Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Charter Schools: Teachers, But Not to Last?
Given a real 'choice,' most parents would rather not send their children to a school staffed with teachers with such little experience, who, just as they might be in the process of developing into real educators, are looking to move on. Much like the Peace Corps and global poverty, such a charter school teachers' 'youth movement' seems like a nice gesture by upwardly mobile young people, but not a solution to the real problems.
From the New York Times:
From the New York Times:
Charter networks are developing what amounts to a youth movement in which teaching for two to five years is seen as acceptable, even desirable.
"Charter school networks are developing what amounts to a youth movement in which teaching for two to five years is seen as acceptable and, at times, even desirable." READ MORE
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Student transfer tuition could add millions to district budgets : News
Student transfer tuition could add millions to district budgets : News
In other words, poor struggling districts are transferring money to better-off districts. And what of those students who will stay behind?
In other words, poor struggling districts are transferring money to better-off districts. And what of those students who will stay behind?
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Critical Assessment of Teach for America - Chicago
from Kenzo Shibata, Jacobin magazine:
"TFA is in crisis mode. With the organization losing true believers within its rank-and-file, it doubled down on recruitment and doubled down on marketing. It’s just a shame that none of this has anything to do with improving teaching and learning.
http://jacobinmag.com/2013/07/teach-for-america-mission/
"TFA is in crisis mode. With the organization losing true believers within its rank-and-file, it doubled down on recruitment and doubled down on marketing. It’s just a shame that none of this has anything to do with improving teaching and learning.
Teach for America has come under heavy scrutiny in recent months. The organization was imagined over twenty years ago by Princeton undergraduate Wendy Kopp to combat the teacher shortage in urban and rural communities. TFA was to bring recent graduates from elite universities to teach in needy schools.
The idea was pretty simple. TFA was not better for students; it was better than nothing. Providing staff in these schools alleviated overcrowding and research shows that class size does matter in a child’s education.
Twenty years later, school districts are firing huge swaths of educators due to budget cuts. These dedicated teachers lose their jobs through no fault of their own, but find themselves competing for a dwindling number of open teaching slots. One would think that at this point, TFA is no longer necessary. We have a surplus of teachers and until politicians make education a priority and fund more teaching positions, this trend will continue...."
- See more at: http://jacobinmag.com/2013/07/teach-for-america-mission/#sthash.GiNQQMiJ.dpufhttp://jacobinmag.com/2013/07/teach-for-america-mission/
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
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