So, eighteen award-winning teachers got together and constructed a proposal to fix how public school teachers are paid:
Top Teachers Issue Call for Revamped Pay Plans
I like the combination of "merit", as judged by the kinds of responsibilities teachers take on, and rank ("novice" to "senior"). There are probably flaws I'm not seeing, but it's an interesting take from people who know far more than I on the subject.
4.30.2007
4.26.2007
And so it begins.
The first Democratic candidate debate is tonight on MSNBC. We don't get cable, so I won't get to watch, but I have checked out a few websites on the subject.
I found this quiz on one of the local websites, near South Carolina State University where the debate is taking place:
Which candidate matches your views?
Unsurprisingly, my answers matched most closely with "No candidate holds this position." I have the same problem in surveying the Republican candidate field. Every election, so far, really. No candidates usually share my mix of views.
"No candidate" replies were followed by several positions I apparently hold in common with John Edwards and Barack Obama. I had the least views in common with Hilary Clinton (again, surprise, surprise for people that have been in political discussions with me).
I think if this quiz could be extended over both parties' candidates, and made more in depth (say, 30 questions), it might be a really worthwhile guide to who should get my vote. That is, of course, if the quizmakers accurately represented the candidates' positions on the issues.
Who do you like in '08? Who do you dislike? And are you as tempted as I to say "None of the above, it's too freaking far before the election! Go do some real work and come back in a year!"
I found this quiz on one of the local websites, near South Carolina State University where the debate is taking place:
Which candidate matches your views?
Unsurprisingly, my answers matched most closely with "No candidate holds this position." I have the same problem in surveying the Republican candidate field. Every election, so far, really. No candidates usually share my mix of views.
"No candidate" replies were followed by several positions I apparently hold in common with John Edwards and Barack Obama. I had the least views in common with Hilary Clinton (again, surprise, surprise for people that have been in political discussions with me).
I think if this quiz could be extended over both parties' candidates, and made more in depth (say, 30 questions), it might be a really worthwhile guide to who should get my vote. That is, of course, if the quizmakers accurately represented the candidates' positions on the issues.
Who do you like in '08? Who do you dislike? And are you as tempted as I to say "None of the above, it's too freaking far before the election! Go do some real work and come back in a year!"
In today's "about darn time" news...
Here's an interesting new approach to improving public education in the U.S.:
Billionaires Start $60 Million Schools Effort
Because what we really need is a good publicity campaign.
No, really. I think their three central talking points are good:
a) Schools need a strong, consistent curriculum.
b) Schools need a longer school day and year.
c) Teachers should be paid better and paid based on how well they perform.
After working in a curriculum office for almost two years, I can tell you that some efforts toward a) are severely needed. It is almost impossible to tell, by looking at a student's high school transcript, what it actually means in terms of what they've studied. Some types of courses (Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate) are generally considered "better" than others. This is because they have rigorous standards and a consistent curriculum no matter where they're being taught.
Random High School might offer a course that is just as good as an AP course, but because we have no idea what material they're actually covering, we can't count on it. I think the mantra of "local control" has been repeated to cover up curricular mediocrity for a long darn time. No one wants to admit that maybe we need to centralize course content to the point where state and federal standards are being met. I don't want to return to the world of Nebraska public high schools during the mid-1990's era of inclusion, where exactly 22 books were "approved" for teaching in English courses. However, I think we could build consensus that students should read at least those 22 books by the time they graduate from high school.
b) is just plain brilliant. Our schools are based on a scheduling model that assumes at least one stay-at-home parent, and an agricultural work cycle that demands students be free to work in the fields in the summer. It would be nice to have an educational model that fit today's world instead of the late 1800's when the public school system took root nationwide. Hey, my friends grew up detasselling, and even I can see this system is out of date. I'm all for year-round schooling and longer school days. As long as there are still significant breaks between terms, say, the months of December and June, so that families can take time together. (How many parents can take longer-than-three-week family vacations anymore, anyway?) Lots of good year-round models out there might be worth trying in order to improve student retention. And lots of kids end up in some kind of after-school care program until they're in their mid-teens anyway, due to the two-parent working family. Not to say everyone should be working, but the reality is that in the majority of two-parent families with children under 18, both parents work outside the home. Let's get a school system that fits today's world instead of leaving parents to put together a patchwork of care. And perhaps finally we could stop cutting the arts and the more rigorous sciences from middle and high-school curricula because "there's just not enough time to teach them well." They're important. Make the time.
