[Vision2020] Just a Reminder About . . .

[Tom Hansen]

"What Teachers Make" by Taylor Mali

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpog1_NFd2Q

Catcha on the flip-flop, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Spokane, Washington




On Sun, February 6, 2011 12:23 am, Sue Hovey wrote:
> And with a single swipe of the pen (or vote in session) this effort wipes
> out the progress made by teachers over the past 40 years to establish
> themselves as professional educators with the ability to participate in
> significant education decisions--including those affecting them as well as
> their students. Once again they become nothing more than indentured
> servants, working at the whim of a Board of Trustees, who may or may not
> be
> all that concerned for teacher welfare.  Were I a young Idaho teacher
> today,
> I'd be looking for another state in which to practice.  Most wouldn't have
> to go far.   Any one of the several states which borders Idaho will be
> appealing--more money, more professional autonomy, more governmental
> support
> for true education improvement.
>
> You know, I really believe student progress is a valid criterion for
> evaluating teachers.  Student learning  is what we are all about.  But the
> state has no current measures which can be administered, scored, and
> returned to the teachers in a timely manner so they can look at the
> results,
> make decisions about reteaching, and then do it. When scores are
> aggregated
> and don't come back until months after the test is administered, one can
> see
> trends, but there is nothing that will help a teacher determine what to do
> for an individual student.    A determination of how that learning will be
> validated should be in place before it is used for teacher evaluation.
> And
> teachers, themselves, should help determine those measures.
>
> Those who believe strong unions are an impediment to student learning fail
> to acknowledge the facts.  One example from The Nation, Jan 10/17, "There
> is
> no evidence that the presence of unions impedes academic success in
> American
> schools.  Consider this:  in states like Massachusetts & Minnesota, where
> public schools are heavily unionized, students earn the highest scores on
> the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the standardized exam
> known
> as the nation's report card.  In contrast, students in states such as
> Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas which have few, if any teachers union
> members and virtually no union contracts, have the lowest NAEP scores.
> What's more, in almost all the nations that outperform the US in
> education,
> teachers are unionized and teaching is a respected profession."
>
> Of course, these bills aren't about improving student learning.  The
> Melalucca Man, Tom Luna, the Governor, other Republican policy makers,
> and
> even the folks at the Albertson Foundation have as their priority the
> breakup of the Idaho Education Association. If they really cared about
> public education, they'd be looking for ways to fund it.  Adequate funding
> of education isn't even a part of their mind-set--children don't vote and
> teachers already know how to spin straw into gold.  They've been doing it
> in
> Idaho for all their professional lives.
>
> Sue Hovey
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Moscow Cares
> Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 10:24 AM
> To: Moscow Vision 2020
> Subject: [Vision2020] Idaho, Education, and State Senate Bills 1068 and
> 1069
>
> Greetings Visionaires -
>
> On Thursday Jason Hancock (one of Supt Luna's underlings in the State
> Department of Education) met with the Senate Education Committee to lay
> the "ground work for, and introduce, RS20241 (now known as Senate Bill
> 1068) and RS20254C1 (now known as Senate Bill 1069).  As a result of Mr.
> Hancock's groundwork, these two bills will be introduced before the Senate
> Education Committee on Monday (February 7, 2011).
>
> Just what are Senate Bills 1068 and 1069, you ask?
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------
>
> S1068   by EDUCATION COMMITTEE
>
> EDUCATION - Amends, repeals and adds to existing law relating to education
> to revise conditions relating to the employment of professional personnel
> by the Board of Trustees; to revise provisions relating to certain
> employment; to provide that a district may place certain employees on
> unpaid leave of absence; to revise provisions relating to contract
> categories; to provide provisions relating to grandfathered renewable
> contracts; to provide provisions relating to reductions in force; to
> provide legislative findings; and to provide provisions relating to
> contract negotiations and establishing contracts.
>
> http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/S1068.pdf
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------
>
> S1069   by EDUCATION COMMITTEE
>
> EDUCATION - Repeals, amends and adds to existing law relating to education
> to provide for a fiscal report card; to repeal provisions relating to
> matching grants for science education programs; to revise provisions
> relating to the educational support program; to revise provisions relating
> to certain program support units; to revise provisions relating to staff
> allowances; to revise provisions relating to the experience and education
> multiplier; to revise provisions relating to obligations to PERSI and
> social security; to provide provisions relating to pay for performance; to
> provide provisions relating to public school technology and online
> courses; and to revise provisions relating to public charter schools.
>
> http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/S1069.pdf
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------
>
> You fine peeps of the Viz have two options:
>
> Option 1:  at 2:00 pm (our time) on Monday (February 7th) you can crank up
> your computer speakers and link yourself to:
>
> http://www.idahoptv.org/leglive/committee.cfm?CommID=17
>
> and listen to the hearings concerning these two bills, or . . .
>
> Option 2:  You can wait until "Moscow Cares" records, and posts these
> hearings (in their exciting entirety) online for y'all to scrutinize.
>
> Your call.
>
> Until then . . .
>
> I'll be postin' this weekend from the 'hood in Spokane.
>
> Seeya on the flip-flop, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares"
> http://www.MoscowCares.com
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
>
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>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
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"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown