from our public schools, do teachers really matter? Would we really go out and buy a product a riddled with fault and failure as what we get for the millions spent on education, if we paid for ti in cash every week?
I'm hoping Ms Whalstrom can change that!
The current state of education is a marker of the decline of our civilization. Our US/Western civilization is in its twilight years and how I wish I am wrong, but my money is on that I am right. Still it seems that teachers have given up and the NEA dictates what, when and how to teach. Most people I know have no idea how their government functions. They think the president has dictatorial powers. They have no idea where money bills originate. They cannot state any part of the Bill of Rights. Ignorance is rampant. And they vote. We get a government elected by ignoramuses.
We are doomed if this is not stopped. The teachers unions have to be broken. I am so glad that Virginia is a right to work state but I am concerned as to who will become the next "Suffolk Super"
Eliminate Teacher certification requirements. Use any other job qualifier but 'certified' is not the same as 'qualified'. Qualified means proven. Certified means trained.
Our public schools are a microcosm of our society as a whole. No standards, no absolute truths, moral relativity, lack of personal responsibility, excuses for everything, blame society for personal failure, something for nothing mind set, etc. To think that we can change schools without changing the society in which the schools operate is a pipe dream. Since we cannot change the schools in any meaningful way in the near future, we need charter schools and private schools to separate those students who are serious about their studies from those who could not care less. At least, we will generate a group of young adults who are pointed in the right direction and who will be leaders in the future.
It's also obvious that the public school monopoly, like all government monopolies, wins by failing. In private business, if you fail you go out of business. In government monopolies, if you fail, you get more funding.
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