We had our first firing today :(

whitsy · May 2012

And thank goodness it wasn't me, but crap y'all.

These new scores tied to performance makes me squicky. I know they need something, but dang. You wanna tell me how to motivate my kid that's homeless? Or physically abused? Or starving? To do well on a TEST?! And then get fired when they don't perform?

She was gone for 3/10 months on maternity leave, and had the worst time with interim teachers. FIVE came and went in those three months, for various reasons.

Ugh. I'm just sick.

Girlie1030 · May 2012

Yikes Whitsy. Nothing to say other than that really blows.

whitsy · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_we-had-our-first-firing-today?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:808f2675-624a-4d9c-aa92-0230d3d58fc9Post:0d1f530f-4e66-4462-ba0e-a529ba2d6dca">Re: We had our first firing today :(</a>:
[QUOTE]Yikes Whitsy. Nothing to say other than that really blows.
Posted by Girlie1030[/QUOTE]

<div>I know :( I don't really know what I wanted from this post haha. Maybe just to vent my <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-surprised.gif" border="0" alt="Surprised" title="Surprised" /></div>

Girlie1030 · May 2012

It's scary that your job depends on the performance of others when not everything is within your control. Vent away lady.

NotARegAE · May 2012

... and thus what happens when the people in charge of education (politicians) have NO FREAKING CLUE what factors play into test scores, especially when it comes to one-time high-stakes testing.

erin77marie · May 2012

Oh, that's horrible!

Here in Maine, our legislature just passed a new "teacher improvement" law that reworks teacher evaluations. Each teacher will be given an "effectiveness rating." I'm all about helping teachers continually improve, but this is not the way to do it.

I didn't even think about what happens if a teacher is on an extended leave like maternity! Isn't it the administration's responsibility to find a substitute that can keep kids learning while the teacher is out?

whitsy · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_we-had-our-first-firing-today?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:808f2675-624a-4d9c-aa92-0230d3d58fc9Post:0428826a-c745-4f83-8384-bf26f56dc0f3">Re: We had our first firing today :(</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh, that's horrible! Here in Maine, our legislature just passed a new "teacher improvement" law that reworks teacher evaluations. Each teacher will be given an "effectiveness rating." I'm all about helping teachers continually improve, but this is not the way to do it. I didn't even think about what happens if a teacher is on an extended leave like maternity! Isn't it the administration's responsibility to find a substitute that can keep kids learning while the teacher is out?
Posted by erin77marie[/QUOTE]

<div>Yeah, TN is one of the states that adopted this first, as part of the Race to the Top stuff. Her evaluations was excellent, scoring 4's and 5's on everything.</div><div>
</div><div>But apparently one batch of crappy test scores means you're out the door :(</div>

DramaGeek · May 2012

This is why we fought so hard against jobs being tied to scores in our most recent contract negotiations - to the point that we went on strike. I don't like that job security is based on seniority either, but there has to be (and is!) a better way to measure teacher competency than by student test scores.

yesnomaybe · May 2012

Im a teacher in FL and we are going to have "performance" based salaries and job security in the next few years ..Im terrified for the same reasons you mentioned,

whitsy · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_we-had-our-first-firing-today?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:808f2675-624a-4d9c-aa92-0230d3d58fc9Post:9f44fc41-d2ca-447a-9d90-ac529bb3f5b1">Re: We had our first firing today :(</a>:
[QUOTE]This is why we fought so hard against jobs being tied to scores in our most recent contract negotiations - <strong>to the point that we went on strike.</strong> I don't like that job security is based on seniority either, but there has to be (and is!) a better way to measure teacher competency than by student test scores.
Posted by DramaGeek[/QUOTE]

<div>Ugh, it's state legislature now though! It'll be this way until they decide another way to torture us.</div>

DramaGeek · May 2012

oy. That sucks.

Lizzieyounce · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_we-had-our-first-firing-today?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:808f2675-624a-4d9c-aa92-0230d3d58fc9Post:bb975231-48f7-46df-a4d1-ffa2b49b3e7c">Re: We had our first firing today :(</a>:
[QUOTE]It's scary that your job depends on the performance of others when not everything is within your control. Vent away lady.
Posted by Girlie1030[/QUOTE]

<div>
</div><div>Dittos!</div>

SugarFoote · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_we-had-our-first-firing-today?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:808f2675-624a-4d9c-aa92-0230d3d58fc9Post:1bfbc983-e3eb-43cc-b1b3-3f1baeb40d70">Re: We had our first firing today :(</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: We had our first firing today :( : <strong>Yeah, TN is one of the states that adopted this first, as part of the Race to the Top stuff. Her evaluations was excellent, scoring 4's and 5's on everything. But apparently one batch of crappy test scores means you're out the door :(
</strong>Posted by whitsy[/QUOTE]

I live in TN. And I seriously wish they would boot out a lot of the teachers within the school system in my county. I also know that sounds awful for me to say that. Being a recent graduate and now college student, I was not properly prepared for college. Even the college prep classes were crap. The teachers at the high school I attended were terrible.

