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Overkill Leads to...what the U.S. System Looks Like Today
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Remember when I said. let's go back to basics? This might be a good start.
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Anonymous said…
They also have the most rigorous education programs in the world with something like 8 total schools of education that are as selective as their medical and/or law schools. How many collegegs of ed do we have in Washington State alone?
I'm sure they do but the weeding starts out before they do become teachers.
Anonymous said…
WA State doesn't have as many as Texas, where you can essentially buy a certificate. Or Utah, where you don't need a certificate to get a teaching job.
Not all of the WA colleges and universities have something ed-related. A couple of the private colleges (UPS, Seattle U, possibly PLU) offer ed programs as MAT programs for people who have already obtained their undergrad - no undergrad degree in education. I don't recall that Whitman has any form of ed degree. State schools, yes. The usual for-profit vultures - Western Governor's University, where you can get your teaching degree online! - City U, U of Phoenix - all offer ed degrees of some kind. I'd be perfectly happy to see fewer ed programs for more quality, if there were also more opportunities for teachers to rid themselves of student loans for taking on harder assignments -high-poverty schools and special ed, rural areas - and staying put for more than 2 years. Not just new teachers either. I was talking to someone recently who has taught for more than 10 years, but still has 30K in student loans (granted the Bush administration's interest rate hike probably inflated that by about 10K beyond what it originally was).
mag mom, how about we have a way to get rid of ineffective administrators? Teachers in SPS do get dismissed sometimes, there seems to need to be a felony indictment involved before an administrator can be removed.
The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested. It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio. (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read). end of update Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board. To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up. But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, gr...
From the ever-amusing Washington Policy Center : Vouchers are Pell Grants for students under 18. Vouchers are no different than Pell Grants or GI benefits, except the money goes to the families of students younger than age 18. Except they are. Pell Grants were created to help needy students and that's not really the goal of the voucher program. The Pell grant website does have a couple of great studies on why low-income students drop out before finishing their higher ed and what makes a difference.
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TooMany
mag mom
Not all of the WA colleges and universities have something ed-related. A couple of the private colleges (UPS, Seattle U, possibly PLU) offer ed programs as MAT programs for people who have already obtained their undergrad - no undergrad degree in education. I don't recall that Whitman has any form of ed degree. State schools, yes. The usual for-profit vultures - Western Governor's University, where you can get your teaching degree online! - City U, U of Phoenix - all offer ed degrees of some kind.
I'd be perfectly happy to see fewer ed programs for more quality, if there were also more opportunities for teachers to rid themselves of student loans for taking on harder assignments -high-poverty schools and special ed, rural areas - and staying put for more than 2 years. Not just new teachers either. I was talking to someone recently who has taught for more than 10 years, but still has 30K in student loans (granted the Bush administration's interest rate hike probably inflated that by about 10K beyond what it originally was).
CT