The West Clark Teachers Association has a Twitter feed and was recently questioned by someone, I have removed the name but wanted to answer the comments here.
This response came after I asked a simple question, how do we measure an effective teacher? If by testing, it would show that Carmel teachers were better than Northwest H.S. teachers and that's probably the complete opposite. Socioeconomics as well as other issues cause problems with education.
I have invited any critic of public schools to sit and attend class and hang out. Our hands are tied, more and more either by government red tape or the threat of lawsuit by the general public.
@CoachP_Hunter @WestClarkTA ability to educate when I was a student teachers wanted to be teachers they were not in school face booking
I agree with this comment in essence, but "face booking" can be done in seconds via cell phone and during planning, lunch, using the restroom. Again, I agree 100% that if a teacher is on Facebook excessively during the day, it will hurt teacher effectiveness. But if a teacher posts on social media during the school day, it doesn't rule out that they can still be effective.
@CoachP_Hunter @WestClarkTA I can tell a decent teacher when I meet them they are dedicated not just going through motions
Again, I 100% agree with this comment, but that's not an objective way of measuring teacher effectiveness, it is subjective. If we are going to base teacher pay and jobs on effectiveness, somehow what this person wrote can be brought in a long with a test. However, I am against testing as an objective measurement because of all of the causations that could hinder test scores that have nothing to do with the job of the educator.
@CoachP_Hunter @WestClarkTA a good teacher teaches for life not just encourages memorization they teach life skills
100% agreement again, but what life skills? By whose ideals? Are we crossing over into values? Whose values should be taught? Again, this is a subjective measurement that I do, however, believe many teachers do a great job with.
@CoachP_Hunter @WestClarkTA we both know balanced calendars and common core is a joke if teachers were good homeschooled kids would not
@CoachP_Hunter @WestClarkTA score better on test and students may be prepared for college instead we have non career ready sheep
I would disagree with the first comment about a balanced calendar. I do believe that with students having less time off in the summer, it could help with carryover, but, I do agree that a balanced calendar creates more starting and stopping which hurts the elementary schools more than high school.
Home school does a wonderful job! One on One is the absolute best way to teach students, but that is not feasible in most homes, so they have to go to the local school, or private, or charter...whatever. I'd argue that the problems with schools have less to do with what goes on in my four walls than what goes on in "your" four walls.
I will attest that most students are not "sheep", and if they are, it has less to do with what we do in the classroom and more to do with what they are exposed to at home and online.
@CoachP_Hunter @WestClarkTA and silver creek has become a joke c rating too many transfers pay substitutes nothing embarrassing
The only comment I strongly disagree with. SC test scores (but really, they shouldn't matter) are competitive with all schools in the area including the Charter and Private schools. SC is highly successful both academically and athletically. The "C" grade and the grading of schools is kind of a joke.
Transfers are funding all of the programs that the state legislature is forcing on public schools and without that money, consolidation would be more imminent...the pay for substitutes is a board issue and is low, I guess. I haven't subbed in many years.
After checking out this person's Twitter feed, he seemed to lean to the Right politically.
What I don't understand is that most (not all) people from that side of the spectrum believe that society is going down the tubes, and are against big government, yet want a government institution to solve all of our societies ills.
Public schools feed, counsel, provide needs, provide goods, teach life skills, and teach what we are contractually supposed to teach, but it's us, teachers, that are the problem.
I beg to differ.
