Re: Teachers are the most important

[Mike Kluznik <mkluznik@HOTMAIL.COM>]

Victor,
To some extent, I'm being facetious; iof course I wouldn't dismiss someone
merely because he was a Ph.D. or an NBPTS certified teacher. However, I've
followed the NBPTS issue for a couple of years.  Their press releases are
pretty campy.  I'll see if I can dig out the old AP article from a couple of
years ago.  The headline went something like this, "New corps of master
teachers honored."  It was obviously written from a press release
distributed by the NBPTS board.
Ask George Cunningham for the article he wrote about NBPTS.  The latter is
the flip side of the standards movement that has been imposed on students
via high stakes testing.  High stakes tests are based on the rationale that
students are graduating poorly prepared.  High stakes tests will somehow
cure the problem.
Likewise, if students are doing poorly, then part of the problem may be
stupid teachers.  Therefore, we need a new super national board
certification that will guarantee that at least a few of our teachers have
the "right stuff" to get the job done.
When I first heard about NBPTS certification, I asked a guy whom I play
tennis with about it.  Omar (he's a Turk but not a fundamentalist
you-know-what) is a very fine surgeon and one of the best read people I
know.  He scoffed at national board certification for teachers.  He said it
makes sense where there is a definite body of knowledge in a medical
specialty such as anesthesiology.  However, what body of knowledge or basic
methods can be listed and/or quantified for elementary and middle school
teachers?
Such notions are pure folly, and therefore I find amusement when teachers
have to LET YOU KNOW that they are NBPTS teachers.
Wow, like I'm really going to be impressed.  I mean, I don't even think I'm
worthy to be in the same school with NBPTS teachers, and my questions or
queries would be so beneath them...Victor, I'm just so unworthy when I place
myself next to an NBPTS teacher.  That's why I didn't want to log onto that
website that Peter sent out.
Humor doesn't travel well on e-mail, so I hope you caught the humor in the
paragraph immediately preceding this one.
Contact George Cunningham about his NBPTS paper.
Mike
> From: Victor Steinbok <Victor.Steinbok@VERIZON.NET>
> Reply-To: Assessment Reform Network Mailing List <ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU>
> To: ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Teachers are the most important
> Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 12:44:34 -0400
>
> Mike,
>
> I have always wondered if dismissing people because of the labels is
> not very different than admiring them because of the same labels.
> Should you not look at the message before judging? After all, you
> have no idea why that label is attached to the author's name, do you?
> The question appears to be whom is he trying to impress with his
> credentials and would he be using those credentials if he was only
> addressing his message to you. You can only make that determination
> if you read what he wrote.
>
> I have dismissed my share of people in the past, but I rarely do so
> without establishing their position and point of departure. Should we
> not look beyond labels?
>
>        VS-)
>
> At 11:04 AM -0400 9/19/01, Mike Kluznik wrote:
> > Peter,
> > Thanks, but I'll pass on this one.
> > Mike
> >
> >
> > > From: Peter Farruggio <pfarr@UCLINK4.BERKELEY.EDU>
> > > Reply-To: Assessment Reform Network Mailing List <ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU>
> > > To: ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU
> > > Subject: Re: Teachers are the most important
> > > Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 06:05:52 -0700
> > >
> > > Mike,
> > >
> > > I chose this piece because Anthony Cody is the real deal, a highly
> > > respected (by other teachers and students), creative teacher in an
> > > inner-city middle school.
> > >
> > > He also runs a nice, teacher-friendly website.  Check it out
> > >
> > > http://tlc.ousd.k12.ca.us/~acody/
> > >
> > > Pete
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > At 09:18 AM 9/18/01, Mike Kluznik wrote:
> > > > Peter,
> > > > The writer immediately loses credibility with me when he has to tell us
> > > > he's
> > > > NBPTS certified.  There is a time and a place for such things; i.e. all
> > > > those who failed to make Eagle Scout when they were in the Boy Scouts
> > > > should
> > > > not now foist themselves upon us with there bogus credentials.
