>This is NOT PJ’s comment, but MY comment, which you can see posted under the headline “Pro BOE reader…”I DID NOT address the comment as “Hello Everyone” – this intro was inserted by PJ.MY intro was “Hey, bbwool,” responding to bbwool’s accusation. So my “basically” pokes fun at his use of the word “basically.” And, of course,the “lie” refers to what bbwool claimed and the liar is, of course, bbwool.thanks a bunch, pj, for making it look like i was calling “everyone” a liar.
*My mistake PJ
Hello Everybody .
I found that letter from Frances to Brooks and she DID NOT tell him not to come. so what YOU said was…ummm…”basically” a lie. which makes you “basically” a liar.
in fact, she gave him a heads up on the math discussion in our district. furthermore, her polite communication enabled Brooks to respond in kind. it gave him a chance to publicly explain his position and i must say, he did it well and graciously.
bbwool, why did you say the Ridgewood Blog “proudly” posted her letter but not tell us the whole truth, that it also posted Brooks’ response??
but hey, everyone, you don’t have to take MY word for it because here is the parent’s letter and Brooks’ response from the May 9, 2007 blog:
“Dr. Mr. Brooks,
I am a Ridgewood parent of three children in our public schools and I, like many others here, have been made aware of your pending position as our new superintendent. Our Board may not have advised you of this, but you should be aware of the present climate in our district with regard to the “Investigation” math curriculum. Several articles and ‘letters to the editor’ have appeared in our local paper over recent weeks. If the Board kept you in the dark with regard to this protracted circumstance, there may be little left for you to do but to give it your deepest contemplation. The link below is but a sample of the present discussion underway.
Respectfully,
Frances”
https://www.lindamoran.net/blog_teen/2007/04/the_disaster_at_plainview_old.html
“Dear Ms. Edwards:
Thanks for this note. I’d like to make a few comments about the link you attached. The math wars, like the whole language wars of the past decade, are based on a false dichotomy: traditional education v. progressive education. Good instruction focuses on the needs of the child – every child, one by one – and no one approach meets the needs of all children.
The math issue is interesting in that the battle seems to be pitched around algorithmic fluency v. conceptual understanding. They are not mutually exclusive. Both are essential for mathematically literacy. Students who learn algorithms procedurally without conceptual understanding aren’t truly fluent because although they are able to answer questions correctly on tests (when the questions are posed in the precise format the students are used to seeing), they often have difficulty knowing whether to (and how to) apply that algorithm to new and different situations. Teaching for conceptual understanding helps children develop efficient strategies for computing. Understanding the concept that underlies the algorithm helps students know how and when to apply it, helping them to become more proficient in solving new, differently presented problems and/or more complex problems.
Programs don’t teach children, teachers do. Good teachers vary their instruction – and their materials – based on student response.
Respectfully,
Marty Brooks”
>This is NOT PJ’s comment, but MY comment, which you can see posted under the headline “Pro BOE reader…”
I DID NOT address the comment as “Hello Everyone” – this intro was inserted by PJ.
MY intro was “Hey, bbwool,” responding to bbwool’s accusation. So my “basically” pokes fun at his use of the word “basically.” And, of course,the “lie” refers to what bbwool claimed and the liar is, of course, bbwool.
thanks a bunch, pj, for making it look like i was calling “everyone” a liar.
>Brooks response was more damning than Frances letter…he blames the teachers if it doesn’t work.
Nice guy…
>In a section of Dr. Martin Brook’s book entitled “What Really Counts?”, the authors describe a cheating scandal that was reported in a local newspaper. It is worth reading in most of its entirety.
“Focusing on whether or students are aware of certain information, or can compute with certain algorithms, or can recite certain verses, implies a linear model of knowledge building. In this model, there is little reason to ask for students’ point of view because their points of view are not as valued as are their “right” or “wrong” answers. But knowledge is not linear, nor is the process of learning. Learning is a journey, not a destination…”
“Students try to ‘steal’ others’ points of view because schools have somehow subordinated the formation of concepts and the building of ideas to high stakes games of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ answers that produce winners and loser. The system itself gives students the message that it’s better to be ‘right’ than to have interesting ideas. Faced with this sort of pressure, many students-97% percent by their own acknowledgement, more than most people in our community expected – choose to copy.
