Unions, Tests, Accountabilty, LIFO

I am reading a book by Terry Moe, “Special Interest” and part way through, I just had to blog about it. This kind of connects to my prior post,http://3rseduc.blogspot.com/2011/10/cheating-is-crime-you-will-be-punished.html

Should teachers be held accountable for student achievement? Of all union teachers surveyed, 40% support this notion and 60% oppose it. Of the rare breed of non-union teachers, 52% support this and 48% do not. So I got to thinking, well, what do I think?

I would have to abstain from answering in yes or no format. See, student achievement is part of teacher success, just like patient satisfaction and non-death rates is for doctors, for example. As much as I hate to make a business comparison to schools and children, they are a teacher’s client and product so there should be some accountability.

A similar question on the survey was, “use tests to measure achievement?” with a support/do not support response. Of all union teachers, 19% support it and 81% oppose it, and of non-union teachers, 29% support ad 71% oppose. The author argues that student achievement, especially via test scores, does, and should, matter. Teachers should be held accountable.

I say…kind of. I argue that standardized tests only test a certain amount and kind of knowledge. Tests have some validity, but the current weight given on just one test is ludicrous. I feel that the tests do not assess critical thinking, creativity, innovation… most 21st century skills, and those skills that colleges and employers look for and find lacking in today’s youth. Therefore, a blended model seems ideal, one that includes test scores (because yes, it is important to know if Billy knows how to add, how to spell, and certain common knowledge facts like what are the Bill of Rights, why does the sun rise, etc), and other “assessments”. By that I mean portfolios, projects, essays, presentations- things you would see and use outside of school. Yes, adults take assessments in the workplace but they do more than that. And skills and intellect are more than just a test.

Also, we need to look at skills growth over time. An argument I hear teachers use, which I agree with, is that it is unfair to judge a teacher by his or her students. What I at least mean by this is, let’s say you are Teacher X and PVE, Prison View Elementary. Your children are all on free lunch, half are learning English, and they are on average, 2 grades below grade level. Due to poverty, mobility is high and so you end the school year with only 1/5 of the students you started with. Ok let’s also look at Teacher Y at PME, Prestigious Millionaire Elementary. Your students take IB courses, have private tutors, no one has free lunch, all speak other languages but that is due to private lessons to learn a language aside from English and…you get the point. Testing season comes and goes and X’s students at PVE are skewed so that 85% are basic and below. Y’s students at PME are skewed so that 85% are proficient and above. So with the logic of testing and teacher accountability in place, X is fired and Y gets a bonus. Is that fair?

But on the flip side, can teachers solely blame society’s ails on student performance? I am the first to notice demographics, a culture that does not value education, etc. It is my nature as a sociologist and data person. These are indeed HUGE factors in performance. We do need to work in changing our culture to value education, we need poverty to dwindle, blab la bla. I agree. BUT a teacher should have SOME accountability. First, she/he should be held accountable via test scores (and my blended model of other “assessments”). But it should not be via raw scores or percent proficient, but rather, growth. If Teacher X has 5 students who all scored 25% correct at the end of last year, and then under her guidance and teaching, scores 55% this year, shouldn’t there be some praise? Instead of our current and proposed models, saying “hey, X, those 5 kids are still “basic” and not the NCLB necessary proficient, bad-soundung buzz, fail, you are fired” they should praise growth. And Teacher Y, whose 5 students which scores 59%, basic, last year, and under her guidance scored….hmm… 60%, yay, proficient this year, should not be rewarded for “more proficiency” when the growth was only 1%, statistically invalid.

Culture, life at home, etc is certainly a large factor in educational attainment. A teacher cannot perform miracles on 100% of students. But then I think of Shanti Bhavan in India, which takes the Untouchables- kids way worse off than our worst at risk students, and educates them and guess what? They do great in school and become professors, engineers, doctors. Above all odds. Because of a teacher. But this cannot be quite replicated in America. Why? If our kids fail school, they will just go sell drugs or go on welfare. They will still have a home (perhaps a rented trailer, but it is a home nevertheless), food via EBT (you can get filet mignon and éclairs!), a tv, a cell phone, clothes….so why get an education, work your butt off, to buy the same lifestyle? In India, for these untouchables, without an education they face true dire poverty, starvation, death. So that is a motivator. However, I do argue the case that if Shanti Bhavan can do what they do, we, us American educators, can do something. We need to be held somewhat accountable because hello, we’re educators, educating. If we can’t at least help some kids succeed, why the &&%$ are we in the classroom?

