Right Wing Nation

(I’m resubmitting this to the Carnival of Education, since last time, it disappeared down the black hole.)

Since your ad for the principal’s position states that you want, and I quote, "A hands-on principal with significant experience as an educator," I’m your man. Read on.

I would not sit on my lazy ass in my office issuing dictates from on high. I would have to insist that I be allowed to teach a class every year. I would not make decisions that affect teachers and students without being in the classroom, with my own students. I would be out of my office more than in, but in the school, talking to students and teachers between classes, sitting in on other classes as well as teaching my own, and keeping my thumb on the school’s pulse. I would have to insist that I be allowed to know my teachers and the students because only by knowing them can I know the school for which I would be responsible.

Likewise, I would have to insist that wherever possible, all administrators in the school teach at least one class a year. Not all employees in administrative positions need to be in the classroom — office assistants, for example — but as a general rule, administrators need to be teachers.

I would be the first to arrive and the last to leave. I strongly believe that an administrator must take the responsibility that comes with power, and in a school, that responsibility includes being present for teachers and students. When an administrative position becomes a cushy job, changes need to be made.

I am a strong believer in the common sense principle, "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." Teachers whose students are doing well can expect nothing but support from me. I believe just as strongly that if it is broke, you do fix it.

The two major educational problems nationally are curriculum and educational progress. Educational progress is not an issue in itself, but a product of various other issues, such as pedagogy and assessment. so those are the problems that need to be addressed. The major administrative problem is a dire lack of common sense. Every other issue is trivial by comparison, except for one: Excuses and whining. The first thing I would do is implement a friendly, no excuses, no whining policy. A teacher either is or is not doing his job. There are no "layers of meaning" there. No "nuance." So no excuses, and no whining.

I’m quite aware that factors other than the teacher or what he does in class affect educational progress, believe me. I expect no teacher to pass all of his students. But when a teacher excuses massive failure over years with "If the parents would …" or "It’s not my fault!" that’s giving me an excuse. Whining. And I would not listen to it.

I would implement three school-wide curriculum and assessment policies. No age-inappropriate classwork (macaroni art projects are fine for the third grade, but not after that), and no "integrated" courses or classwork. You cover history in history class. You cover English in English class. You cover math in math class. Period. And I would mandate that no more than 20% of any student’s class grade in any class be assessed on subjective criteria.

So I humbly apply for the priciple’s position. Here is what I would do, in chronological order.

1. Assess the educational progress of students and abolish all social promotion.

   This is the obvious first step, and requires both a synchronous and diachronous approach.

   1. What were last year’s graduation and promotion rates?
   2. What have been the graduation and promotion rates over the last ten years, and how have they been addressed?
   3. Adopt a school-wide policy of promotion, that leaves teachers no way to get around it. You pass, you pass. You fail, you repeat the grade. Period. No exceptions, no special cases, no excuses. Just as importantly, I would insist that teachers assess students weekly, and give students meaningful feedback on each assessment, so students know exactly where they stand, and are best capable to do something about it.

2. Assess the curriculum (and pedagogy).
   1. How closely does the curriculum match the subject content of the state exams?
   2. How closely are teachers conforming to the curriculum?
   3. How are teachers assessing their students?
3. Analyze the data from the last 5-10 years to identify problems.
   1. How do teacher assessments (grades) correlate with state exam scores?
   2. Which teachers’ assessments (grades) show low correlations with exam scores?
4. Make curriculum changes where necessary to better fit exam content.
5. Address teachers whose grades do not over the five years correlate highly with exam scores.

   Leave the excuses elsewhere. If a teacher’s grades do not correlate highly with exam scores over several years, then there’s a problem, and that problem lies with the teacher, either what he is covering in class, or how he assesses his students. I would address the curriculum as a whole first simply because if the curriculum (what teachers cover) doesn’t match the content of state exams, it would create a serious problem across the whole school. But if the curriculum does match the content of state exams and Mr. Beeb’s students are all getting As and Bs while scoring poorly on exams, then I would put Mr. Beeb under a microscope.

   First, I would tell Mr. Beeb exactly what the problem is, and that I was going to help him fix it. Teachers will get nothing but honesty from me, no deception, no euphemism, and no crap. I would sit in on Mr. Beeb’s classes. I would scrutinize his course content and assessment methods. If his students are more unruly, or take his class less seriously than, say, Ms. Lear’s classes, I would also put his class presence on that microscope slide. If the problem did turn out to be Mr. Beeb and he were uninterested in fixing it, and if I could not fire him, I would shuttle him to a "job" outside the classroom. If you want to drive a truck, then you have to be able to drive a truck. If you want to teach, then you have to be able to teach. You can’t take and keep a job as a truck driver, yet refuse to drive a truck, and you can’t take and keep a job as a teacher, yet refuse to teach.

   Note that I would never assume that there was a problem with Mr. Beeb’s class based on only one year. We all have bad classes. I’m not at all unreasonable. But when year after year, Mr. Beeb’s students continue to get As and Bs yet score miserably on the state exams (or just as bad, if teachers in his subject in the next grade complain that his students don’t know what they need to know to do well in their classes), well, Mr. Beeb needs to be looked at closely. Note also that I consider off-topic material to be a problem. If Mr. Beeb is using his math class to make nasty remarks about the President, I would let him know in no uncertain terms that I would not tolerate such behavior. Mr. Beeb is perfectly free to wave signs and giant puppet heads at protests, but not in the classroom. And if he refuses to do his job, there’s always that Subdirector In Charge Of Blackboard Maintenance position.