We’re not condoning cheating, but we do think it’s important for educators to explore the dynamics of a system that places emphasis on ‘rightness’ and ‘wrongness.” On most tests and homework assignments students aren’t asked to reveal and elaborate on their points of view.” (Brooks & Brooks 1993, pages 67-58)
And if you cheat on the SAT, will Dr. Brooks be there to defend you.
>I barely scraped through Geometry because I didn’t memorize algorithms. Instead, I would create my own and write answers with tremendously creative explanations for how I arrived at them. The answers were wrong, wrong, wrong, but I guess according to constructivism that doesn’t matter.
Luckily, I did manage to learn some things, like how to calculate the percentage off at a sale. My own sister, almost a decade younger and a victim of the new math, cannot calculate in her head a 10% discount on sales items.
Constructivism is the new new math. Except that, by now, it is not really that new. It has been in place at Travell, now, for quite a few years.
>So, did the board inform Brooks about the math debate going on in Ridgewood, or did he first learn about it from Francis’ letter? Does anyone know?
>This is intriguing. Frances obviously shared her correspondence with Brooks with several others. I searched and found her reply to Dr. Brooks:
“Dear Mr. Brooks,
You have shared a thoughtful response, one which promises to enliven the ongoing discussion.
Even if it’s an intriguing desire that all could enjoy mathematical literacy, we seem to struggle with the more limited task of merely making literature literate. That cannot bode well for math.
Leaving aside this discussion, I appreciate your emphasis on good teachers. If these were the educators that filled our classrooms, parents would have little need to be troubled.. But the stark reality is that the new dominance of an industrial-style union within our education system has reduced the caliber of our teaching workforce. Bright young minds eschew having their compensation determined by collective bargaining.
Of course, there are exceptional teachers in the system, but on average teachers hail from the bottom third of our high school graduating classes, and tenure keeps them there.
Perhaps you will remember what the bottom third of your high school graduating class was like.
I certainly do.
With kindest regards,
Frances”
>TERC trained students won’t know the answer to this typical math problem:
[Add the numbers 1 through 100.]
It will take them a week to “discover” it, while they add 1+2+3+4,etc. My 7th grade son, who evaded TERC, said the following:
Take away the numbers 100 and 50. That leaves 49 pairs of 100, which equals 4900. Then add back the 150 and the answer is 5050.
He did this in 3 minutes!
TERC would have denuded his brain power. How do I save my daughters from this?
This TERC is a failure and it puts children on the critical math patient list.
>btw, in my comment i accidentally used the word “his” – actually, i have no idea whether bbwool is a he or she.
>7:04 AM Doesn’t constructivism say, “No problem, your daughters can always use a calculator?”
Anyway, what’s the big deal about right and wrong answers in math? Isn’t it better for them to be creative rather than accurate?
>6:55 AM I tried googling the letter you posted in order to verify that it is, indeed, authored by Frances.
However, I couldn’t find it. Care to help me out?
>Could you imagine the pyramids being built using “reform math” or say, the aquaducts built by the Romans?
For better than 5000 years math has been explained the same way to all. Now we have a better way?
>From my perspective, Marty Brooks seemes like an insightful authority on education. Ms. Edwards should be lucky he even took time from his day to entertain this charade. As of my knowledge, he is the expert on education policy, not Ms. Edwards. Unfortunately we’ll never know what Dr. Brooks could have achieved in Ridgewood.
I don’t think this debate is about mathemetics at all. It’s about a group of malcontent parents who bitterly complain about one of the finest school systems in the state. First the open campus debate, then the surveys and now elementary school math? This debate is about power – and these blowhards have none The fact remains is that this disgruntled group is overwhelmingly in the minority and they’re upset that nobody wants to listen to them. It’s a shame that they are dangerously undermining Ridgewood’s school system.
>2002 Alum
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck.
Why belittle what you don’t understand?
That says more about you than it does about the parents upset that their children won’t get a good math education in Ridgewood unless TERC is removed from their children’s school.
