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How does the situation at this end of the state compare?
5 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Thank you for posting this piece. It's nice to know that there is a watchdog out there. We would never see such a piece in the Post-Gazette or Trib. Instead, public relations pieces or giddy info about the Pittsburgh Promise meant to obfuscate the truth are the goals.
I salute Philly teachers for having the courage to alert the media about the integrity of academics being compromised. Here in Pittsburgh, such concerns would be met with a patronizing comment and a quick sweep under the rug.
Very interesting article, and so were the comments at the end. I taught third grade in a Philadelphia public school for 7 years in the '70's. The only children that could be retained had to have missed more than 90 days (1/2 of the year) and be more than one full grade level behind in reading. I am not sure if that was a district policy at the time or just the policy of the program that I was in.
It happens all the time, even at our best schools. I get kids at Dice that read several grade levels behind all the time in my Main Stream and even PSP classes. Administrators change grades, I was asked to change a grade under Dr. McMurays watch, I refused, but it was still changed. I was asked why do I care so much?
The Media only believes the boards propaganda machine, look how much money is spent on this PR machine, what a waste, It should spent on the kids and to better our schools, Hell, I do not want any money more than my 1.5% per year raise, but I am sick of seeing Mark Roosevelt get his 15,000 raise a year, while I have to buy some of my own classroom supplies.
Some one should write a book, How to ruin school district
By Mark Roosevelt & Theresa Collazi
Forward By Eli Broad
The Reason I Still Teach in the PPS is because I love my kids/students
I bust my butt as a teacher for the kids, not for these people like Roosevelt and others who never walked in my shoes as a educator. I have helped more kids as a teacher in the last 20 years than Mark Roosevelt ever will, I am just sick how things are going, I was a more effective teacher before Roosevelt came in and screwed up everything, that is the crime. I know work harder to accomplish less. Parents please save our schools, I am sorry for venting, but we are to paranoid as a whole (teachers) to talk about the state of affairs in our district. We work in a teacher hostile enviroment, in schools run by administrators who couldn't cut it as teachers. So they taught 5 years and went back to school to get out of the classroom as soon as they could. Teachers are born and so are leaders, You can take all the classes in the world and be an ineffective teacher or administrator.
Everything is smoke and mirrors
Help Us, bring rigor back to the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Sorry for venting & the poor gramar and spelling, Helps protect my idenity.
Please vent!! Parents need to be reminded that often teachers are not the problem but that they are the ones who are in the front line and readily blamed for what they have been forced to do. Thank you to all the teachers who care!! Parents or administrators who think that you're in it for anything other than the kids are crazy. There are, much easier, higher paying jobs out there (Roosevelt has one). It is frightening to think that the well trained, experienced teachers who are retiring will have replacements who have not had the same training. I fear that too many new teachers are being trained in the school of 'how to ruin a public school' and don't even know it.
There is an editorial that documents the numerous crimes that have taken place in Philly classrooms during the course of this year that followed this article in the Inquirer. I won't post the link here because the info is graphic--everything from teacher beatings to sexual crimes, and everyone from elementary to high school students.
Philly is a bigger district than ours, but parents should know that just because you don't hear about it doesn't mean it doesn't happen here--at least, some of the grotesque, disgusting things in schools. A school's culture begins with parents. If a parent is absent, or doesn't care about the education process, neither will the kids.
5 comments:
Thank you for posting this piece. It's nice to know that there is a watchdog out there. We would never see such a piece in the Post-Gazette or Trib. Instead, public relations pieces or giddy info about the Pittsburgh Promise meant to obfuscate the truth are the goals.
I salute Philly teachers for having the courage to alert the media about the integrity of academics being compromised. Here in Pittsburgh, such concerns would be met with a patronizing comment and a quick sweep under the rug.
Very interesting article, and so were the comments at the end. I taught third grade in a Philadelphia public school for 7 years in the '70's. The only children that could be retained had to have missed more than 90 days (1/2 of the year) and be more than one full grade level behind in reading. I am not sure if that was a district policy at the time or just the policy of the program that I was in.
It happens all the time, even at our best schools. I get kids at Dice that read several grade levels behind all the time in my Main Stream and even PSP classes. Administrators change grades, I was asked to change a grade under Dr. McMurays watch, I refused, but it was still changed. I was asked why do I care so much?
The Media only believes the boards propaganda machine, look how much money is spent on this PR machine, what a waste, It should spent on the kids and to better our schools, Hell, I do not want any money more than my 1.5% per year raise, but I am sick of seeing Mark Roosevelt get his 15,000 raise a year, while I have to buy some of my own classroom supplies.
Some one should write a book, How to ruin school district
By Mark Roosevelt & Theresa Collazi
Forward By Eli Broad
The Reason I Still Teach in the PPS is because I love my kids/students
I bust my butt as a teacher for the kids, not for these people like Roosevelt and others who never walked in my shoes as a educator. I have helped more kids as a teacher in the last 20 years than Mark Roosevelt ever will, I am just sick how things are going, I was a more effective teacher before Roosevelt came in and screwed up everything, that is the crime. I know work harder to accomplish less. Parents please save our schools, I am sorry for venting, but we are to paranoid as a whole (teachers) to talk about the state of affairs in our district. We work in a teacher hostile enviroment, in schools run by administrators who couldn't cut it as teachers. So they taught 5 years and went back to school to get out of the classroom as soon as they could. Teachers are born and so are leaders, You can take all the classes in the world and be an ineffective teacher or administrator.
Everything is smoke and mirrors
Help Us, bring rigor back to the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Sorry for venting & the poor gramar and spelling, Helps protect my idenity.
Sad- PPS Teacher & parent of two PPS students
Please vent!! Parents need to be reminded that often teachers are not the problem but that they are the ones who are in the front line and readily blamed for what they have been forced to do.
Thank you to all the teachers who care!! Parents or administrators who think that you're in it for anything other than the kids are crazy. There are, much easier, higher paying jobs out there (Roosevelt has one).
It is frightening to think that the well trained, experienced teachers who are retiring will have replacements who have not had the same training. I fear that too many new teachers are being trained in the school of 'how to ruin a public school' and don't even know it.
There is an editorial that documents the numerous crimes that have taken place in Philly classrooms during the course of this year that followed this article in the Inquirer. I won't post the link here because the info is graphic--everything from teacher beatings to sexual crimes, and everyone from elementary to high school students.
Philly is a bigger district than ours, but parents should know that just because you don't hear about it doesn't mean it doesn't happen here--at least, some of the grotesque, disgusting things in schools. A school's culture begins with parents. If a parent is absent, or doesn't care about the education process, neither will the kids.
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