POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Just sent a message to Diane Ravitch regarding USA’s concerns re PISA scores.

I asked, if USA is so concerned with PISA, why do they not emulate the high scoring nations like Finland and Canada?

She answered “we are too busy emulating Chile, the maximum choice nation”

In Chile the poor with vouchers are falling farther and farther behind the rich causing riots segregation and class polarization as it does everywhere. Maximum choce creates maximum disasters.

Maximum voucher choice in Chile was introduced by the Fascist government of Pinochet following the Friedmanite Chicago school of total free enterprise.

A few more articles that gives more details on the new book,  The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/08/19/five-rules-of-what-to-look-for-in-a-school-and-why-the-building-doesnt-matter-but-the-teachers-do/

A book review - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonah-edelman/the-smartest-kids-in-the-world_b_3743684.html

Interesting - no doubt the educationalists will be going to war over the author’s insights on the public education system.

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

I don’t disagree with much of Nancy’s post. Canadian and American teachers have been saying for years now, there is NOTHING to learn in the USA privatization approach. Notice the author did not talk about charters or vouchers or privatization or choice. She just said high quality teachers and rigor. No problem. Of course it is possible to go too high for any age group as common core probably just did in NYC with disasterous results.

I love the Finland teacher education selection method.

Only problem she tries to use Norway to deny the poverty education link which sends any serious researcher into gales of laughter.

Well Doug, in the Macleans interview - she suggest parents should be asking real questions, and to which would give every principal a royal headache. “The fundamentals are: How do you choose your teachers? How do you make your teachers better at their jobs? How do you know if you’re succeeding and if your students are learning? How do you make sure that the work is rigorous and keeps raising the bar to make sure you’re not underestimating our kids? Those are the real questions. After that, if you have time, it makes sense to ask about what kind of cleaning products the school uses.”
http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/08/19/five-rules-of-what-to-look-for-in-a-school-and-why-the-building-doesnt-matter-but-the-teachers-do/

Also in the book, media literacy is mentioned. Its the big thing in high school English these days. No need to learn the literary terms by heart, and know what to do with the terms in analyzing the lines of Shakespeare or some other text. Just imagine, after getting my youngest on the right track on the how-tos in literary terms, and how it will help in her writing, the powers to be decided to add all the new terms in media literacy. The new knowledge which is pretty worthless, and so new, the students can’t even find the media literacy terms on the web, and nor are the terms in the English textbooks. I tried and even my searches bare no results.

The author suggests - “You argue, though, that a key part of real media literacy is decoding the sort of numbers the media present.

A: Statistics and probability are so important. I was in Santa Monica, Calif., last week and I had a 15 per cent-off coupon for a restaurant on the beach, but no one in the restaurant—they were all probably college students—could actually figure out what 15 per cent of the bill was. I finally said, “You know what? I’ll just come back another day.” But it was, you know, depressing. I was on a parent-led tour of a $30,000-a-year private school in D.C., led by a mother with three kids there—meaning she writes yearly cheques for $90,000—who admitted the school’s math teaching was “weak.” I couldn’t believe it. It was one of those moments where you’re not sure you’ve left your body because you can’t believe no one else is reacting.”

The old common knowledge is disappearing fast in the public schools. More and more youth coming out of the schools without knowing the how-tos’ in discounts. Oh yes, its the ideologies at play here. No point in learning a set of common knowledge, because the people are supposed to share their knowledge sets, work as a team that enables the customer to get their 15 % discount. Just like the way they did it in school…........media literacy is for the birds when it is not teaching the students the old line - “Don’t believe everything you hear or see”. Determine if it is the truth.

That way, politicians, governments and even corporations would have a very difficult time pulling the wool over the citizens’ eyes. Its all about asking the real questions for both parents and students.

hot off the presses:

http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/e-brief_164.pdf

Alberta’s public charter schools rank very high—AND Dr. Johnson has adjusted for socio-economic background.

