Programs Suffer Cuts in Funding

published March 9th, 2011 in Ed Week

I was rather shocked to read that literacy programs took the brunt of recent cuts in education funding. With the recent focus on improving test scores and the No Child Left Behind Act, it seems to me that literacy skills would be a key component to meeting those goals. The article said the Striving Readers  program that used to receive $250 million was completely eliminated. I can’t even imagine how many families and children will be impacted by such a drastic cut. The Even Start Program, which was another literacy program, lost $67 million. Seventeen of these programs in Illinois will close, and they used to serve 643 families. Political pressure to decrease the deficit has led to many programs being reduced or cut this year, not just in education. The difference is that when educational programs are cut, it is kids we are hurting, and it is usually the neediest students who suffer the most.

An Educators Role in a Pop Culture World

published March 9th, 2011 in Ed Week

While I read this article I found myself rather concerned by this author’s claims that teacher’s should work against pop culture and current fashion trends in student’s lives. Personally, I feel we should encourage students to be creative and to take calculated risks. While I agree that I would rather not see students walking around with pants that sag down, I think that as long as their body is covered then we should allow student’s that freedom. I would rather be an educator that can guide students to make wise decisions by asking thought provoking questions than an educator that simply tells students what to do and how to dress.

What is Behind the Discrediting of Michelle Rhee?

published March 2^nd, 2011 in Ed Week

I have read several articles this year about Michelle Rhee and her controversial reign as chancellor of the District of Columbia and her views on education. She seems to be a very polarizing character with everyone either loving or hating her. For me personally, I am torn about how I stand on her educational views. As a future teacher, I would like to go to work everyday and feel confident in having job security. It seems fair that when there are budget cuts, the new guy would be the first to go. However, I am currently working in a district that is facing staffing cuts next year. There are several veteran teachers who are commonly referred to as “lousy, and ineffective”. The newest staff member hired is an amazing math teacher and I see students leaving his classroom with a solid foundation of Alegbra skills. In this situation, it seems logical that the newer staff member would be the best choice to retain. This is also Michelle Rhee’s stance that the newest teacher should not always be the first to be let go. It should in fact be the least effective teacher that loses their job.

I would guess that there are others like me, who have concern for their job security, but would fight to defend it by attempting to discredit Ms. Rhee. Even if this group of people could prove she falsified some statistics on her resume, it would do nothing to discredit her educational policies. I think it would be more effective to engage in open debate about what a highly effective teacher looks like and how to ensure teachers are being accurately evaluated.

I guess when I really stop to think about it, I am for the most qualified person keeping their job. What concerns me is the evaluation methods. As long as those could be guaranteed to be impartial and fair, then I could fully support Michelle Rhee’s view point on teacher retention.