Obama, School Closings, And Fired Teachers
Education was not apparently a big part of Ted Kennedy's decision to endorse Obama rather than Clinton on mONday , but it did garner some mention in Kennedy's remarks from yesterday that will thrill or nauseate you, depending. As you can see here, Kennedy alluded to Obama's "teacher residency" proposal, which as you can probably guess is legislation based on the AUSL model. Yes, the same AUSL model that's been used in various schools around Chicago including ones that have been and are about to be turned around. The AUSL model is as much a school turnaround model at this point as a teacher preparation effort. So, by some stretch of the imagination, Obama supports school closings and wants to fire teachers.
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Wed Jan 30, 2008 at 5:43 AM
Obama, School Closings, And Fired Teachers
I worry about several aspects of the AUSL turnaround model:
1. The classroom teachers involved are inexperienced and lack the classroom management skills needed to run an urban classroom.
2. Most of the success of AUSL schools is due to the presence of "mentor" teachers in classrooms. Having two adults in a classroom may be the primary source of increased student achievement at AUSL schools. The private funding necessary to provide the extra staffing, however, may be limited and short term.
3. Some of the supporters of the turnaround approach use the argument that "we have to do something because what we currently have is unacceptable." This argument for change for the sake of change seems like a greenhouse for bad and reckless public policy. The foundation of action should be a real understand of the root causes of the problems. I'm always cautious when the strongest proponents of a radical action are individuals who will bear no real, "on the ground" costs for the results (e.g., Bush's war in Iraq).
1. The classroom teachers involved are inexperienced and lack the classroom management skills needed to run an urban classroom.
2. Most of the success of AUSL schools is due to the presence of "mentor" teachers in classrooms. Having two adults in a classroom may be the primary source of increased student achievement at AUSL schools. The private funding necessary to provide the extra staffing, however, may be limited and short term.
3. Some of the supporters of the turnaround approach use the argument that "we have to do something because what we currently have is unacceptable." This argument for change for the sake of change seems like a greenhouse for bad and reckless public policy. The foundation of action should be a real understand of the root causes of the problems. I'm always cautious when the strongest proponents of a radical action are individuals who will bear no real, "on the ground" costs for the results (e.g., Bush's war in Iraq).
Wed Jan 30, 2008 at 8:39 PM
Obama, School Closings, And Fired Teachers
I'm not getting the sense that Obama really knows what it's like to attend, teach or administer in a regular public school in Chicago. What about the other candidates? Which candidate understands the CPS situation best?
