My initial reaction to this proposal is that I worry that teachers who are "controversial" or very student oriented or have any number of other possibly positive attributes might be "gotten rid of" too easily by bad principals. Having my son at a great public school with terrifically bad administration for 9 years makes me very sensitive to this issue. At least his principal had to be sneaky and work hard at driving teachers out before she got rid of a number of really good teachers -- in our case, especially the truly effective special ed teachers who were kid advocates. I know that there are lousy teachers out there who are protected by their contracts and seniority -- although I also know that if they are truly lousy, there are ways to get rid of them -- but I also worry about the good teachers who wouldn't be protected under this new plan. diane wiley tangletown
----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Brandt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2004 12:20 PM Subject: Re: [Mpls] Jennings proposes big changes for Mpls schools > It's always nice to provoke discussion, but it's also humbling sometimes > to see how few of the questions that people will have can be answered in > the space of a daily newspaper article. I suggest that people read the > Jennings memo before drawing conclusions. I've suggested to the > district that the discussion on this List would benefit from such a > posting. Jennings lists some pros and cons for each of the options he's > floating. > I think Doug Mann understandably read into my story something that > wasn't intended. I used the term "contract" to refer to a teacher's > period of service at a school. If I had it back, I'd use the term > "stint." The contract under this option would remain between the > district and the union, but it would cover more than a traditional labor > contract, with the union functioning almost like a personnel department > in providing workers meeting a certain standard. The district would pay > the union for supplying and training teachers, with the union > essentially serving as the employer of the teacher. It is important to > note that this approach comes from a book called "United Mind Workers," > written by academics Kerchner, Koppich and Weeres, one of whom is a > former teacher union activist. The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers > has had Koppich in to speak, has explored the concept to some degree, > and has copies of the book. There's also one in the downtown library; I > have the U of M library's copy. > > > > Steve Brandt > Staff writer > Star Tribune > Phone: 612-673-4438 > Fax: 612-673-4359 > 425 Portland Av. > Minneapolis, MN 55488 > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
