Comments on: Numbers Don’t Lie, But . . .

By: Just another WordPress weblog

Just another WordPress weblog — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:07:20 +0000

[...] Numbers Don’t Lie, But . . . | Edwize [...]

By: firebrand

firebrand — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 03:35:03 +0000

MichaelB, many in my school were also afraid that the surveys weren’t anonymous enough…a few of us tried to make them more anonymous by not filling in the sections inquiring of the subjects that we taught and the amount of time we had been teaching (could the levels that we taught also been a category of which we were wary? I don’t remember).
However, I am not so sure that doing the survey on-line would be any more anonymous; in fact, I think taking the survey on-line would be LESS anonymous. I am fairly certain that there is a way to trace e-mails (paranoid as that may sound).

By: Numbers Don't Lie, But . . . | Room Eight

Numbers Don't Lie, But . . . | Room Eight — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:26:49 +0000

[...] the recently-released Learning Environment Survey proves interesting. It was originally posted on Edwize and written by Edwize blogger CitySue.]. . . those who attempt to explain them often do. The [...]

By: jd2718

jd2718 — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:03:57 +0000

I’m fairly careful about not writing publicly about the sorts of details in my school that might be locally negotiated or contentious. If things are good, they are good; if things are broken, it is my job to try to help fix them (I am Chapter Leader). And while I do not use my last name on line, I am hardly anonymous. It would hardly be advantageous to put these details into a blog post.

However, you seem to have a fairly positive opinion of SLTs. What experiences helped you form your view?

By: Teacher News of the Day | Edwize

Teacher News of the Day | Edwize — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:38:17 +0000

[...] that lowering class size is the top parent priority in the Learning Environment Survey. See this Edwize post for [...]

By: Steve Perez

Steve Perez — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:21:36 +0000

Fair point jd2718.

What do you think of the SLT at your school?

By: jd2718

jd2718 — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:26:43 +0000

Let’s be careful not to confuse what the SLTs could be with what they actually are.

And in successful schools, teachers have voice and share in decision making. The SLT could be one vehicle for that.

By: MichaelB

MichaelB — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 23:36:05 +0000

At my school, some teachers were afraid to fill out the survey, thinking they really wouldn’t be anonymous. This must have been a widespread concern because I recall receiving a letter from Klein addressing this issue specifically.

I’d still like to see the UFT design its own online survey. We could ask all the questions we wished Klein had asked, including ones about the integrity of the grading process.

By: Steve Perez

Steve Perez — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 22:24:08 +0000

For those who don’t know, School Leadership Teams bring together the principal, parents, teachers and staff at a school to create the school’s education plan. As schools become more autonomous, SLTs become more important.

Successful schools are collaborative. A school is much stronger when everyone involved is on the same page and working together. That’s what SLTs are for.

But now there’s a proposal to make a statutory change to SLTs so that they’re consultive instead of collaborative. I think that’s a step backward. Principals need to work with parents and staff to succeed. Changing the SLT bylaws won’t change that.

This is all pretty inside baseball stuff that doesn’t fit into a 60 second radio ad. But if there’s interest, I’ll work to get a blog post up on SLTs.

By: Schoolgal

Schoolgal — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 21:35:03 +0000

Sorry about the misspelling of their when I meant “there”.

I understand that there are changes being made to the SLT bylaws that take away any meaningful input by teachers and parents. Why isn’t the UFT talking about that on the radio?