But of course teachers in general will never support accountability based on student performance of any kind. Why? Unions. Unions were initiated to protect against the rare cases of abuse, i.e. 14 hour days without a break, parents suing over use of “emotionally damaging” red correcting pens, etc. Worker’s rights laws now exist, in and out of unions, to protect from this. However, unions today have gone beyond that and into protecting jobs at all costs. A teacher can cheat or even worse, physically harm students and keep a job ,or at least remain either in the classroom, or on paid leave, for years until the union can justify ridding of them. So of course teachers want no accountability because that could be an eventual threat to their job security. But how can they be so selfish? To let job security trump a child’s education?

Also, no one seems to mention the disposables. The teachers that are pre-tenure. They pay union dues but have little to no protection. Due to LIFO, they are the first to be let go in a budget crisis. Maybe their test scores are equal or better compared to the neighboring classroom, but merely because of (lack of) seniority, they’re gone. They don’t have to molest children to be placed on paid administrative leave for two years. No. They don’t have to do anything, they could be a model teacher, and they’re let go without cause. But because they’re new and thus inexperienced, dumb, second class citizens, who cares? They aren’t the great ones, the master, tenured teachers. They haven’t worked their way up, so who cares about them? And if they get laid off, better them than me. A common mentality which I have actually heard teachers discuss is, “no I won’t cut my pay for the probationary staff to keep their jobs. I need my full income, and at least it is not me losing my job. Besides, they’re new teachers, so they’re not as good at teaching as I am. So I deserve to keep my job.”

Pink Slips

"Beware the Ides of March" said Shakespeare many centuries ago, and it should be a slogan for public education in California. March 15th, Shakespeare's/Rome's Ides of March day, is wearisome in California. Thousands of teachers receive "pink slips" (mine has never been pink...) saying basically that due to budget uncertainties, they may not have a job next year.

A quick tangent on budgeting...The budget if I recall correctly (as it is not my forte) has cycles of knowledge and disbursement...the state gives some inclination of funding in January, then April, then July...April calls an end to ADA ($ for attendance) and these periods may also be pay periods. (Sorry...I should really be more knowledgeable). I think by May 15 districts must "pencil" in the budget for the following school year, but they don't actually know what funding they will receive until July 1. And funding is based on the previous school year. Example, if a school of 300 students submits their budget in May of 2011, they find out their actual budget July 1st of 2011, and then when school rolls around in late summer of 2011, if the enrollment swells to 350, their funding is based on last school year's 300 students.
Therefore with all this budget confusion, schools make a not-so-conservative chopping block list in March and then refine it in May, based solely on speculations.

Back on topic here...
Those most often pink slipped, whether it be the Russian Roulette invitation in March or the Russian Roulette final rounds in May, are the newest teachers and staff (people often forget that teacher's aides, administration, etc get cut, too). If you're not tenured, it's quite likely you'll make the first rounds; and if it is particularly a bad year financially even a newly tenured staff person can enter the first rounds. This means teachers that most likely are struggling to support a family (since your first years of teaching have lower salary than your more "senior" years on the job) and more likely are paying off student debt, are most likely at risk. What a way to value the new teaching stock!

Them May rolls around and usually most pink slips are rescinded but there's often some kind of final rounds of certain death. Once this occurs, your likelihood of getting another job lessens because you only "lasted" at a school for a few years which looks suspicious. Once you reach my magical number of two of these experiences, no one wants to hire you; they never seen to think "oh, pink slips" but rather "oh, bad teacher".

I have fallen victim to these practices twice; both times I lost the second round of roulette.

