1. “Teachers are evaluated based on a combination of their students’ test scores, academic gains, and classroom observations from third-party evaluators. The system rewards successful teachers with a higher salary while flushing out ineffective ones and weakening tenure”

2. “We don’t want a lot of mediocre teachers who are all paid a mediocre salary”

Washington Post

3. “Done right, performance pay may contribute to a more professional culture in public school teaching. But it surely isn’t going to transform the profession by itself”

4. “But standardized test scores pose as many problems as they solve… Most standardized tests measure a narrow band of low-level skills rather that the ability to analyze information and other advanced skills”

I loved this week’s readings. Anyone that has talked to me about the subject of merit-based pay knows that it is something that I feel very passionately about. As you can see above, I had difficulty narrowing my selections down to one quote. Quote two is the one that I found that most closely resembles how I feel about teacher pay. Having all teachers payed the same based solely on academic units and number of years of experience bares no credence to how well a teacher performs in the classroom. The issue for me is trying to transform teaching from a fall back job, as it is for so many, to a sought-after profession. One of the first steps on this road is paying teachers based on how well they teach. Now I am not saying that this is the only way to improve teaching (this idea put well in quote 3) but it is an excellent start. There to me seems nothing wrong with incentivizing the skills and traits that an employer would find most desirable in a teacher. Now I agree that test scores of students are not going to attain this above goal. The reason for this was put well in quote 4. However, there are tons of other metrics that we can use to gauge effective teaching. We have recently been discussing the traits that the graduate school would like to see its graduates possess and embody. For example, are the students having exhibitions or doing projects. I see no reason that these traits cannot be used to gauge effective teaching within our schools. I agree with the points made in quote 1. There seems to be a ton of great ideas of systems that will allow us to create an equitable and reasonable merit-based salary structure. I look forward to being able to discuss this in class.

“has one supermarket, 48 state lottery agents…and 99 licensed bars and liquor stores” (41).

“Money would be helpful but it’s not the major factor” (46).

If the job of the three readings this week was to make me feel depressed about the state of finances and inequality in education, then mission accomplished.  The first quote highlights just a selection of the issues that face children who live in economically disadvantaged areas and attend poorer schools. It reminded me of the videos that we watched about what message our facilities are telling our students. What are we telling our students when they only have two bathrooms and no soap? How can kids be successful at school when their basic survival needs are not being met at home? In the reading that surveyed school principals, I was struck by the fact that for many of the students, the only meal they eat each day is the one that they receive at school. The second and third quotes go together for me. They remind me of the many issues that are students are facing outside of school. Even if the schools had money, that is not going to make much of a difference for the student who has to walk 10 miles to get groceries. A ton of money is not going to create inspired teaching or successful students. There are societal and systemic problems here that are greater than the funding. Without taking actions to improve the bigger picture, it is not realistic to expect progress in these schools.

I also really enjoyed Kay’s summary of finance and schools. I know that it should not surprise me how complicated or convoluted the bills are, but it does. I like the idea of giving more control to local schools. This would be a system that provides equal funding across schools, but allows local administrators and teachers the more freedom to make financial decisions-essentially, allow those who are most familiar with the school’s population to make decisions that impact how they are taught.

My question is How implicit are we is helping are students that are at an economically disadvantaged? What do we do to help address their needs? Also what can we do to help shape economic policy in california?

“So yes, perhaps in the short term, fewer teachers would seek graduate programs. But restructuring compensation should, at the same time, tip the scales of those programs that have redefined their offerings with a focus on achieving better results in the classroom.”

“. . .the current compensation system rewards the path of least resistance.”

I loved this article, and I could not agree with the author more. The compensation structure for teacher makes no sense to me at all. As it stands now, the only gauge for effective teaching, as it pertains to salary, is how long you have been teaching and how long you have been in school. Notice that I did not mention students in that last sentence. That, to me, seems odd. The job of a teacher is to teach students. Shouldn’t that be at least one of the standards to which we hold our teachers? It may be helpful to imagine applying this compensation model to other professions. Image that a salesman was payed on how many years he had been in sales and whether or not he has a master’s degree. This model can only hope that the salesman improves his sales based on his education or years of experience. It seems a lot more simple and direct to measure his sales and let that dictate his salary. The proof is in the pudding.

I also enjoyed the discussion of graduate schools merely as degree factories. I know that that is what I felt my teacher education program was like. Only rarely did I feel that the the program was teaching me improve student learning or achievement. Grad schools and teacher education programs should be held to a certain standard.