c) seems like a no-brainer but proves problematic with a few moments' thought. How do you evaluate if a teacher is meritorious? You can't base it solely on her students; just imagine how poorly that would work in so-called "special education," for example. You can't base it on standardized tests, either. Right now, I know teachers who are improving their students' reading abilities by one or two grade levels over the course of a school year. Their students still end up performing "below grade level" because they began practically illiterate. The tests don't show individual student progress reliably; they only provide aggregate data for a cohort.
Plus, as many of my fellow CU employees could tell you, pay "based on merit" often disappears for political reasons. They've had a "pay for performance" system in place here in CO for a few years, and classified staff are supposed to get annual raises based on their performance. Problem is that the state doesn't fund their merit raises, so they don't get a "bonus" no matter how well they perform. The "merit" money is always taken to use elsewhere since "no one knows how many people will perform well enough to deserve any."
I don't think pay based on merit for teachers would work in practice for that reason. Let's try raising the base pay instead so that the state governments can't spend the money on anything else. Say, $40K starting and $55K with an advanced degree or five years' experience. This would make it competitive with far more jobs that you can get with a fresh bachelor's degree.
Do you have ideas on how to measure teachers' merit that are more workable that what is being done now?
Billionaires Start $60 Million Schools Effort
Because what we really need is a good publicity campaign.
No, really. I think their three central talking points are good:
a) Schools need a strong, consistent curriculum.
b) Schools need a longer school day and year.
c) Teachers should be paid better and paid based on how well they perform.
After working in a curriculum office for almost two years, I can tell you that some efforts toward a) are severely needed. It is almost impossible to tell, by looking at a student's high school transcript, what it actually means in terms of what they've studied. Some types of courses (Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate) are generally considered "better" than others. This is because they have rigorous standards and a consistent curriculum no matter where they're being taught.
Random High School might offer a course that is just as good as an AP course, but because we have no idea what material they're actually covering, we can't count on it. I think the mantra of "local control" has been repeated to cover up curricular mediocrity for a long darn time. No one wants to admit that maybe we need to centralize course content to the point where state and federal standards are being met. I don't want to return to the world of Nebraska public high schools during the mid-1990's era of inclusion, where exactly 22 books were "approved" for teaching in English courses. However, I think we could build consensus that students should read at least those 22 books by the time they graduate from high school.
b) is just plain brilliant. Our schools are based on a scheduling model that assumes at least one stay-at-home parent, and an agricultural work cycle that demands students be free to work in the fields in the summer. It would be nice to have an educational model that fit today's world instead of the late 1800's when the public school system took root nationwide. Hey, my friends grew up detasselling, and even I can see this system is out of date. I'm all for year-round schooling and longer school days. As long as there are still significant breaks between terms, say, the months of December and June, so that families can take time together. (How many parents can take longer-than-three-week family vacations anymore, anyway?) Lots of good year-round models out there might be worth trying in order to improve student retention. And lots of kids end up in some kind of after-school care program until they're in their mid-teens anyway, due to the two-parent working family. Not to say everyone should be working, but the reality is that in the majority of two-parent families with children under 18, both parents work outside the home. Let's get a school system that fits today's world instead of leaving parents to put together a patchwork of care. And perhaps finally we could stop cutting the arts and the more rigorous sciences from middle and high-school curricula because "there's just not enough time to teach them well." They're important. Make the time.
c) seems like a no-brainer but proves problematic with a few moments' thought. How do you evaluate if a teacher is meritorious? You can't base it solely on her students; just imagine how poorly that would work in so-called "special education," for example. You can't base it on standardized tests, either. Right now, I know teachers who are improving their students' reading abilities by one or two grade levels over the course of a school year. Their students still end up performing "below grade level" because they began practically illiterate. The tests don't show individual student progress reliably; they only provide aggregate data for a cohort.
Plus, as many of my fellow CU employees could tell you, pay "based on merit" often disappears for political reasons. They've had a "pay for performance" system in place here in CO for a few years, and classified staff are supposed to get annual raises based on their performance. Problem is that the state doesn't fund their merit raises, so they don't get a "bonus" no matter how well they perform. The "merit" money is always taken to use elsewhere since "no one knows how many people will perform well enough to deserve any."
