Comments on: Tweed Doesn’t Care: The Fallacy of Equity http://www.edwize.org/tweed-doesnt-care-the-fallacy-of-equity Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:46:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Runcinate http://www.edwize.org/tweed-doesnt-care-the-fallacy-of-equity/comment-page-1#comment-7473 Runcinate Sat, 15 Jul 2006 16:11:42 +0000 http://edwize.org/tweed-doesnt-care-the-fallacy-of-equity#comment-7473 Be careful where you dispense praise. While the International Schools Partnership deserves credit for addressing an underserved population and spearheading the SBO teacher hiring process, it is no Shangri La. Such teacher-centered practices such as ‘homegrown’ control of staffing and teacher-driven lesson development are fine if they develop outcomes that shine beyond high school, but International is strong on ‘collegiality’ and short on outcome. Their holistic graduation rubrics emphasize overly general performance standards(that are quite open to interpretation, mind you) over specific skill and content bases, and in the interest of encouraging reading and writing across the curriculum pretty much have sacrificed the math and sciences. Sure teachers are happy, content, and willing to support each other, but what is the effect on students. Most need to take remedial mathematics if they enter college and too often the qualitative(read as I'm Okay, You're Okay) assessment they’ve grown accustomed to bears no resemblance to expectations whether in the workplace or in higher education. Twice their graduation portfolio lost in court because there was no proven parity between it and the NYS Regents standards. As to their enrolling ‘only students who have been in America less than four years,’ this may be true, but they are in no way obligated not to screen beyond this. They enroll few students with IEP’s and a strong majority have received ample education abroad, even in English. International is a bright spot in the DOE universe but in raising it as a model one should take care. A universe of ‘Empowered’ schools where teachers can hire, develop, and self-congratulate to their hearts content might neglect students the same way an authoritarian, bureaucratic, and bloated system can. A contented teacher is not always a sound one. Just ask a student. Be careful where you dispense praise. While the International Schools Partnership deserves credit for addressing an underserved population and spearheading the SBO teacher hiring process, it is no Shangri La. Such teacher-centered practices such as ‘homegrown’ control of staffing and teacher-driven lesson development are fine if they develop outcomes that shine beyond high school, but International is strong on ‘collegiality’ and short on outcome. Their holistic graduation rubrics emphasize overly general performance standards(that are quite open to interpretation, mind you) over specific skill and content bases, and in the interest of encouraging reading and writing across the curriculum pretty much have sacrificed the math and sciences. Sure teachers are happy, content, and willing to support each other, but what is the effect on students. Most need to take remedial mathematics if they enter college and too often the qualitative(read as I’m Okay, You’re Okay) assessment they’ve grown accustomed to bears no resemblance to expectations whether in the workplace or in higher education. Twice their graduation portfolio lost in court because there was no proven parity between it and the NYS Regents standards. As to their enrolling ‘only students who have been in America less than four years,’ this may be true, but they are in no way obligated not to screen beyond this. They enroll few students with IEP’s and a strong majority have received ample education abroad, even in English. International is a bright spot in the DOE universe but in raising it as a model one should take care. A universe of ‘Empowered’ schools where teachers can hire, develop, and self-congratulate to their hearts content might neglect students the same way an authoritarian, bureaucratic, and bloated system can. A contented teacher is not always a sound one. Just ask a student.

]]> By: institutional memory http://www.edwize.org/tweed-doesnt-care-the-fallacy-of-equity/comment-page-1#comment-7321 institutional memory Fri, 07 Jul 2006 15:12:49 +0000 http://edwize.org/tweed-doesnt-care-the-fallacy-of-equity#comment-7321 <b>FIRST TWEED, NOW KERIK? <i>(Or, "From Boss to Bernie")</i></b> Since the Tweed Courthouse is named for a notorious 19th-century New Yorker, the logical next step is to name the (Dis)empowerment schools for an equivalent modern hero. How about the Kerik Zone? FIRST TWEED, NOW KERIK?
(Or, “From Boss to Bernie”)

Since the Tweed Courthouse is named for a notorious 19th-century New Yorker, the logical next step is to name the (Dis)empowerment schools for an equivalent modern hero.

How about the Kerik Zone?

]]> By: Chaz http://www.edwize.org/tweed-doesnt-care-the-fallacy-of-equity/comment-page-1#comment-7313 Chaz Thu, 06 Jul 2006 23:24:12 +0000 http://edwize.org/tweed-doesnt-care-the-fallacy-of-equity#comment-7313 Peter; I may not always agree with your small/high school student selection, based upon personal experience. However, I'm 100% in agreement with your post. How about our union doing more in bringing this inequity to the media? Have I brought this up before? I guess I'm still waiting for Randi to do the right thing here and bust DOE for their bias in the student selection policy. Peter;

I may not always agree with your small/high school student selection, based upon personal experience. However, I’m 100% in agreement with your post.

How about our union doing more in bringing this inequity to the media? Have I brought this up before? I guess I’m still waiting for Randi to do the right thing here and bust DOE for their bias in the student selection policy.

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