I remember waking on March 15 with mixed emotions and biting at the bit until the Principal would call me in the office. Both times, I got the pink slip. I kept telling myself, so many people receive these and so few are let go so who cares? But there was always that nagging voice saying, what if? This made the two months between March and May utter hell...I had to content with the spring fever of my students, state testing, and job insecurity. I'd second guess my every action and thought...like, I was tired and yawned in front of the Principal, will she think that means I'm bored by my job? ADHD Annie is off her rocker today and refuses to finish her spelling test- will this cause me to be fired?
May 15 rolls around and I wake up in a foul mood. I keep telling myself, it will be ok it will be ok. But both times, it wasn't. I remember when I received the bad news I did my best not to cry, and went into the restroom and bawled my eyes out. I did not want to be the center of attention or object of pity. I had a job to finish, and this would not get in my way. (I did witness other staff being let go, that had a f%#k it attitude and barely did their job after May 15 but not me). I put on a game face and battled through the rest of the year. I refused both times to tell anyone I was not going to return the following year. See, teaching is a job but it is also a life style. The students, your co-workers, are your extended family. If you remove sleep, night school, errands, it seems you're at school more than home, and see your students more than your own family. So imagine being ostracized from your own family! Your home! You become a destitute, nomadic, Pink Slip refugee. It is heart breaking.
I remember that both times, I did not tell my students the bad news - that they would never see me again- until the very end of the last day of school. Therefore, the last day of school was bittersweet. I'd take photos of my class (before delivering my news), smiles abound as they got all jazzed up about summer...I preserved these happy memories on paper because that's how I want to remember my students. I do recall one of the years, the students went to promotion, meaning the next school year they would attend middle school, so for them it was bitter sweet too, as they were leaving their school of six years.
Upon delivering my bad news, my students were always so shocked. They said I was a good teacher and didn't deserve this and how they would never see me again and how sad it was. I got hugs and tears and thank yous.

Once my students left for summer, I'd stay after and pack up my classroom which is a hard thing to do. It is sad to tear everything down, knowing you'd never hear child chatter in that class again, never witness another "aha moment" inside those walls, never proudly display a student's work again, never post a "welcome to my class" sign and great eager but frightened children as they entered your class for the first time... everything you pack away carries a memory that may never be replicated. And you are filled with emotion- obvious sadness, but some joy for the good things that did happen inside those walls (kind of like an Irish wake, celebrating life!) and then some anger too, and misunderstandings, negative emotions all bundled up , that you didn't let out at school because you couldn't, and now they'd been shoved aside so long that now that you can let them out, it seems futile, but the anger still resides. You're gone, what is done is done. You've been a victim of circumstance. They'd better regret letting you go. Will they remember me, will a part of me always be in these walls, in the story of the school, the memory of the children, or will that all go away as fast as I do?

Shutting off the lights and locking the door for the last time is an unforgettable moment, almost indescribable. I slooowly shut the door, unwilling to fully let it go, let reality set in. But as soon as the lock clicks, I can't get out of there fast enough.

Hi, I'm your new teacher, Mrs. Manson-Hitler

Okay I might as well call myself Manson-Hitler as that's what many educators would want to call me if I expressed my true feelings. so here goes....as one of my students would say, "bring it on haters!"

1. unions...ok I'm part of CTEN- California Teacher's Empowerment Network but that's more a support group than what a current union is..and its free. You have to pay dues in my state and those without knowledge i.e. me in my first year as a teacher, don't know you can say no to the union....they make it seem you must join or no job for you. But if you have to pay regardless so you may as well join. But see they don't represent you the first two years (since you're not tenured and considered a temp employee) so you're wasting money towards protecting worse teachers than you, ones that kept their job- you pay for them to keep their job as you lose yours in a layoff. Oh and how you have no say where your dues go politically...what if you're diabolically opposed (ok a bit extreme of a term there...) to what you're funding? Too freakin' bad....pay up! So I've paid two years of dues to fund politics that I feel actually harm people but I digress...