You still have some growing up to do. Get started. The world is not standing in place for you.
>2002 ALUM… Brooks has been faced with the same math issues from his previous 2 districts over the past 14 years. His last district, Plainview Old-Bethpage had over 900 signatures to rid their schools of constructivist based math programs. The president of their own teacher’s union publicly opposed reform math with a majority of teacher support. His previous 2 districts don’t agree with you that Brooks is the authority on how to educate their children. You should do your homework.
>To the 2002 Alum: Daddy must be so proud of his “mini-me.” Thank the heavens, we will never know the havoc Mr. Brooks would have created in our school district. Now the BOE can get serious and take it upon themselves (not an overly-paid search firm) to hire someone who is highly regarded in their current school district. Apparently, Mr. Brooks had several outstanding references (9?). I would caution board members that there are actually school officials who will write glowing references about an employee they are trying to get rid of.
>I just want to say that yes, I was exaggerating when I “remembered” that Frances’ letter told Mr. Brooks “not to come” to Ridgewood. I’m sorry…I should have known that she would not be as direct as that. With that said, however, based my her history in this town, I am completely and utterly sure that it WAS her letter’s intent to tell him not to come. I still think it was wrong for her to insert herself into the process. When I first saw that email, I literally gasped at the thought that any potential superintendent would think that SHE stood for me or my neighbors…which could NOT be further from the truth. I remain steadfast in the belief that if Mr. Brooks did 10 minutes of research on Frances, that ALONE would have caused him to withdraw from the job!
What a mess this has become…sad, really. Grown-ups should be able to work together to resolve these issues in some form of compromise.
>So one person in 25,000 scared him away from a signed contract?
What type of a man does that?
>Dear bbwool: You “literally gasped?” I hope it’s your last gasp. You are such a drama queen. Had board members done one minute of Google research on Marty, they never would have considered him in the first place.
>bbwool
When a person calls a congressman or senator is that person wrongly “inserting” himself in a process which is supposed to be the means by which he and his family is governed?
Under your scenario for happy living, once you vote for a representative you should shut up.
Any citizen may write, email or call any person elected or apointed to work for their government (that is why phone #’s and often email addresses are in the public domain). For that matter, any person is free to call the CEO of any company, public or private.
What country are you from, again?
>bbwool,
sorry, but not buying it. “exagerated”?? no, let’s get something straight. you lied.
and your lie was doubly despicable because you, from the safety of your own anonymous perch, threw mud at a parent and NAMED her while doing so. so that any lunatic misled by your lies could have at her. sad, really.
your own disparaging comments reveal that you dislike the parent and have done so for some time. grownups should know better than to engage in personal vendettas.
>bbwool–Sorry I have to say this, but you are a despicable person. Please stop writing on this blog.
>Since you, bbwool, are into naming people, who are you?
Too scared to say?
I bet you prefer to stay a coward.
>I would like to know, bbwool, where in Ms. Edwards’ email to Brooks does she mention speaking for you or your neighbors? You come across as a very angry person — somehwhat of a blowhard — someone who isn’t getting their way. You need to sit in the naughty corner in your time-out chair, calm down, take deep breaths and put on a happy face. You’ll live longer.
>11:02am
Hey, I think my comment came out wrong…
I meant to say that if Dr. Brooks ran away because of 1 person out of 25,000, he was a coward and not a man of his word.
The man signed a contract and bailed, leaving the Board in a bad spot.
Why doesn’t the Board blame him?
>Ridgewood resident are truly pathetic. You bitch and moan about your “fuzzy math” and substandard elected officials when in actuality, this is one of the finest school districts in the state of New Jersey. Our teachers, administrators, board members must be doing somthing right!
And the school survey “controversy”, it was all BS. I took the survey and never once felt threatened, bullied, or offended. I have news for you: high school kids drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes and have sex – right under your noses. There’s no stopping that so we might as well take steps to educate our children to make the best choices for their lives.
>”Ridgewood resident[s] are truly pathetic.” Can you narrow that down a little? Your statement is what is pathetic.
>”I took the survey…”
Well son, you may have taken the survey but it still didn’t make it legal.