> > > > Mike
> > > >
> > > > > From: Peter Farruggio <pfarr@UCLINK4.BERKELEY.EDU>
> > > > > Reply-To: Assessment Reform Network Mailing List <ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU>
> > > > > To: ARN-L@LISTS.CUA.EDU
> > > > > Subject: Teachers are the most important
> > > > > Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 07:32:00 -0700
> > > > >
> > > > > Printed in the Oakland Tribune, op-ed section,  Tues. Sept 18, 2001
> > > > >
> > > > > http://www.oaklandtribune-ang.com/S-ASP-Bin/Ref/Index.ASP?puid=482&spuid=482&Indx=1093901&Article=ON&id=4393961&ro=3
> > > > >
> > > > >                             Teachers are the most important
> > > > >
> > > > >                             WHAT will it take to fix our schools?
> > > > > Strong,
> > > > > effective, qualified teachers must be front and
> > > > >                             center. Unfortunately, though Oakland
> > > > > schools
> > > > > are making serious change a priority, the level of
> > > > >                             teacher experience continues to be an
> > > > > Achilles
> > > > > heel.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             Study after study has revealed that the
> > > > > most
> > > > > important factor in a child's education is his teacher.
> > > > >                             Preparation and experience are two
> > > > > critical
> > > > > factors affecting teacher quality.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             Five years ago the state reduced
> > > > > elementary
> > > > > class sizes, creating an instant teacher shortage.
> > > > >                             Policymakers took the easy way out,
> > > > > eliminating the requirement that one hold a credential before
> > > > >                             beginning to teach. The new system allows
> > > > > you
> > > > > to pass a skills test, promise to begin a training
> > > > >                             program and begin teaching without an iota
> > > > > of
> > > > > preparation.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             Districts like Oakland, which have the
> > > > > most
> > > > > challenging teaching situations, are losing credentialed
> > > > >                             teachers left and right because other
> > > > > districts hire them away. As a result, while the state has 85
> > > > >                             percent of its teachers with credentials
> > > > > and
> > > > > a
> > > > > strong district like Albany has 98 percent, Oakland
> > > > >                             has only 75 percent.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             What is worse, at some of the district's
> > > > > middle schools fewer than 40 percent of the teachers hold
> > > > >                             credentials. And the numbers at some
> > > > > schools
> > > > > have actually gotten worse in the past three years,
> > > > >                             in spite of a substantial pay raise. Not
> > > > > surprisingly, test scores at these schools are some of the
> > > > >                             lowest in the district. Thus, a
> > > > > well-intentioned reform has had the effect of exaggerating inequity,
> > > > >                             putting these students even farther
> > > > > behind.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             There is a myth that anyone who knows how
> > > > > to
> > > > > read and multiply ought to be able to teach. But
> > > > >                             teaching is an art and a craft. New
> > > > > teachers
> > > > > benefit tremendously from having a master teacher to
> > > > >                             observe and emulate. When beginners are
> > > > > put
> > > > > in
> > > > > charge of a class without preparation or role
> > > > >                             models, they are in a pressure cooker that
> > > > > is
> > > > > damaging to their students and to their own
> > > > >                             development as professional educators.
> > > > > Many
> > > > > promising beginners bail before they have a chance
> > > > >                             to learn to be effective.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             We need a process that honors the choice
> > > > > beginning teachers are making, and gives them the
> > > > >                             tools they need to succeed. In the medical
> > > > > profession, an internship is a year of rigorous training
> > > > >                             under the direct supervision of
> > > > > experienced
> > > > > doctors. The supervision the interns in charge of these
> > > > >                             classrooms get consists of a few visits a
> > > > > semester from a university supervisor. We need a major
> > > > >                             change that will reverse this practice.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             Stop giving people without credentials
> > > > > sole
> > > > > responsibility for teaching a class.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             Place interns at the side of experienced
> > > > > teachers, to learn from them, and eventually take charge
> > > > >                             of the class under their supervision.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             These interns should be in the classroom
> > > > > half-time, with their afternoons free to attend classes in
> > > > >                             content and methodology.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             Interns should be paid half the salary of
> > > > > a
> > > > > beginning teacher.
> > > > >
> > > > >                             This will have the effect of raising the
> > > > > student/teacher ratio in these classrooms, and give these
> > > > >                             interns the induction into the profession
> > > > > they
> > > > > need. It will have the added consequence of helping
> > > > >                             end the inequitable distribution of
> > > > > credentialed teachers, allowing schools in Oakland to regain
> > > > >                             their balance and get back on the path to
> > > > > solid student achievement.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >                             Anthony Cody is a national board-certified
> > > > > teacher at Bret Harte Middle School in Oakland. He
> > > > >                             lives in Berkeley.
> > > > >
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