2. collective bargaining....hours and layoffs...I work at a non-union school (egads) and it's a charter (double egads....see told you I'm evil) so no colletive bargaining. I took a personnel course for my MA (which was all about unions and nothing much about personnel, go figure) and had to review contracts etc and wowza... it explains why in high school I recall one of my teachers there from 6:45-2:00 daily on the exact dot....school hours were 7:00-1:45, teachers had to be there 15 min before and after. She NEVER took home one single piece of work and would only help students during school hours. She was the union rep for the school and knew her contractual hours and obligations and let me tell you, the students suffered because her teaching wasn't stellar and papers were graded eons after they were turned in because, well, contractually speaking she was not to work on lesson planning or grading "after hours". At my school we have teachers there 2-3 hours after school quite often. Yeah it "sucks" but at the same time we have very passionate teachers doing amazing things in the classroom, where they can actually begin to fill the many roles society piles upon us- staying after school that long allows them to not just have great lessons (individualized!) but make the classroom cute and cozy, buy snacks for hungry students, tutor after hours, have sports and art clubs, collaborate with staff, help families, you name it.
Oh and layoffs.... so I was in that personnel course and the state as you know is in the hole and there are layoffs like mad. Most 1st-2nd year "temps" are fired...errr....laid off, let go, RIF'ed. Some tenured teachers with the least seniority are even "let go" in the harder hit districts. This has to happen due to budget cuts, yes, but is it fair? Some "crappy" teachers with ten years tenure stay while that great 2nd year teacher is let go. And certainly whoever is let go loses income and may not be able to support their family which is quite sad. So in our class the teachers said their district had proposed letting go of staff and yadda yadda, everyone was tenured so they just hoped class size would not increase and budget cuts would end soon. But they wanted some solution to ending it and I said, keep good non-tenured teachers and do a 5% salary cut across the board. Oh Lordy I seriously thought I'd get jumped, as the looks of disdain, disgust, hatred in their eyes was something to be seen. They said they could NEVER survive off such a salary, they EARNED it through education and years of service and teachers NEVER make enough. (Ok yes GOOD teachers are grossly underpaid...but that's another story). I said, hello, I make less than your district's beginning teacher salary, after 5 years experience in my charter and I'd like more money but I survive. I cut back our cable service, mow my own lawn, etc. And I said, if you do the 5% cut NO ONE loses their jobs, NO ONE is out on the streets....thought I'd appeal to their emotion as no one wants to see a co-worker homeless right? WRONG. They actually had the audacity to say, essentially, better them than me. They said they would rather non-tenured staff lose their jobs than they lose 5% of pay. They had seniority and deserved it and someone has to make sacrifices (just not them.) They actually supported the notion of watching fellow co-workers lose their jobs, homes, whatever, instead of a mil pay cut for themselves. I was livid. And these "caring" people work with our children? As role models? Wow.

3. Experience, education, seniority..... Years of experience and education does not make the teacher. Then again a lay man doesn't either. However...my husband has taught some classes at church and done training in his career and if he were my teacher, I'd be amazed. I'd want to come to school and I'm not saying this because he is my husband. He has passion, charisma, knowledge, "fire" in his teaching. He gets people motivated, interested, thinking... I think I'm a good teacher but actually, he might be better, You need some pedagogy, history, psychology of learning to teach, and some practice etc that the education programs offer as I've seen knowledgeable people in non-public school environment try and teach and they can't handle a classroom and they seem clueless as to their clientele, so everyone needs to know how to teach. But knowing how to teach isn't all. That piece of paper called a credential really means nothing. I think of a principal I knew....she had a teaching and admin credential and MA degree so really qualified right? She gave K-3 kids bazookas (the instruments not the weapon) in an assembly. At the beginning. On a snowy no-recess outside day (on the third day of no recess.) Right before the holidays. Total mayhem and she tried to gain control but hello, 300 little kids, pent up, ready for Santa, with bazookas? Come on....you'd think a MA degree would afford the common sense to say hmm let's give the bazookas out at the end of the day.
And seniority....just because you've been there forever doesn't mean you're a great teacher. I've known teachers there for eons that read newspapers in class and let the class run wild. Meanwhile the amazing teacher next door, in her second year of teaching, is on the chopping block. Ok I've also known some horrible new teachers that also throw in the towel and let the class run wild (and I've been a part of suggesting to the admin that they go elsewhere) and great senior teachers. But seniority is ludicrous. We tell kids not to "hold place in line" but seniority is kind of like that, first come first serve. I have been "let go" twice due to lack of seniority. This makes my resume sub-par and usually tossed aside as who would want to hire someone who only lasted at a school for one year..twice? Yet I know I'm not alone.

Oh there's more evil ideas in my head but that's for another time.