I live in Grainger if that tells you anything lol.

whitsy · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_we-had-our-first-firing-today?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:808f2675-624a-4d9c-aa92-0230d3d58fc9Post:7ce8f60d-f424-460d-b540-996b2a30debb">Re: We had our first firing today :(</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: We had our first firing today :( : I live in TN. And I seriously wish they would boot out a lot of the teachers within the school system in my county. I also know that sounds awful for me to say that. Being a recent graduate and now college student, I was not properly prepared for college. Even the college prep classes were crap. The teachers at the high school I attended were terrible. I live in Grainger if that tells you anything lol.
Posted by SugarFoote[/QUOTE]

<div>If it makes you feel any better, college doesn't prepare you for teaching either lol.</div><div>
</div><div>And I know many teachers do need to be booted out, in counties everywhere. But the thing is, it's all politics. The bad teachers that need to be fired are in the back pocket of whoever they need to be, and things aren't going to change as much as they need to.</div><div>
</div><div>/soapbox</div>

SugarFoote · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_we-had-our-first-firing-today?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:808f2675-624a-4d9c-aa92-0230d3d58fc9Post:6092be9f-ad46-44ad-932c-eb8c33673647">Re: We had our first firing today :(</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: We had our first firing today :( : If it makes you feel any better, college doesn't prepare you for teaching either lol. And I know many teachers do need to be booted out, in counties everywhere. But the thing is, it's all politics. The bad teachers that need to be fired are in the back pocket of whoever they need to be, and things aren't going to change as much as they need to. /soapbox
Posted by whitsy[/QUOTE]

True.

Stormz · May 2012

This whole situation is why N decided not to finish his ed degree even though he is an amazing teacher and muscian.

Starqueg · May 2012

I'm in a teacher ed program right now, in NY and am so glad that I won't be teaching to a test. At least not directly. I'll only be certified up through second grade, and statewide tests start in third grade here. I love working with kids, but the politics of education make me cringe.

HockeyFan4 · May 2012

Whit that is outrageous! She wasn't even there to impact these scores!

We are adopting the new evaluation system this coming fall. I am afraid about the vague language in there for non state test subjects. It essentially leaves it up to the principal/contract....but we are going on year 3 without a contract.

When I brought that point up at a meeting the response was "well we hope we will have one" ...ya it isn't happening.

I think I will be mentioning this story to our Union rep.

whitsy · May 2012

The new evaluation system hasn't been bad in our district, our principals have been awesome about working with us. But I've heard horror stories in other districts.

barrelbabe004 · May 2012

I'm super late to this, but that's terrifying. We're not a Race to the Top state but we have a ridiculous State Superintendent that is screwing us over left and right.

I'd like to know when the teachers became the bad guys.

redheadtmk · May 2012

I just read an article the other day about a bunch of parents who kept thier kids home on testing day to protest the policy of teaching to the tests. It was a large percentage of parents from the school. I hate to think how it will effect the budget and teachers but maybe some radical action is what we need?

DramaGeek · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_we-had-our-first-firing-today?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:808f2675-624a-4d9c-aa92-0230d3d58fc9Post:82f76342-6c28-4779-b01c-4fbd184f265b">Re: We had our first firing today :(</a>:
[QUOTE]I just read an article the other day about a bunch of parents who kept thier kids home on testing day to protest the policy of teaching to the tests. It was a large percentage of parents from the school. I hate to think how it will effect the budget and teachers but maybe some radical action is what we need?
Posted by redheadtmk[/QUOTE]

<div>I don't know how that would work. Our testing coordinator hunts those kids down. In our state, there is a window of time (Mid Oct to late May, usually) and kids can take each test up to three times to try for a passing score. Of course, if a kid passes in November, what does that say about them!? They really shouldn't even take the test until the end of the year anyway...</div><div>
</div><div>Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a tangent, standardized testing is a hot button in my building and we're doing some pretty radical things with it right now, hoping that it works and will revamp the rest of the state and/or country based on our successes. So far so good.</div><div>
</div><div>Anyway, my point was if a kid misses their scheduled day, our testing coordinator finds them as soon as they return and gets them into the lab to do their test. We have to reach a certain percentage of students tested (and it's really, really high - like 97% or something). Keeping a kid out wouldn't keep them from taking the test, it would just mean they'd end up missing class time to take the test later.</div>

erbear84 · May 2012

This is just another reason why teaching is a difficult position, ugh. I teach in city schools (as a substitute) and you really do have the odds stacked against you - unprepared, unsupported kids, little to no resources, and little to no administrative support. It's rough. To top it all off, 300-400 full time teachers are being furloughed this year in this district, based on senority.

AbbeyS2011 · May 2012

WIth all this testing going on, I am seriously considering home-schooling my kids this Fall. They are a bit older, but I think I will be able to do it. Least I know they will learn something that will benefit them and prep them for their future other than constantly taking a test.

I love the teachers, but I know their/your hands are tied by the boards/politicians. It sucks.

I remember reading in the Little House on the Prairie books a comment Laura made over 4th of July, about know the Constitution by heart - I do not remember even really studying it in school.

We had our first firing today :(

Re: We had our first firing today :(

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