And I got news for you, we know our kids smoke, drink and have sex. So what, we needed a survey to tell us?
If you actually knew what you were talking about, as it concerns the topic, maybe you wouldn’t be so willing to opine.
It must be nice to have the comfort of an opinion without the discomfort of thought.
I hope your parents aren’t paying too much for your college education.
Grow up son, and when you have children, then you can chime in. Until then, PUT A SOCK IN IT.
>1:31 Clearly our educational system failed you, if it did not teach you respect for the democratic process (including the right to dissent) and for your neighbors.
>”Ridgewood resident[s] are truly pathetic.”
“…so we might as well take steps to educate our children to make the best choices for their lives.”
What in the Sam Hill do you think we’re doing?
And another thing, who do you think makes this, “one of the finest school districts in the state of New Jersey?” I’ll give you a clue, it’s not the elected officials of our government. It is the citizens.
Your comments make one wonder, what in the blazes did they teach you at RHS about civics, government and political structures?
>Right on! 4:57 – Your comment about what makes this one of the finest school districts is exactly the point. It is the parents of the children of Ridgewood that make Ridgewood shine. We elect the officials and it is our obligation to follow up on our votes. No one has come down from heaven and annointed anyone in this district. We are all human beings trying to do the right thing here. It is our duty to follow through on these and all matters concerning Ridgewood. These types of behavior make this Village unique. I’ve never seen this Village so alive! If we ever fall asleep at the switch, we’re done for. We’d become Anywhere, Anytown, USA (Rod Serling).
>Hey 1:31 Get real. “Our teachers, administrators, board members must be doing somthing right!”
We SEND bright children to them. Our goal is to make sure they DO NO HARM.
If you took those teachers, administrators and board members and plopped them down in, let’s say, Irvington or Newark, those schools and student scores would not turn into the finest in America. What don’t you get about that?
If you are that ignorant then you should avoid adult conversation for a few more years.
On a blog like this you are merely a pest and a nuisance.
>You need to lighten up 2:51 p.m. and 9:01 p.m. Your comments “PUT A SOCK IN IT” and “You are merely a pest and a nuisance” are uncalled for. It’s important to listen to what the younger generation is saying; only then will we truly know how misguided some of them are. A little respect goes a long way.
>I really can’t believe how arrogant and sanctimonious you people are, you complain about TERC and how bad it is but you do nothing but complain.
I can only imagine what you would do if your child was hanging out with a known drug dealer selling drugs to other kids, would you just cry and moan about that too? Most likely, you would!
If my child was attending a school I had no confidence in and I tried to change it but I couldn’t, I would move. If my child was hanging out with a drug dealer and I could not stop him from hanging out with the drug dealer, I would move. If my child were in any situation that I thought was detrimental to him or her I would do what I had to protect them at any cost including moving.
Fact: Your crying and moaning hasn’t changed anything so far.
Fact: You believe that your childs education is in danger.
Fact: Any good parent would take any and all necessary action to insure their child’s welfare
Take action now – Protect your child – MOVE!
>6:23 AM’s comment, “I really can’t believe how arrogant and sanctimonious you people are, you complain about TERC and how bad it is but you do nothing but complain” does not apply to the parents who presented their case against TERC before the BOE. These parents were very respectful, well-informed and should be commended for their ongoing efforts to improve our school curriculum. There have been some pretty disgusting comments made by bloggers on both sides of the issue, including your comments. No one needs to move. We all just need to calm down, listen respectfully to everyone’s opinion and stay focused on the issue.
>If all the parents that use tutors or afterschool or send their kids to Hungtington Learning Center or Score or Kumon … MOVED or did a less drastic move of having their NJASK test scores NOT counted in the districts average, what would occur?
It would be interesting to see what our district’s average for NJASK Math scores would be.
I surmise the results would be much lower.
I surmise the property values in the town would decline as a result of those lower test scores.
Take a survey BOE. Be brave. Find out exactly how many folks are using outside school resources.
And ask yourself, do those kids really need that remediation because they are fundamentally intellectually inferior?
Or is it because the program at the schools with TERC or the schools with Everyday Math (but not heavily supplemented) arent teaching the material in the first place?