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Doretta and Paul gaga over CD Howe research who promote charter schools, find they are better and control for SES. Anybody in research knows this is nowhere near enough. They must have equal numbers of special ed, ELL motivated parents/students. Most researchers will laugh that study off the map.

Well Doug it’s obvious you didn’t read it because he does look at special ed.

I guess you’d better tell the economics dept at Laurier U., where Dr. Johnson works out of, that he doesn’t know how to do research or statistical analysis.  Guess an OISE education PhD. trumps a Harvard economics PhD in that case. :-0

Here’s the technical appendix:  http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/e-brief_164_appendix.pdf

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Looked at is hardly the same thing as balanced.

Motivation is the critical factor, that is why American studies only look at winners and losers of the KIPP draw. The good professor is a shill for the Fraser/CD groups and as such nobody will take him seriously.

Take 2 brothers in the same family Pat and Mike.

Same family same SES. Pat is dying to get started with piano lessons. Mike’s mom has asked him repeatedly to take piano lessons but he keeps wanting hockey instead.

The boy’s mom signs them both up for Piano lessons. Try to guess which one will do better. Correct.

Motivation is everything.

Take a building in a public housing project, all same SES. 1/2 the families are working against all odds to imporove. the other 1/2 have kinda given up.

New charter comes to neighbourhood. Achieving parents spot chance to leave unmotivated kids behind.

New charter uses interviews, contracts, parent involvement suspensions, expulsions to control the enrolment so they can screen out the latter type. Oldest game in education. Screen out the unmotivated, teach the motivated, claim victory as a miracle school.

I know a thing or two about motivation. Give the students the basic foundation tools of the 3 Rs, in the same way one starts off with the basic scales of the piano, and watch students become motivated.

One ought to check the LD research files. Lots of interesting research on basic foundation skills, the levels and the key to motivation. Or shall we believed that all students are lazy as the public education research has cited as one of the reasons for the lack of motivation.

On another front, if one checks the data stream, suspensions and detentions are higher in the public education system. The usual assortment of students being suspended and given detentions are the students with lower levels in reading, writing and numeracy, the SE students, and the students who just don’t fit in the norm of the inclusive classroom. Another part of the data streams that is not tracked by the public education system. Apparently the reason has something to do with privacy and confidentiality. One of the newer reasons since the turned of the 21st century, and used quite often for other data streams such as the number of students that have below average levels in reading, writing or numeracy.

You bet motivation is everything. However, all the motivation in the world, will not be worth the damn if the students do not have proficient levels of the   basic foundation tools and skills to learn and progress in the classroom.

As for Dave Johnson - quite the resume - I am sure he knows how to add 2 + 2 and always will come up with a 4 for the answer.  http://www.cdhowe.org/david-johnson

On that page, one will see the research that has been done. Here is another study of interest - 2009 -
Collateral Damage: The Impact of Work Stoppages on Student Performance in Ontario
http://www.cdhowe.org/collateral-damage-the-impact-of-work-stoppages-on-student-performance-in-ontario/4512

Imagine that - the striking union are always saying they are striking for the best interests of students…..........

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Dr Johnson can have whtever degree he wants from whereever he wants. As soon as anyone in education or the media sees;

Fraser Institute

CD Howe

Frontier Centre

AIMS

The eyes roll and the page turns. The media and the education system understand the spin of these “always on the RIGHT (wing) side “research’ organizations is. No cred with anyone except the usual suspects, Sun Media, Canwest maybe.

If I showed you this poll by the AFT that Bostonians overwhelmingly wany help for public schools not more charter schools, the first thing you would say is “of course the poll was done for the AFT”

http://www.aft.org/newspubs/press/2013/082113a.cfm

For everyone else, Fraser, Frontier, CD Home Aims look exactly the same. Forgone conclusions

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Very well paid teachers teaching very small classes IS in the best interest of students. You guys believe in financial incentives right? You need to pay CEOs good money to attract the best.

Same with teachers. you want the best people to become teachers, that is not cheap. The more you pay teachers, the better teachers you get.