I don't think pay based on merit for teachers would work in practice for that reason. Let's try raising the base pay instead so that the state governments can't spend the money on anything else. Say, $40K starting and $55K with an advanced degree or five years' experience. This would make it competitive with far more jobs that you can get with a fresh bachelor's degree.
Do you have ideas on how to measure teachers' merit that are more workable that what is being done now?
4.25.2007
Charming anecdotes.
I have been in a cranky mood this week so have been reluctant to post. As the sun has finally come out today for the first time since Sunday, and we had yummy mixed-berry muffins for breakfast, and I have a lovely fresh cup of Brewing Market coffee sitting beside me at the computer...well, I'm going to try to perk up a bit.
Perhaps by the weekend I'll even get off my lazy behind and finally post some new pix of the bug now that she has passed the 2.5 year mark. We've taken plenty but I have to find the cord that links the digital camera to the laptop first...
The bug has decided this week to kill her parents with kindness, as clearly the lip-trembling teary-ness, ear-splitting shrieking, and stiff-bodied resistance approaches have not resulted in enough Teddy Grahams and cartoons for her liking in recent days. I admit strongly preferring this approach to the other ones, although I wonder whether the truth is that she is:
a) A fabulously loving child.
b) Amazingly skilled at emotional manipulation.
A few recent examples:
Yesterday after work, she wanted to watch cartoons the moment we got in the door. I wanted her "help" cleaning the kitchen instead. (We do tend to try to restrict her cartoon viewing to less than 24 hours per day and prefer to let her watch "Sesame Street Old School" just after meals, as it allows the grownups to finish our repast in relative peace.) She usually helps out by emptying the silverware section of the dishwasher, putting away her sippy cups and tupperware dishes, and so forth.
Regardless, when I called, "Come help me clean in the kitchen," she ran up and gave me a big hug on the leg. And said, "Mommy, you don't need my help. You're a good cleaner."
Nice try, child.
This morning, her father was the target. From her carseat in the back, she asked, "Who's going to pick me up from daycare today?" We were a bit surprised as this question hasn't come up before. "I am," said my husband. To which she replied, "Daddy, you are a nice man."
Well, he is. But is he nice BECAUSE he picks you up from daycare? Am I, by extension, NOT NICE because I'm not the one with the free parking lot who keeps the car during the day, and not the one with the flexible work schedule who is allowed to leave his office at 4:45 instead of exactly 5 p.m., so he can pick you up just a little earlier and we can miss exactly 15 minutes of the rush hour?
Not that I think her innocent question was meant to provoke those reflections...she just looks forward to her daily release from the toddler gulag, I expect. At least she knows ONE of us is going to pick her up. I think some days the other children wonder, at least given the tearful drop-off scenarios I occasionally witness.
Perhaps by the weekend I'll even get off my lazy behind and finally post some new pix of the bug now that she has passed the 2.5 year mark. We've taken plenty but I have to find the cord that links the digital camera to the laptop first...
The bug has decided this week to kill her parents with kindness, as clearly the lip-trembling teary-ness, ear-splitting shrieking, and stiff-bodied resistance approaches have not resulted in enough Teddy Grahams and cartoons for her liking in recent days. I admit strongly preferring this approach to the other ones, although I wonder whether the truth is that she is:
a) A fabulously loving child.
b) Amazingly skilled at emotional manipulation.
A few recent examples:
Yesterday after work, she wanted to watch cartoons the moment we got in the door. I wanted her "help" cleaning the kitchen instead. (We do tend to try to restrict her cartoon viewing to less than 24 hours per day and prefer to let her watch "Sesame Street Old School" just after meals, as it allows the grownups to finish our repast in relative peace.) She usually helps out by emptying the silverware section of the dishwasher, putting away her sippy cups and tupperware dishes, and so forth.
Regardless, when I called, "Come help me clean in the kitchen," she ran up and gave me a big hug on the leg. And said, "Mommy, you don't need my help. You're a good cleaner."
Nice try, child.
This morning, her father was the target. From her carseat in the back, she asked, "Who's going to pick me up from daycare today?" We were a bit surprised as this question hasn't come up before. "I am," said my husband. To which she replied, "Daddy, you are a nice man."