>6:23 AM Let’s not blow this out of proportion. I haven’t heard anti-fuzzy math parents say they have lost confidence in the entire curriculum. This is only about the fuzzy math.
And the math problem became most apparent at Travell, which is the only school to have had TERC in place for many years, and where the math scores are not only the lowest in our District, but also ranked very low, statewide. Travell ranks 338 in the State, while Ridge ranks 49.
Obviously, something is very wrong at Travell. You can check out the scores for yourself at http://www.vormath.info. This is a web site created by parents who are working very hard to get information out to the BOE and all Ridgewood residents, so that the best decisions can be made.
Have you noticed that teachers have posted comments on this blog, saying they do not support TERC?
I think you have mistaken dissent before the BOE for a lack of appreciation of our many fine teachers in this Distric. At least some of these teachers do not support TERC, but are not able to publicly say anything. After all, their jobs are at stake. I believe the anti-TERC parents speak for teachers like these.
Because the anti-fuzzy math parents do consider their children’s education to be in danger, they DO protect them. They talk to the teacher. They teach them at home. They hire tutors.
However, they also talk to the school administration and the BOE because they believe our public schools should do the job of teaching math. They realize that not all parents can afford tutors. And the students shouldn’t have to do a second shift of school, at home, being tutored.
Look, nobody is disputing that some students need to be tutored sometime, no matter how good the curriculum and teachers are…but the number of students being tutored should always be a only very small minority of the entire student body.
However, when parents talked to one another, they noticed an awful lot of people seemed to be tutoring their kids themselves or hiring tutors. Then, when they checked out how their school ranked compared to other schools in the District and state, they realized there was something wrong with the math program at their school. Finally, they did more homework and found out that the problem was not just math, but fuzzy math.
It takes a good deal of courage for the anti-fuzzy math parents to come before the BOE and present facts, opinions and personal experiences. They have always behaved respectfully. They have also offered solutions. They do this because they care about everyone’s kids, not just their own.
Our schools are good, but they can be better. That’s all these parents are trying to do…help make them better. Change happens every second.
>7:20 comment goes right to the point. MANY parents use and can afford the suplemental resources you speak of….and that does prop up the system. Of course I am going to do anything in my power to help my kids get the education they deserve….and that includes sending them to get additional help and spending ALOT of my own time supplementing the insturction they are getting in the schools.
The question is…why should I have to….my kids are pretty bright…and with the proper program and reasonable instruction they should do well. If the BOE is serious about implementing a BALANCED program where TERC is on equal ground with more traditional programs…I don’t have a problem with it…but to throw out the traditional programs and focus on TERC is a real problem. My biggest fear is that the folks that oppose TERC are being placated by the BOE with this independant evaluation…and the full intention is that they will cast the process with TERC and proceed full speed ahead…all the while preaching balance…but in reality there is very little time in the classroom for real balance….so it will be back to Kumon….
>5 years ago I was a student at Ridgewood High School so I think I have a better vantage point to critique the school system than many of these uninformed parents. As a young adult who has just entered the workforce, I thank my lucky stars every day that I received a Ridgewood education. The teachers and administrators at RHS have built a superior, first rate school – it’s one of the best in the United States.
I attribute my decent success in college to the challenges my teachers presented to me at RHS. I’m glad administrators kept the RHS campus open so that students could build personal responsibility. As an active member of athletic teams and musical groups, Ridgewood offers students hundreds of activities outside of the classroom – more than most districts could possibly dream of offering.
I think if your children read this blog, they would be ashamed of you. Most of the posts have been despicable displays of uninformed rhetoric. I agree with the above individual who said that if you’re so upset, MOVE – or run for office. There’s nothing stopping you, but it’s quite obvious that you’re all much more interested in complaining than solving problems.
>I think paying for a tutor qualifies me to speak
>I graduated RHS in 1976. Then, our school system really had a tradition of excellence. It also was in the top ten in the state.
Now, we’re lucky if we remain in the top 30. From being #4 to #30 does not look like progress to me.