The OECD report have a lot to say about teacher salaries. What is really ironic, is how the eduction establishment and government are boasting about the salaries, in the face of declining enrollment versus spending less time in the classroom.

Instead of reading a boring OECD report - colourful charts will be the order of the day. And yes I did check the figures against the OECD report.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2348127/Teachers-England-best-paid-world-They-earn-spend-time-classroom.html

As for Boston - lots on the television news about education in Boston. The latest issue is all about the empty seats - ““It’s a misuse of public funds to have empty seats,” said Meg Campbell, a School Committee member who also runs the Codman Academy Charter School. “Every dime we are spending on a classroom not being fully used is a dime we are not spending on programs that benefit students. We don’t have unlimited dollars.” - See more at: http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/boston-high-schools-experiencing-declining-enrollment/#sthash.6P4PvleH.dpuf

Perhaps people can understand why Boston, have close to 50 % of students going to private and charter schools. One would get that impression, if one is watching the Boston news on their cable.

And yet the education establishment remains silent for the most part when funding got tied to student enrollment. If the teachers’ unions don’t wake up, they many actually get their wish of smaller classes, but will be conducted in the floor space of a over-sized supply closet. Just like the movement of the returned of wards in hospital care - of having 6 or more in one room, teachers may regret pushing for reforms that will eventually lead to redrawing the classroom to 1/2 its size. Kids are not widgets, but the education establishment seems to think that kids can be molded into widgets.

There is consequences to each action taken. Without measuring outcomes as Dr. Johnson has done, how would anyone know if small classes and other reforms are working?  In the education establishment, they always react negatively to reports that reports on the aspects of the education outcomes, but are always quite willing to used survey polls to craft policy.

I am sure if the Boston public who took the survey poll knew about the long term consequences of the trade-offs of smaller classes - I am quite sure they won’t be voting for smaller classes, if it means a smaller classroom. But then again, perhaps all the parents that did take the poll have their children enrolled in charter and private schools.

Good discussion.  Charter schools doing well is about motivation and also about Principals that are accountable for results.

What happens when Principals are accountable?

1.  The hiring paradigm shifts from getting a good hockey coach to hiring a solid Calculus teacher.

2. The time table paradigm shifts to giving rigorous academic classes (students who, if need be, teach themselves) to proven academic teachers and not to the track coach because it frees him up to attend early afternoon competitions.  Imagine what would happen to results if the motivated academic students actually had an equally motivated academic teacher?

When did all this change?  When the Harris government removed Principals from the union.  The intent was that once the Principals were independent of the union they would insist on much more academic rigour.  The reality on the ground is that now the Principal’s sway to an   agenda dictated by local school boards.  And in this world the football championship gets more points than an excellent Calculus program.

Think about any organization—the role of management is key.

cheers.  Mirka

In Nancy’s post above she challenges paying the same rate to teachers who are spending less time in the classroom.

In “Finish Lessons” there are a series of illuminating graphs comparing many parameters.  Time in the classroom is compared against measurable results.  Finish teachers spend less time in the classroom compared to others countries with good results and get superior outcomes. 

cheers.  Mirka

Yes Mirka, the Finland teachers also land in the middle of the pack when it comes to salaries relative to their education levels. The highest salaried teachers which includes Canada, also spend less time in the classroom.

“The average primary school teacher in England earned £27,832 in 2011, much more than in France, Spain and Italy. Scottish primary school teachers take home even more – £30,168.

Yet English primary teachers teach for just 684 hours a year, compared to 936 in France and 770 in Italy.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2348127/Teachers-England-best-paid-world-They-earn-spend-time-classroom.html

Canada teachers have 800 hours and are paid handsomely being in the top ten countries. England is just behind Canada, but I supposed if they increased the hours in the classroom, the British educator could quickly outpaced the Canadian educator salaries.

As for principals - a paper from another educator - Should Principals Be Union Members?
http://www.fcpp.org/files/9/FB056Principals and MTS.pdf

Neatly tells the ABCs why principals should not belong to the same union as the classroom educators.

