Teach for America (or Britain, Haiti, Lithuania...)

Teacher Recruitment, High-fliers in the Classroom.

The Economist. February 14th, 2015.

http://www.economist.com/news/international/21643146-programmes-place-bright-and-ambitious-graduates-poor-schools-are-spreading-around

Key Points:

• The article asserts that problems in education are, at least in part, a result of the low-caliber of teacher recruits
• Teach for America is lauded as a solution, with discussion given to similar international organizations.
• Statistics provided in support: %50-%70 of TFA (and similar) participants stay in education after their two-year commitment.

Intended Audience:

• The regular readership of this broad spectrum magazine devoted to free trade, laissez faire government, and the dismal science.  

Relevance:

• With high likelihood of encountering teachers, administrators, and policy makers who began in TFA it is beneficial to understand a perspective in support of the program.
• I am curious about teacher education abroad, and certainly open to “copy-cat” models in countries with severe education needs.
• This particular perspective is problematic to the degree that it portrays these “high-fliers” as heroes who are the only hope for otherwise hopeless masses. Ivy-league success does not a culturally-competent public servant make.  

Why merit pay for teachers doesn’t work

Valerie Strauss
"why merit pay for teachers doesn’t work"
Washington Post
March 30, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/ravitch_why_merit_pay_for_teachers_doesnt_work/2011/03/29/AFn5w9yB_blog.html?wprss=rss_educationTopic: Teacher Pay/Compensation

Another article about how merit pay for teachers is bad.

Key Points: She lists a few more references to back up her claims which are useful if you want to take up her side of the argument.
OK, it’s the same thing we have already talked about. I do agree that there is a lot to be gained by synergy or collaborative efforts but, aren’t there other awards and recognition that individuals receive and compete for? Grants, etc… Why are these things not under intellectual attack as well? If the idea is to enhance teams, why not restructure bonuses so that they are tied to a whole department at a school so say, if the test scores or whatever measure you want to use are good enough, everyone on the team gets a bonus. They keep saying “data shows” that this incentive stuff doesn’t work, but a nice bonus for a job well done sounds good to me personally, especially if it were awarded not only to me but my team. Is there anyone here who doesn’t want to be paid more and have a chance at a nice bonus? Why is that so bad and who loses? If you aren’t motivated by higher pay or bonuses…then why ask for it, expect it, or complain about low pay? Everyone should be happy right? Time to shift the paradigm of the crowd.
Relevance: Teacher compensation is an interesting topic in this community because so much of the mainstream philosophy is not profit or competition oriented. Yet, I have not sat in a teacher lounge yet where the teachers were satisfied with their pay and didn’t want more.

Fed up with the term 'status quo'

Diana Senechal
"Fed up with the term ‘status quo’"
Washington Post
March 16, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/fed_up_with_the_term_status_quo/2011/03/15/ABIaf2a_blog.html?wprss=rss_educationSummary:

Topic: An interesting discussion concerning change.

This is an interesting discussion about how one side of an argument can be marginalized through the use of one term, “status quo”. The world seems to be simplistically broken down into two groups, those who want things to remain as they are and those who want change.

Key Points: Marginalizing one side of an argument with the clever use of a term, stereotype or oversimplification is a very effective tactic politically or in a debate contest. If the point is to really improve things, then an open an honest discussion between all points of view must be made. Naïve…I know.
Sadly, the point rarely seems to be about actually improving education and instead, seems to be more about who holds the political power and controls the money. Perhaps, as Gatto seems to be saying, the answer to this cancer actually is to scrap the system and start over anew.

Relevance: The debate about the future of education, public education in this case, is raging on. Trying to understand the motives behind all the sides of the debate will be key as we move ahead.

The myth of the super teacher

Diana Senechal
"The myth of the super teacher"
Washington Post
March 15, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the_myth_of_the_superteacher/2011/03/14/ABfRM4V_blog.html?wprss=rss_education

Topic: “Super teachers”.

This is a discussion about a program where teachers were given greater incentives to be extraordinary teachers. In this case, a salary of $125,000.

Key Points: The results reported here were somewhat negative however, I wondered why better teachers would not be attracted by better pay. If we capped baseball player salaries at some arbitrary level, say, $40K per year, would the level of competition remain the same? If you want to consistently be in the hunt for the world series, you will have to be able to pay for the New York Yankees. Why would that not be true for a school trying to put together the best team of teachers?

Relevance: Improving education and how to do that is a topic that will continue to be debated.

Focusing on Recruiting New Teachers

Susan Nielsen

Oregon’s Other Gap: Teachers vent, and weary public rants right back.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/susan_nielsen/index.ssf/2011/02/oregonss_other_gap_teachers_ve.html#incart_hbx

Date Retrieved 2/2/2011

Topic: Teacher recruitment

The article discusses the growing opinion gap between teachers and everyone else connected to a school system. In January, the editor wrote about the importance of recruiting newer, more qualified teachers for Oregon schools. Rather than receiving ideas on how this can be achieved, the editor received opposing opinions about the teaching profession, what teachers need, and what teachers are just whining about. The article stresses that both sides need to put their personal vents aside and come together to solve the issue on how to recruit better teachers. Intended Audience: Teachers and anyone else concerned about Oregon schools.

Key Points:

-Teachers join unions to fight against budget cuts and have job security, while the public thinks teacher unions are the biggest obstacles to overcome in education.

-The concept of seniority in schools is outdated, how can we recruit and retain good teachers?

-Gov. John Kitzhaber is proposing $5.56 billion for K-12 schools, which is not enough for future issues such as an increasing rate of students in schools

-Both teachers and the public need to keep their personal vents aside in order to figure out ways to keep better qualified teachers in schools

Relevance: This is relevant to us, as new teachers competing against teachers who have a high seniority status in the schools we want to teach in. This also those who have children in schools; people are always talking about recruiting and retaining the best teachers for your children, how can that be achieved?