Recent graduates don’t have a long enough lense with which to judge. They think they have a decent education because they are unaware how dumbed down the entire K-12 system has become in only the last 20 years.
A word to these young idealistic children:
U.S. students report the highest belief that they are well educated compared to children from other countries.
Yet, it is the children from other countries that truly possess the higher intellectual capability, with the U.S. usually near the bottom.
Ignorance is bliss, especially when you’re young.
>10:07 AM If you graduated from RHS five years ago, then you can’t possibly have a better “vantage point” because that means you started high school nine years ago. And you were in elementary school eleven years ago. That was before TERC was introduced to the elementary schools in our District, but maybe you didn’t realize that?
Therefore, because you yourself didn’t take TERC classes in elementary school or have children taking TERC classes, then you cannot possibly have a better vantage point than parents whose children do or have taken TERC classes. And who bother to pay attention to how their children, and the children of others, are doing in these classes.
I agree with most of what you say about RHS and am glad that you benefited from your fine education, there. However, you do realize, don’t you, that the TERC discussion is about what is being taught in our ELEMENTARY schools, particularly Travell?
Running for office is a great idea, but I hope you realize you don’t know who you are talking to on this blog. You don’t know who has or hasn’t run for office. Neither do I…in fact, for all I know, a comment might have been posted by a BOE member. Of course, running for office is not the only way to effect change.
Therefore, I’m grateful to the parents who HAVE spoken out at BOE meetings. Do you have any idea of how much courage that takes?
I hope that students ARE reading this blog. I am not afraid of them hearing all voices, including yours, and forming their own opinions.
Nobody is going to move just because you or anybody else is trying to silence him or her, or because our schools are imperfect.
>To the 10:07 a.m. blogger who graduated from RHS five years ago: My children also graduated from RHS (before and after you). They have read this blog and they’re ashamed of their peers like you who are posting “despicable displays of uninformed rhetoric.” In fact, my oldest daughter pointed out to me that you couldn’t have been taught TERC given your age and, therefore, couldn’t have a “better vantage point.” As far as your comment, “…if you’re so upset, MOVE…” — that shows a great deal of intolerance on your part. No good can come from that. In fact, you seem very upset; would your advice to yourself be MOVE? The parents who have brought up their concerns with TERC to the BOE are making every effort to solve the problem using constructive criticism. You would know this if you had taken the time to listen to their comments at board meetings. Even the board members have complimented these parents on their respectfulness. Please, listen and learn.
>When the message is too tough to hear, attack the messengers.
But here is the message:
On the district web site under “Math Information for Parents” is a link to a study for middle school text books citing the wonders CMP. Yet over 200 professors (including the brightest – noble laureates) signed (not anonymously) a letter denouncing such program.
On our district web site is a link to our state standards which received poor marks. Our district wide curriculum is identical to these standards.
On our district web site is the linked to studies from companies that have a sole purpose of promoting such curricula
And at the BOE meeting, a shill for PRISM was up looking for business perhaps. Either way, while the administration spews balanced, they seem to quote and cite from those places that are so not balanced:
ARC Center — sole mission to promote fuzzy math
PRISM — mission to promote and spread constructivism
Project 2061 – middle school text evaluation — mainly based on whether the texts conform to fuzzy methods
Oh I could go on …
An A-MAZE-ing Approach to Math
>As a teacher, I am offended by this quote by “Frances”:
“Of course, there are exceptional teachers in the system, but on average teachers hail from the bottom third of our high school graduating classes, and tenure keeps them there.”
(just as an aside, Frances is a lawyer, no??? What is the saying about people in glass houses not throwing stones???)
I am wondering from where this factoid comes. I am also wondering how incensed people might be if the word “teachers” were substituted by any other group, be it ethnic, gender, religion, etc.
She seems to openly have contempt for educators. Perhaps she’d like to get certified to teach and enter the classroom. I’d love for her to do that and I’d relish the chance to interview her in 4 or 5 years. Oh, how I’d love that…
Oh, and tenure doesn’t keep a teacher anywhere. Contrary to popular belief, teachers are able to be fired, tenured or not. Get your facts straight. There is such as thing as being brought up on “tenure charges,” and they can get rid of you in 45 days, no matter how long you’ve been in any given district.
