[EMAIL PROTECTED] comments,regarding my critique of teacher's union and their impact on our kids education,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > I also assume that many (not all) of those tenured teachers remaining, > > mostly white teachers with decades of experience, are not good > teachers. > > > Keith says; I agree with Mr. Hohmann's analysis quite often, > including his > last posting. I must however dispute, and voice objection, to his > statement, > above. It is reckless, and, at least, mean spirited to make such > an assumption. I > thank, and respect all the Mpls. public school teachers for all > efforts they > make... OK, 'many' is not a precise measure... There are about 4,600 teachers in MPS. If perhaps 10, 20 or 30 of them are not good teachers-- I'd characterize that as 'many.' And, to go further, I'd suggest that teachers that don't get good results/outcomes with many students, those that utilize poor teaching methods in given situations, and display bad attitudes with some students, parents and co-workers, are not good teachers. In my original post I did say 'many (not all)...' Likewise I'm sure many (dozens?) of the hundreds of new teachers laid off were exceptional teachers and more racially diverse to boot. My point was that the union doesn't allow for differentiation between good and bad teachers in any meaningful way-- it looks to seniority-- tossing out the good apples while keeping some rotten! It is a crude tool; more precision is needed. I too respect and thank the good teachers for the often thankless job they do with our kids. And I suggested a mechanism to improve pay/performance that would better reward those good teachers and allow management to get rid of the poorly performing teachers. Sorry if I ruffled feathers, but we seem to be in the eye of a storm these days, given the budget cuts and layoffs in education. I think it's time to institute some significant change to the status quo educational management system in the area of labor relations. Michael Hohmann TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