6. I despise meetings as much as anyone (and more than many), but one cannot address problems solely by mandate. One cannot just say, "You can’t do this," and expect teachers to know what to do instead, not can one expect teachers who are given mandates to just suck it up and be happy about it. So whereas I would not put crucial decisions that address these problems up to a vote or approval process by teachers, I would not just send out a memo. Instead, I would call a meeting, explain the problem and the solution, and invite discussion. And yes, if one of the teachers came up with a solution that either was better than mine, or as good and made teachers less uncomfortable, I would adopt it.

   There would be few group decisions, but there would be no undiscussed or unexplained decisions. And provided that there are good arguments made, all decisions are open to amendment.

7. I would allow no anonymous or organizational confrontations. If one of my teachers is accused of something, he will be told up front who is making the accusation. I am there for my teachers and my students. Union representatives who are not teachers in my school would not be given a hearing. I will, of course, happily see student organization representatives within the school, but I would treat aggrieved special interest groups the same way I would any external group: They would get no hearing. If the Height Challenged Sikh Organization didn’t like the textbook, they would be welcome to take it up with their state representative, but I’m afraid I couldn’t be bothered.
8. Disband all committees and study groups, and fire all extraneous middle management.

   A school does not need a Diversity Czar, or a Wimmins Issues Study Group. A school needs teachers who will do their jobs, and give their students the gift of education. If those teachers who are concerned about Siamese Twins of Color would like to meet on their own time, that isn’t my concern. But no, I would not allow state funds to pay for their discussion group, no more than I would allow taxes to pay for the Subdirector In Charge Of Blackboard Maintenance. I would grudgingly keep the Subdirector position technically open (though unfilled), just in case Mr. Beeb indeed hadn’t been doing his job and refused to do so (again, provided that this school is not in a right to work state).

   I would insist that I be given a position on any board responsible for fiscal decisions related to the school. That is non-negotiable.

   Committees and study groups not directly related to the educational mission are not only a fiscal issue. They distract the school, its faculty, and its students from the educational mission. They also potentially damage the school (and rightly so), when parents demand (rightly) to know why their taxes are being used to fund a Three-Toed Brazilian Lesbian study group.

9. Create committees, study groups, and middle management positions that directly affect the educational mission of the school.

   I value input from teachers, particularly those with excellent track records, and would ask for their help in addressing the problems at the school. I also value professional development — real professional development, not attending a seminar at a conference to learn how to do even more brain-dead "integrated" assignments. I would create and attend study groups on pedagogical techniques and assessment, professional presence in the classroom, discipline, and any number of topics that needed to be addressed.

   When necessary, I would create middle management. If due to the size of the school, I were not be capable of sitting in on all my teachers’ classes and my teachers were not willing to sit in on other teachers’ classes and discuss pedagogical techniques, I would hire people with extensive educational experience and good track records to help me keep track of what was going on in my school’s classrooms. For reasons both professional and fiscal, I would prefer that my teachers helped me, but if necessary, I would hire others to do so.

10. Promote a healthy, professional environment.

    If one expects teachers to present themselves and behave as professionals, one must treat them as professionals, and encourage a professional environment. This does not mean that I would require three-piece suits, because professionalism is much more than mere appearance. Professionalism is how we see ourselves, how we seek to improve our professional performance, how we conduct ourselves, and how we treat our students. I would encourage teachers to maintain a professional presence in and out of the classroom, and all professional development at the school.

    I would implement an open door policy. My teachers would always be welcome to come discuss problems with me. However, if a teacher had a problem with another teacher and had not approached the other teacher, I would send him to speak with that teacher first. If that did not help, I would be glad to step in and do whatever I could to resolve the problem. I would adopt the same policy with students, who would always be welcome to speak to me about problems. If, however, that student had not spoken to the teacher with whom he had a problem, I would send him to his teacher first, then deal with it if that did not help.

    Note that "I need an A!" is not a problem I would discuss.

11. Implement a common-sense administrative policy

    I would reject nearly all so-called "zero tolerance" policies in favor of common-sense policies, and deal with most individual problems as individual problems. Also, I would not attempt to extend school discipline or authority beyond campus. What a student puts on a webpage from a computer off campus may be troubling, and it may require reporting to either parents or authorities, but it does not fall within my realm of discipline.

    I would cut back on attempts by the school to take over parental respnsibilities. I do not believe that the school is, or should be, responsible for teaching students how to put on condoms or perform oral sex or whether to have sex at all. I would strongly stand against both sex ed programs and abstinence classes. My school is not my students’ parents. Whereas I would allow student groups on such topics to meet without discriminating in either direction, I would oppose any attempt to inject extraneous, off-topic material into the classroom.

    One of the few zero-tolerance policies I would adopt and strictly enforce would be inappropriate teacher-student relationships. If I have to explain this, I don’t think I want to work for you (or live in the same neighborhood as you, or be anywhere within miles of you).

    I would also adopt a zero-tolerance policy on grade retaliation. If you do not understand why, then the same as above applies.

If you really do want a hands-on, teaching principle with educational experience, one who is primarily concerned with the educational mission of the school, then I’m your man.

rightwingprof :: Sep.25.2007 :: Odds 'n Ends :: 1 Comment »