On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 3:27 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> (SNIP) For the record, I made every attempt to remain in San Diego, and > when > it looked as though that was unrealistic, I made every attempt to > remain in the states. As a non-credentialed teacher with years of > experience in private schools, in most any other economy I'd be quite > employable. But with public school downsizing I find myself competing > against teachers who have both credentials and masters degrees. > Ordinarily, they wouldn't take the pay cut by switching to private (it > can be as much as 60% less than a public salary), but this is > emblematic of the times. The other alternative school administrators > can choose (as they did when recruiting my replacement) was to find a > kid fresh out of college with no practical experience at all who will > work for even less than what I would work for. (SNIP) > I guess we are far OT now, but let me just add this. There are lots of things we don't know about education, but a few that we know damn well, based on solid scientific evidence. 1. Students learn more from good teachers than bad teachers. 2. Teaching credentials and masters degrees are uncorrelated with good teaching 3. The only advantage of teaching experience is between novice (first year or two) teachers and experienced teachers (students learn significantly less from new teachers than experienced teachers, but there is no difference between how much they learn from teachers with 5 years of experience and 15 years o experience). 4. Principals and parents and other teachers can reliably identify both good and bad teachers (defined as teachers whose students learn more), even in the absence of any complicated or fancy tests or ratings scales. 5. Tradition, inertia and politics result in practices that are in opposition with almost everything we know: The only basis for retaining, promoting and rewarding teachers is credentials, graduate degrees and years of teaching experience. We don't allow principals to use their own best judgment (informed by peer and parent evaluations) in who to keep, who to fire, and who to give raises to. So, lazy and incompetent teachers with credentials/gradate degrees and years of service get retained and raised, and non-certified teachers (no matter how effective) get replaced by what everyone knows are the least effective teachers - first year ones. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