Well, he is. But is he nice BECAUSE he picks you up from daycare? Am I, by extension, NOT NICE because I'm not the one with the free parking lot who keeps the car during the day, and not the one with the flexible work schedule who is allowed to leave his office at 4:45 instead of exactly 5 p.m., so he can pick you up just a little earlier and we can miss exactly 15 minutes of the rush hour?
Not that I think her innocent question was meant to provoke those reflections...she just looks forward to her daily release from the toddler gulag, I expect. At least she knows ONE of us is going to pick her up. I think some days the other children wonder, at least given the tearful drop-off scenarios I occasionally witness.
4.18.2007
A new favorite transportation mode
Usually, on the way into work in the morning we see trains. The highway we use to commute into Boulder has train tracks that run about half the length of our commute. The bug is very intrigued by trains and usually wants to see one, to find one, and some mornings even to ride on one. She has a few train-related books, and it's a good morning when we see one as she's generally very enthusiastic about the possibilities they imply.
As of this morning, though, she has a new love. The weather is finally getting warm enough and clear enough for a local summertime business to open, and they lift off around 7:30 a.m. each morning:
Hot Air Balloons.
"I want to touch them. With both hands." she instructed. "The colored ones. Where are they going?"
When Matt and I were first married we lived in a little condo in Gunbarrel. The balloons took off from a field just a few hundred yards away from our complex, so we got quite used to waking up each morning to the sound of whooshing air and the sight of the canopies inflating.
One more thing that makes our morning commute infinitely more tolerable than most people's. It's a good day to count our blessings.
As of this morning, though, she has a new love. The weather is finally getting warm enough and clear enough for a local summertime business to open, and they lift off around 7:30 a.m. each morning:
Hot Air Balloons.
"I want to touch them. With both hands." she instructed. "The colored ones. Where are they going?"
When Matt and I were first married we lived in a little condo in Gunbarrel. The balloons took off from a field just a few hundred yards away from our complex, so we got quite used to waking up each morning to the sound of whooshing air and the sight of the canopies inflating.
One more thing that makes our morning commute infinitely more tolerable than most people's. It's a good day to count our blessings.
Vocabulary expansion, unintentional.
This morning I was putting clips in the bug's hair and asked her if she wanted yellow or green ones to go with her green outfit.
She looked at me and said,
"Blue is not an option?"
Now, I say "That's not an option" all the time when I'm giving her an either-or choice and she doesn't choose from the two possibilities. I was still a bit unprepared for this particular word to generalize into her daily vocabulary, correctly used no less.
She chose yellow, by the way.4.13.2007
It's Friday. I'm a mother. And this is funny.
Majority of Parents Abuse Children, Children Report
Yup, I would have been one of those children once upon a time. Now, I'm one of those parents.
Yup, I would have been one of those children once upon a time. Now, I'm one of those parents.
4.12.2007
For those who share my taste in TV sci-fi.
Hat tip to the Historian for this quiz, which made my morning. Note how close I came to being Kaylee, too. I'm really jazzed. :)
Dependable and trustworthy. You love your significant other and you are a tough cookie when in a conflict.
Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test
Your results:
You are Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command)
Dependable and trustworthy. You love your significant other and you are a tough cookie when in a conflict.
| Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) | 95% | |
| Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) | 95% | |
| Derrial Book (Shepherd) | 75% | |
| Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) | 70% | |
| Inara Serra (Companion) | 70% | |
| Wash (Ship Pilot) | 65% | |
| Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) | 65% | |
| River (Stowaway) | 55% | |
| Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) | 30% | |
| Alliance | 30% | |
| A Reaver (Cannibal) | 15% |
Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test
4.09.2007
must-read parenting story of the day.
Breathing
If you've ever freaked out about an RSV breakout at your daycare or in your school, check this heartwarming story out.
If you've ever freaked out about an RSV breakout at your daycare or in your school, check this heartwarming story out.
4.06.2007
Another opening, another show...
The play I'm stage-managing opened last night. We had about 25 audience members, which was a nice if small crowd. They were a bit afraid to laugh during the first play (which has only a few humorous moments anyway) but warmed up considerably by the second (comedic) one-act.
I've found that a good rule of thumb is: "Enough" people are in the audience if you get at least three times as many audience members as you have cast members.
