Printed: TFA Growing

Teach for America announced today that, as of this fall, the group will have more than 10,000 first- and second-year corps members working in schools—the largest corps yet and a 10 percent increase over last year's total. The organization has also become the top employer for graduating seniors at 55 universities... including the University of California-Berkeley, Howard University, Yale University, and Arizona State University.

Other interesting factoids about the 5,800 incoming first-years, as stated in the press release, include the following:
• 38 percent identify as people of color (13 percent are African American and 10 percent are Hispanic), making this the most diverse corps yet;
• 35 percent received Pell Grants;
• 23 percent are the first in their family to get a college degree...  - EdWeek

This is really interesting, especially as the projected growth of City Year has been on all of our minds for so long.  I'd be curious to know if the quality of their program and training has changed.  I am VERY glad to hear that they're becoming more diverse as they grow, especially after Book Club's discussion tonight about the possible implications of minority children having white teachers most of their lives! However, with so many budget cuts, I'm curious to see if it's harder for them to place their teachers in districts as they get bigger...

Words: Parents' Frustration

I had dinner with family friends this week and the conversation turned to education.  Their daughter is 11 and the parents are very involved in her schooling.  It was really interesting to me to hear a mother's perspective on 'hot topics' right now.  She voiced:

- Frustration with having extra studying specifically for standardized tests... shouldn't they be learning what's on the test in their regular curriculum??
- Concern for which high school her daughter will attend.  Due to a lack of limited 'good' high schools in Chicago Public Schools, they're already looking into private schools.  Also, isn't it unfair how they don't allot more spaces to their district for the selective enrollment schools?
- Frustration with how teacher tenure works - there is a teacher at their school that everyone knows is not a good teacher.  He doesn't assign homework, doesn't grade, and the parents who have a child in his class even feel pressure to teach them things at home that they're not learning at school! Why should this teacher get to keep teaching when he's ineffective?
- Lower standards and less pride in work than when she went to school.  For example, her daughter's friends will turn in work with poor handwriting, incorrect capitalization, or dirty food, and when asked, respond "my teacher doesn't care."
- Doubt that they're learning as much as they should be.  She mentioned all the studying she had to do early in her schooling in Peru, a visiting child from China who called her year in U.S. schools a 'vacation,' and being unsatisfied with the fact that so many teachers shy away from 'memorization.'
- Finally, uncertainty as to where the blame belongs.  Is it the teachers? Administration? School district? Society?  Isn't this the golden question. 

Wow.  That's quite a list of things to be concerned about as a parent.  It's a reminder that all the issues that schools and districts are dealing with do affect parents daily lives in a very real way.  I feel like their voice is the least heard, they are looped in the least about how and why things work, and it shouldn't be that way.    

 

Printed: Michigan Teachers

During the 2010-11 academic year, teacher preparation programs in the state recommended 6,201 people for teacher certification. But only 30% of them -- or 1,862 people -- managed to get a job in a Michigan school.

That's one of the key reasons the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) recommends extending a moratorium on allowing new teacher prep programs to open in the state.  - Freep

I remember this being a HUGE issue when I graduated a couple of years ago... I wonder how Michigan stats compare with other states. 

Printed: Teacher Freedom + Collaboration = Success

This is awesomely impressive and should be happening more:

...The district was named a finalist for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, which honors academic excellence in largely minority and low-income districts... Corona-Norco appears to have mostly avoided the pitfalls common to similar districts with diverse student populations and budget constraints. About half the students are Latino and are mostly low-income. The district's $371-million budget has been cut by $140 million since 2007-08. 

...It is most apparent in the lack of strife between the district and its unions. In 2010, teachers and administrators took a 5% pay cut to avoid teacher layoffs. Teachers, who meet weekly to discuss strategies and tweak lesson plans, are given freedom to experiment in the classroom and are active in developing curriculum... By design, the district stays away from prescriptive lesson plans, allowing teachers and administrators at individual schools to develop their own strategies to reach the same goal — higher student achievement. - LA Times 

Further proof that giving teachers choices in curriculum is better than wide-reaching mandates from people that likely have never taught in a classroom or know your students. 

Printed: The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do

This was so comforting to read - it confirms that 1) I am not the only one who gets frustrated when talking with non-teachers, 2) it's ok that it's difficult, and 3) it's still 100% worth it. 

"The next time you walk into a classroom, and you see the teacher calmly presiding over a room full of kids, all actively engaged in the lesson, realize that it’s not because the job is easy. It’s because we make it look easy. And because we work our asses off to make it look easy." 

The whole thing is really worth reading <3

Printed: Ready to Strike

"Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing for big changes at Chicago Public Schools next year, including a longer school day, a different calendar and new teacher evaluations.  Lewis said CPS wants to lock in a five-year contract and is offering teachers a 2 percent raise in the first year, with salaries based on performance in later years.

Chicago Teachers Union officials say teachers at more than 150 schools are ready to go on strike.  Chicago teachers have not gone out on strike since 1987. Lewis, who said she was a first-year teacher during the last strike, said the climate at CPS is the most hostile she has ever seen." - wbez

Oy vey. I used to care 0% about these kinds of things (like unions and legalities) but now I know what an enormous deal it is.  Not sure what I would do if I was asked to strike.  Fingers crossed they find an agreement soon that values the teachers' work and keeps the needs of the students first.

Printed: Teacher Salary

The Gates Foundation just released a report on the teaching profession: http://www.scholastic.com/primarysources/download.asp

According to the report, the average teacher works 10 hours and 40 minutes a day. Say the average teacher salary is about $42,000 and the average school year length is 41 weeks - that puts teachers making $19.20 per hour.

According to CNN, a "gas pumping station operator" makes $21.50 per hour.

Words: Urban Teachers

"As urban teachers, we need to have a real shift in how we see our work.  If teachers don't connect their daily tasks to the bigger picture of what they're doing in society, they're going to burn out."  - Ms. Stevenson, resident principal