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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.)
This may only be a partial list of reasons; please, add anything else in the comments. The deadline to file to run for the Board is May 19th. Entire Board Majority NOT vetting the Superintendent in any way, shape or form. Even the Seattle Times thought that was wrong. It was just absolute hubris and it was wrong. For the second time in just over a year , board members voted to negotiate a superintendent contract during a special meeting with no opportunity for public comment. This time, they showed an even deeper disregard for their responsibilities as public servants: Aborting a national search for a new superintendent and denying Interim Superintendent Brent Jones a chance to show students, parents and taxpayers that, indeed, he is the best person for the job. Government bodies can’t fast-forward through transparent processes just because they think they know the right answer. One other odd thing about the hiring of Brent Jones - most permanent SPS superintendent contracts ar
Update 5 It appears that there is another person running in Director Rankin's district, Michael Christophersen. He has run before. From past interactions when he was running before, he's not school board material in the least and he comes off as creepy. (The King County Elections listing is unclear; he's on there as both running and withdrawing.) If he stays in the race, it will mean a primary for that district. That could be interesting because then you would see if Rankin - after pretty much ignoring Ingraham High parents as well as Broadview-Thomson parents and their safety concerns - truly has support in her own district. As well, there is another contender in District 6 and she's Maryanne Wood. Ms Wood's LinkedIn page says she is a "shift lead" at Kinetic Builders but there are no dates for her employment. The company is a general contracting company. I can't find much more about her. end of update Update 4 - To make it clear: District 1 (Ranki
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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