So, yes a major key to the effectiveness of any organization is management of operations. However, one can’t ignore the inherent conflicts of carrying out the duties and responsibilities of classroom educators versus principals in the schools. Nor pretend that teachers’ unions work on the behalf of the students.

POSTED ON BEHALF OF DOUG

Finnish teachers spend far less time in class than Americans and get far better results. Teachers in Japan spend one of the lowest amounts of time in class with excellent results.

Are teachers only to be paid for class time?

Are lawyers only paid for court time?

Are journalists only paid while in the newspaper office writing?

Are surgeons only paid for operating room time?

Be serious. There is work to be done. 60-70% of it in the classsroom but far from all.

Hello all,

Had the best experience this week at the local Shoppers Drug Mart.  Went in to get my pre-school arsenal lotions/potions also known as “hope in a jar”. 

The cosmetician shared that her primary work is for the Italian consulate where she was offered what she thought was a lucrative amount of $$ to teach Italian to the children in the local Italian community.  Before she started teaching she looked at the $$ as a per hour payment.  Once she began, she needed to prepare lessons, create resources, mark the work, and find other peers to share and compare.  In her view she prepared 3 hours for each hour with the students.  She said, NEVER AGAIN, fervently and repeatedly.  We had a chuckle.

I may it look easy - but it is not.  I love what I do and I rock it.  I would love to be able to give some of the regular edu-scolds that post here an opportunity to experience a week in the life.  Most would, I expect, love teaching and respect teachers the same way I do.

best regards.  Mirka

Hello again, Nancy.

We may have to get a cup of tea one day and chat in real time.

You gave a link that you call the ABC of why principals should not be in the union with educators.  The link is inactive and I would love to read the info.  Can you please give search parameters so that I can follow up?  Much appreciated.

You end your post with great authority speaking to ’ effectiveness and management operation’.  Interestingly, in Finland, principals are really what we would understand as head teachers.  They have teaching responsibilities as well as management responsibilities.  They are part of the union and get 6 to 7 year contracts from the municipality that may or may not get renewed.  They will always be teachers but their position as principal gets renewed regularly.  Reminds me a bit of Ouchi’s book, “Making Schools Work”  that describes the Alberta reforms.

The little European country that I come from also has principals teach at least one class each day -it keeps it real.

please help with the ABC of why principals should not be teachers link.  Thanks.

Mirka

I went into my history - the link works for me. However I went unto the site - The name of the article is Should Principles Be Union Members.

http://www.fcpp.org/search.php?q=Should+Principals+Be+Union+Members&btnG=Search

If not here is the home page - then pop the name of the article in the search engine.
http://www.fcpp.org/

Otherwise the original link - http://www.fcpp.org/files/9/FB056Principals and MTS.pdf

I just recheck my post and the link - the last few characters did not connect - or whatever the term is - I know the solution - copy and paste in the address bar.

Well the principles in NL are teaching a class or two. They got no choice and heaven forbid what it will be like for educators under the provincial school board. Instead of taking 6 weeks to solved a busing problem, it will take six months or until the parent gives up in frustration. I can imagine what it would be to correct an accounting error in a teacher’s pay check. The other little problem since the advent of all the techno wonders, parents are force to talk to voice mail and at the school board, half the time it goes to voice mail and the other half of the time, one is queuing up listening to the boring elevator music while awaiting for a live person. The last time I took to the phones to speak my mind at the now defunct school board - I am still awaiting a phone call from them. I think it has been two years, but I did not let that stopped me, I phone the Ministry of Education. I got what I wanted, an apology and some good advice to work around the problem declaring my child reading problems was a mental health issue and NOT a LD problem. I am still awaiting for an apology from one of the local educators,  but I know it will never come. She doesn’t really like me, since I went to the top. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall, when the phone call came in from the ministry of education.

P.S. We also have principles shoveling the sidewalks and throwing rock salt on the pavement. Far different picture than what is occurring in Toronto, where the janitors are not even allowed to change light bulbs and install hooks. Got to call up the big money guys for jobs like that.