Signed, a teacher who graduated in the top 1/3 of her class
>Frances misspoke about teachers.
Dr. Brooks misspoke about teachers.
The teachers are the victims as much as the students of TERC. They get a bad curriculum, have to supplement like crazy and can’t complain because of No Child Left Behind…
This is not about teachers…
>To 8:24 Facts should matter more than feelings. These stats are not personal. You, obviously, are a high achieving teacher, but you do not represent all the teachers in place in our schools. For example:
The Union Protects Bad Teachers
School district records show that in a four-year period (school years 2001-02 through 2004-05) only one or two tenured teachers were fired each year — a total of five teachers fired in four years.
The Newark school district has about 3,850 tenured instructional staff. Many of them are hard-working, committed educators. But can it be true no that more than .032% of tenured teachers are unfit to teach school?
If it were really true that the union only kept good teachers from getting fired, then the district’s .032% firing rate would mean that the overwhelming majority of Newark kids go through the entire school system without ever encountering a bad tenured teacher. Check out school performance stats to see why that’s not likely.
Tenure charges are complaints the school district files to get rid of its worst teachers, whom the union defends. Any time charges are filed, they become public record — as does the amount of money paid out to get some teachers to leave. Click here to view all 15 tenure charges opened between 2001 and 2005.
Death Before Discharge
To put this bad-teacher-protection number in perspective, consider the fact that, according to district records, a tenured Newark teacher is 4.6 times likelier to die in office than get fired for teaching kids poorly or for abusing them.
>The Union Defends Violence and Sexual Harassment of Girls
One teacher, according to documentation filed with the state, allegedly summoned a ten-year-old student to the front of her class and called her “a liar.” She then allegedly followed her student out of the class and told her “I am going to kick your a–, b–ch” before punching the student in the chest. Among other physical abuse episodes, the teacher reportedly also slapped a student in the face after the student accidentally caused her a minor injury.
This teacher was not fired — the union negotiated that, in exchange for quitting, she was given nine months of pay, plus money for each unused vacation and sick day. The district promised not to tell any future employers of hers why she left — even if she were working with kids again. Click here to see her full tenure charges and settlement.
Another teacher, according to her tenure charges, allegedly hit a student in the head with an umbrella such that the Division of Youth and Family Services determined it to be physical abuse. For this and other allegations of physically harming children, she was paid to leave — after receiving two months’ free pay and after working an extra five and a half more months for the district. Click here to see her full tenure charges and settlement.
>From the Hoover Institution
Teacher Quality, Teacher Pay
By Frederick M. Hess
Even veteran teachers and teacher educators have concluded, as Vivian Troen and Katherine C. Boles write in Who’s Teaching Your Children? (Yale University Press, 2003), “The number of good classroom teachers, and therefore the quality of teaching itself, is in perilous decline and will continue to worsen.” Academically stronger students tend to shun the teaching profession. Undergraduate education majors typically have lower sat and act scores than other students, and those teachers who have the lowest scores are the most likely to remain in the profession.
The lower the quality of the undergraduate institution a person attends, the more likely he or she is to wind up in the teaching profession. From 1982 to 2000, the percentage of teachers who had earned a master’s degree in their subject area fell from 17 percent to 5 percent.
Professional licensing exams are so simple and the standards for passage so low that even the left-leaning Education Trust concluded they exclude only the “weakest of the weak” from classrooms. While none of these data points alone is damning, together they paint a troubling picture.
>Still not convinced?
For example, the recent Tough Choices report of The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce asserts that “[W]e recruit a disproportionate share of our teachers from among the less able of the high school students who go to college…. [W]e are now recruiting more of our teachers from the bottom third of the high school students going to college than is wise.”
>Even more….
From A Nation at Risk
Findings Regarding Teaching
The Commission found that not enough of the academically able students are being attracted to teaching; that teacher preparation programs need substantial improvement;
* Too many teachers are being drawn from the bottom quarter of graduating high school and college students.
* The teacher preparation curriculum is weighted heavily with courses in “educational methods” at the expense of courses in subjects to be taught.
https://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/findings.html