Dear [member],
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has proposed regulations that would require a DC Public School (DCPS) teacher to demonstrate effectiveness as a condition for teacher licensure renewal. This proposed regulation would not benefit DCPS teachers, as a teacher's true effectiveness should not be linked to a teacher's right to renew his or her license.
The email goes on to label as "dangerous and discriminatory" a proposal that would create "a new Advanced Teaching Credential that would require a candidate to demonstrate effectiveness to continue teaching in a District of Columbia Public School." It then offers a sample letter for members to write to DC elected officials, including the following:
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has proposed a new Advanced Teaching Credential that would require new and current teachers to demonstrate effectiveness in order to obtain licensure renewal. Clearly these proposed regulations would not benefit DCPS and have no relationship to student achievement.I understand that the WTU has an obligation to look after the interests of its members. That's what it's there for, and there's nothing wrong with that. Indeed, I think a well-functioning school system requires teachers who are well-represented and have their voices heard. And while it's easy to be self-righteous and say "we need to worry about what's good for the children in our schools, not the adults," that's an extreme and ultimately self-defeating formulation. The adults in the schools will determine whether the children are well educated. Both interests must be served. When those interests collide, as they sometimes do, they should be balanced. It's fair to say that adult interests have had too much sway in many cases, but we can't pretend they don't exist. I suppose it'd be in the best interests of students for adults to work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week for $10,000 a year, but I don't think anyone could reasonably suggest that teachers be forced to do so.
The letter also makes the fair point that it could be confusing and problematic to have the OSSE engage in a teacher evaluation process that's separate from or overlapping with processes conducted by the district itself. The WTU calls for a comprehensive and ongoing process" of teacher evaluation that "uses clearly-defined standards." I agree.
But--it's hard for me to attribute reasonableness and good faith to the WTU in all of this when they say that "a teacher's true effectiveness should not be linked to a teacher's right to renew his or her license." That's a clear line, and they're on the wrong side of it. Nobody deserves the right to a job irrespective of their ability to do it well, particularly not people who teach schoolchildren.
It's also hard to credit the idea that the proposed regulations "clearly" have "no relationship to student achievement" when, as the letter notes, the final regulations defining the Advanced Teaching Credential haven't even been issued yet.
The bottom line is that the teaching profession needs to become more attuned to and aligned with the reality of teacher effectiveness, defined as success in helping students learn. There are all kinds of difficult issues to contend with in getting there. But the kind of principled rejection of that idea embodied in this letter will marginalize teachers unions in a way that serves no one well in the end.
Update: Interesting comments thread on this here.
9 comments:
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How can you attribute good faith to Rhee if she's moving ahead with this while negotiations are in progress? If Rhee was acting in good faith, Parker has a very reasonable offer involving a role for a nuetral third party. If this isn't a "bait and switch," why not make a deal? If you want a deal, why announce during negotiations this plan to circumvent the collective bargaining process? What WTU member would vote for the dual contract after this was announced?
Obviously, this is a poson pill. It raises the question of whether Rhee ever wanted a deal.
Besides, the proposal is obviously bad for kids. Would you want to be represented by a defense attorney, or a prosecuter, whose license could be pulled if their "win loss" stats don't measure up? Who would treat our chronically ill patience if the medical profession used this in licensing? Would you want to legally driving down city streets if the local police faced similar quotas?
Think first before issueing knee jerk reactions. The proposal is unethical.
john thompson
This proposal is absolutely ethical! How can effective teaching not be in the best interest of children? Why is a teacher qualified because she or he was able to get a degree, pass a test, and clock in every morning??? Where are the children in that equation?
And, yes, I want an attorney working for me who is motivated to win my case. It would be beneficial to know his or her track record for winning cases before I hire him or her.
As for doctors, my friend could not pass a certain test that medical students are required to take prior to becoming doctors. After failing it three times she is no longer eligible to retake it. She has had to rethink her dreams of becoming a doctor. Doctors already have high standards for their profession. However, many people feel that anyone can become a teacher.
We teachers need to improve our level of professionalism and expectations for ourselves before we expect more of students and parents.
We have got to demand more of all parties involved - teachers, principals, parents, society.
Let's move forward. The Union has not suggested any better proposal for evaluating teacher effectiveness, and obviously the old PPEP way is not working.
Sure you want to know about an attorney's record, and that's why we need the accountability of transparency, and why testing should be used for a Consumers Report. But you'd see accountability by quotas differently if you were a non violent offender rotting in prison because of our numbers-driven war on drugs. If you haven't lived in the real worlds of our inner cities, watch The Wire; its not fiction. And if this sort of system was applied to medicine, how would you ever get doctors for the poor? Sure, its bad all over in health and education in urban America, but it can always get worse if you don't think before you blindly strike out at your opponents.
You want a doctor tested by a nuetral third party, not someone trying to break your profession.
Go ahead and "demand" all you want. Maybe it will make you feel better. But people do not work through coercion alone. The unions have plenty of practical solutions for removing bad teachers. Including a nuetral third party is part of the D.C. union position. It takes two to compromise.
What do you want more, berate your opponents or help kids? You can call us every name in the book, as long as you also come to the bargaining table in good faith.
john thompson
Teacher unions have been around a long time but I think they've long outlived their usefulness.
As the quality of education goes lower and lower, it's time to try some revolutionary, not evolutionary.
I think the elimination of these unions is just the kind of revolutionary move that's badly needed.
Peter
http://www.FlashlightWorthy.com
I don't think the licensing regs are a sign of lack of good faith on Rhee's part. If I were Rhee, I would have been pursuing both the teacher contract negotiations and the change in licensing regulations. I don't think it's an either/or - rather, I think ideally it's both. From other accounts I've read, I've gathered that she was pretty straight with GP - telling him either we do this with you or to you. And she's on record as saying she prefers the with you - and the evidence backs her. Knowing the licensing regs were always an option, there was no need for her to offer increased pay - she was trying to be collaborative and help teachers have their pay be tied to performance.
I say - she rocks and she's the reason why DC schools have a chance of reversing the incredible flow of students into charter schools. The latest figures suggest that 1/3 of public students are enrolled in public charter schools and 2/3 in public schools. That's pretty telling.
I disagree with your statement that what's good for kids would be adults working 24/7 for $10K a year. What would be good for kids would be for teachers to make what they're worth, based on their demonstrated skills in the classroom. That way, great teachers are compensated fairly for their time and effort, and it's possible for them to stay in the classroom.
Rhee's proposed contract to the Union gives huge raises to great teachers, something mediocre teachers oppose. I understand wanting job security, but come on!
i support wtu on its effort to block the new initiative for 2 reasons. (1) its implications can be confusing and over-extending.
if renewal of certification is tied to student achievement, then how can other educators who are outside the classroom can renew their license? educators sometimes take sabbatical leave to finish graduate studies, dissertation, and the likes.
(2) if the premise of this effort is based on Rhee's "Plan B", then the State is pursuig this for the wrong reasons.
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