Tonight Mitch Daniels gave his State of the State report. I didn't watch it but read the cliff notes on it. He has decided that education is one of his top priorities before he finally leaves.
"Daniels wants changes for teachers, including changes to collective bargaining to give superintendents more flexibility and also to reward the best teachers while clearing the way to fire the worst. “We know what works,” Daniels said. “It starts with teacher quality. Teacher quality has been found to be 20 times more important than any other factor, including poverty, in determining which kids succeed. Class size, by comparison, is virtually meaningless. Put a great teacher in front of a large class, and you can expect good results.”
Really?? Class size doesn't matter at all? Have you ever taught a class of 40 or more? I did a maternity leave in a 3rd grade room that had 39 kids, where around 8 were ENL students. I am sure I was the best teacher I could have been when I hardly even had room for all my kids! Not to mention that Mitch acts like he is an expert on education. When did he ever teach?? Try teaching 40 first graders for a whole year and see if class size is virtually meaningless.
I love how Mitch and Tony Bennett love to say how there are so many teachers that need to be fired. How did every teacher so suddenly become a bad teacher just because they say so? I am not saying that every teacher is golden but get real.
ugh. unfortunately, a lot of people out there think teaching is "easy money" -- clearly, they've never had to do anything that is so emotionally and physically draining - not to mention how much personal time goes into planning, contacting parents, etc.
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