That may not sound like much, but any actor can tell you stories of doing a big-cast show for a single audience member, or two, or three. Small audiences just kill comedies, because a lot of people are afraid to laugh out loud in a big empty theatre.
That's probably why they're not onstage in the first place. :)
A second good rule of thumb if you're doing a comedy is: hire a stage manager with a big, hearty laugh. My grad school friend Jeff could probably rent himself out for this purpose, as he was an ideal audience member in addition to being a terrific techie. You could hear his laugh in the lobby outside the theatre no matter where he sat. We didn't have a "laugher" in the audience last night so it took longer for people to feel comfortable with laughing out loud, I think.
Still, all went well. Five shows to go and no tech horror stories yet.
I've found that a good rule of thumb is: "Enough" people are in the audience if you get at least three times as many audience members as you have cast members.
That may not sound like much, but any actor can tell you stories of doing a big-cast show for a single audience member, or two, or three. Small audiences just kill comedies, because a lot of people are afraid to laugh out loud in a big empty theatre.
That's probably why they're not onstage in the first place. :)
A second good rule of thumb if you're doing a comedy is: hire a stage manager with a big, hearty laugh. My grad school friend Jeff could probably rent himself out for this purpose, as he was an ideal audience member in addition to being a terrific techie. You could hear his laugh in the lobby outside the theatre no matter where he sat. We didn't have a "laugher" in the audience last night so it took longer for people to feel comfortable with laughing out loud, I think.
Still, all went well. Five shows to go and no tech horror stories yet.
4.05.2007
A missed calling?
If I were ten years younger, this would be one of the most interesting career fields I could possibly imagine.
Hardwired for faith?
The idea of applying scientific parameters to the study of faith is not exactly new, but particular cutting-edge brain analysis technologies are suggesting some interesting correlative relationships. I was reading elsewhere about this, I believe in America, and the priest-author suggested that this evidence was causality-neutral. That is to say, it could be used to support a case that God created us to be believers even at a molecular chemical level; or it could be used to demonstrate that human brain chemistry predisposes us to create god(s) and exhibit religious beliefs.
Anyway, I thought it was neat and will be looking for more in-depth articles about the new field as researchers start to publish.
Hardwired for faith?
The idea of applying scientific parameters to the study of faith is not exactly new, but particular cutting-edge brain analysis technologies are suggesting some interesting correlative relationships. I was reading elsewhere about this, I believe in America, and the priest-author suggested that this evidence was causality-neutral. That is to say, it could be used to support a case that God created us to be believers even at a molecular chemical level; or it could be used to demonstrate that human brain chemistry predisposes us to create god(s) and exhibit religious beliefs.
Anyway, I thought it was neat and will be looking for more in-depth articles about the new field as researchers start to publish.
4.04.2007
Today's moment of Zen
Being this bored is a luxury I haven't been able to afford for about a decade.
I just want to point out that the newspaper is the local Daily Camera, so this site must be hosted by someone in Boulder County.
It figures.
I just want to point out that the newspaper is the local Daily Camera, so this site must be hosted by someone in Boulder County.
It figures.
4.03.2007
Brevity as the soul of blog.
That's my theme for this week. Since the show I'm stage-managing opens Thursday, I'm a bit busier than usual. For the curious among you, see:
Boulder Ensemble Theatre
for more details. I've decided to post briefly and frequently this week instead of writing longer bits. Once sleep resumes, roughly Saturday morning, I will most likely return to my usual verbose self.
Boulder Ensemble Theatre
for more details. I've decided to post briefly and frequently this week instead of writing longer bits. Once sleep resumes, roughly Saturday morning, I will most likely return to my usual verbose self.
Better than the Da Vinci Code?
Check out this article from last week's Nature:
Science and Art: A Leap of Faith
If you're the sort of person who enjoys sudoku or crosswords, these two gentlemen have developed a theory about a famous old painting that is really thought-provoking. It's a neat bit of detective work, whether or not further research from the art history perspective supports their findings.
Science and Art: A Leap of Faith
If you're the sort of person who enjoys sudoku or crosswords, these two gentlemen have developed a theory about a famous old painting that is really thought-provoking. It's a neat bit of detective work, whether or not further research from the art history perspective supports their findings.
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