Anonymous wrote:
"new topic--
http://triblive.com/aande/books/7603754-74/says-reading-kids#axzz3QgPxR8PV
"study finds letting kids choose encourages love of reading"
Not in Broad/Gates world where required reading/ levels/ control and "free-range" reading is killed by not funding libraries and librarians. Philadelphia has 11 librarians, PPS 21. Control reading, control the masses. Again folks, what is obvious to surrounding districts-- strong library programs make strong schools and high scores, is lost in Broad/Gates sell out land. "
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Quick story about choices in the PPS. Maybe a bit off-topic. Maybe not.
I'm a PPS science teacher with many years of service. I know, from experience, which demonstrations work best for which topics. But I'm not allowed to those demonstrations. Why? Because they are not in the official syllabus for my course.
So, for example, suppose I have a great density demonstration. If it's not in the syllabus, I can't use it. I must use the weaker demonstration that's in the syllabus.
Of course, I could use my own demonstration anyway. But I'm in trouble if a supervisor should walk in and demand to know if I'm on the right page of the approved curriculum.
A bit off topic but none-the-less. Wouldn't it be liberating to explore topics such as community, identity, diversity, activism, self-reliance, resilience across all content areas at Milliones?
The most catastrophic situation in PPS is the lack of administrative experience and expertise in critically relevant areas!
The Central Office Administrators and Executive Directors are not 'equipped' for the positions that they currently hold. They are probably doing the best they can; however, there are teachers in our schools as well as in retirement, who are far better equipped to handle CO duties and responsibilities.
It may be fine to provide a curriculum for the new and inexperienced teachers (although that should be only a temporary course of action.) Good teachers (and there are many of them with skills that are being cancelled out by CO) should have the basic SKILLS needed to teach 'whoever' the student population is in their classroom (and not two classrooms are the same).
Good teachers need flexibility and autonomy to meet the demand of excelling with urban students
Continuing PD on "issues" that matter should be readily available.
not really off topic 11:42-- so very many talented teachers across the curriculum-- I would be proud for my children to have had them prior to 2006-- now they are muzzled. It is so hard to fathom that our board -- even with some strong leaders added to it-- are STILL buying this. We hire consultants instead of just asking experienced professional teachers the best ways to teach concepts. Again, in other districts people scramble to get that experienced teacher. Broad/Gates has fooled Pittsburgh parents into believing that new and cheap is "the best"-- even though these bargain teachers will be moving on after clocking a couple of years of resume' building in a urban school. Sorry Pittsburghers, you aren't coming off as smart.
The district high school lot is bottom of the barrel, except for CAPA, Alderdice, Sci-Tech, and maybe Brashear will be back where it once was back in the day.
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