tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10132773.post6999241566040985323..comments2024-03-08T00:17:09.224-08:00Comments on The Daily Grind: That's the system we work inMr. McNamarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062641578010808106noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10132773.post-50136154064316036632009-03-29T09:45:00.000-07:002009-03-29T09:45:00.000-07:00Dave--certainly you make reasonable points. Most ...Dave--certainly you make reasonable points. Most of us have experienced incompetent administrators which begs us to ask a secondary question: Why don't districts hire competent leaders who focus on the bottome line of education, which is student learning? <BR/>Ultimately, the whole system is flawed. Administrators are not paid based on the results of their schools, which leads to the same complacency that affects classrooms across America. <BR/>And then perphaps the bigger flaw is that we don't have to compete for student money like others in the service industry must compete for customers. If we were driven by a need to attract and retain students, administrators would look to keep the more competent teachers--and ultimately pay them accordingly.Mr. McNamarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03062641578010808106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10132773.post-91291961353174620152009-03-29T08:35:00.000-07:002009-03-29T08:35:00.000-07:00Can we trust human administrators to identify the ...Can we trust human administrators to identify the best teachers, regardless of service years?<BR/><BR/>No.<BR/><BR/>Administrators judge the competency of coaches around the country. Coaches are consistently run out of their positions by administrators because of parents and players, not competency.<BR/><BR/>Administrators can already dismiss "bad" teachers if they follow through on the evaluation process. Many don't observe and evaluate properly. I went a year and a half with a certain administration team without an observation. I did continue to receive positive evaluations though.<BR/><BR/>Administrators deciding who is or is not competent during funding decreases is a scary thought. With 12 years experience, I make quite a bit more than a 4th year teacher. Do I think decision makers at the state level would put pressure on school districts to see more experienced (higher paid) teachers as less competent than new (lower paid) teachers?<BR/><BR/>Yes.<BR/><BR/>Since there is no "assessment" to adequately judge competency, and I believe there never will be, I am quite comfortable with tenure and seniority being the deciding factor.Davenoreply@blogger.com