I would also argue that the solution does not rely on looking at performance on standards-based assessments. This would create a dynamic where teachers are training a legion of students who can effectively bubble in scantron tests. There are other possibilities. These could include performance evaluations, portfolios of student work, and presentations of student leaning. An organization can decide what standards it finds most representative of improved student learning and understanding. That can be the standard to which teachers are held.

“The first goal is having teachers participate in the data analysis process so that they feel ownership of the learner-centered problem, and so that the data analysis is something they do instead of something that is done to them…The second goal, however is to get to the deeper level of analysis that will help identify the problem” (pg 87)

This quote highlights two important parts of the book for me.  One is how you need to create buy-in with teachers in the data process before you can hope to tackle the problem.  Because of the ‘technical’ gap, data has been something that is often compiled by others and then reported to an audience of teachers.  That is what I appreciate about this book.  The book lays out a plan to involve teachers in the process so that they can refocus the questions away from “So what are you saying about my teaching” and back to “What can I do to help identify and work on the problem.”  I also enjoyed the idea of looking at learner-centered problems.    At Clark, they kept journals to provide insight into how students respond to reading.  These forms of assessment are things that I think High Tech does exceptionally.  Also with the SQR, we have created a system to help formalize those collections.

My only question is when can we get started looking at our data?

“That is, as people solve the lower-order problems that bought them to therapy, instead of becoming contented, they become discontented about higher-order issues”

The discussion of participative management on page 79 was particularly relevant and interesting to High Tech

“Most organizations, in fact, are overcommunicating : meetings, confrences, memos, phone calls, and electronic mail overwhelm managers and employees alike. Increasingly, we seem to believe that everybody should be in on everything” (53)

In the midst of returning a parent phone call, e-mailing a professor at UCSD, checking my email on my phone, and text messaging with Susan, I stumbled upon this third quote. I am not sure why it stuck me. It is a very complex dilemma. How does a leader ensure that all the staff is on the same page, and has a safe space to communicate ideas and not fall into the trap of overcommunicating? The one theme that has been coming up with school leaders is how trapped they feel by their e-mail. And now e-mail has gone mobil the problem has gotten worse. As Farson points out the technology has made the problem worse. There is no disconnect between work time communication and home. This is particularly distressing as an employe attempt to create a work life balance.

My question is how are we doing as an organization to ensure that we are not overcommunicating?

Questions

Is it ever too late to set norms? How are they enforced effectively?

I selected this quote because I am intrigued by the potential of norm setting.  Norms have been a part of several of the classes that I have attended. When applied consistently, they can easily become part of the routine. You fall back into the old norms that you set before or did not set at all.  Recently, I’ve become aware of the absence of norms in our staff meetings.  I find myself talking about the 24 hour rule at HTMNC only to remember that this isn’t familiar terminology to this new group.  I feel that these norms that have become such an ingrained part of our school culture in Point Loma need to be re-imagined and reevaluated as part of my new school.  Kelly suggested this as a possible solution to an issue of persistent digressions in staff meetings, and I think it is a great idea. I like the protocol especially the hopes and fear that was modeled in class. My questions comes from the idea “when is it too late?”.  Can we still implement meeting norms that will help us make effective use of our meeting time?  How do you ensure that all involved members are adhering to the norms

One section that I was particularly drawn to was “The Goldilocks Test” on page 133. In the section, the author is talking about effective ways to share your story. What was interesting to me was how this section connected to our homework assignment. Many of those inbox items brought up some sticky situations. The idea of e-mail adds another level of complexity to the situation. Finding the “just right” statement can be challenging. I often ask other teachers to help soften email that I may be writing to a parent who is upset. However, there needs to be a balance between saying what you mean and over-qualifying a statement. As the book says, be tentative but not wimpy.

My question is, What strategies do you use to help find the “just right” statements in emails?

 The idea for my project has sprung from reading Disrupting Class.  In the book, Christensen talks extensively about technology’s impact on the classroom.  He also talks about ‘disruptive innovation’ and its impact on business models and schools. 

Question:

My focus question will be something like: In what ways is the High Tech Village using technology in a disruptive way?  

Research:

I would like to research the area of technology in the classroom.  Specifically, I would like to see if there are areas or categories set up for types or uses of technology in the classroom.   There seems to be a difference between using technology to make a traditional process faster or more efficient, and using technology to create something that was once impossible.

Action Plan:

I would like to survey and interview teachers across the village for how they use technology in their classrooms.  I would then like to further classify in what ways our uses of technology disruptive in the Christensen’s sense.

 Presentation:

I am not sure what my final product would look like.  The idea of a paper seems interesting but a little static.  I love what Brent, Rob and Al have been doing with the digital commons.  Maybe a video and or website component may be more interesting.  Either way I would really appreciate any feedback that you guys have.