Nobody 663
Nobody Asked Me But:
Writer James Lee Burke is like fine wine. You have one bottle of great Cabernet a year – on your birthday. You then spend the rest of the year drinking the very good and wonder if there is a difference. But comes your birthday and with the first sip, there it is.
Would you like a sip? Here is a sentence from Burke’s new book, “Pegasus Descending:”
“He wondered if the role of public fool came in incremental fashion with age, or if you simply crossed a line one day and found yourself in a room full of echoes that sounded almost like laughter.”<<<
I have mentioned before that the LA Times has added an excellent weekly column on education written by former educator Bob Sipchen. In a recent piece he asked the following questions, which I have tried to answer thoughtfully and realistically. However, I am well aware that my concept of realism defines what should and can happen rather than what will happen.
Q: Who should be a teacher?
A: Someone who loves kids, loves his subject matter, is creative, flexible, and has a sense of humor. Someone who knows that what he is doing is serious and yet doesn’t take it or himself too seriously.
How do we create good teachers?
A: Good teachers are born, not “created.” Persuading these women and men to become teachers is another issue. You do that by making the career choice more attractive – a professional pay package, freedom to use their creative talents, better working conditions and enhancing the prestige of the profession by making them the good guys rather than the
scapegoats.
Q: How should schools recruit good teachers?
A: By offering all of the above - AND by weeding out the poor teachers who drag down the profession.
Q: How can schools retain good teachers?
A: By supporting them. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, “give then the tools and they will do the job.” The tools are such things as smaller class sizes, computers, access to the Internet, modern labs. Another thing, small but important – eliminate unnecessary meetings.
Q: Who should judge a teacher's performance and how?
A: First the how – a public panel made up of appropriate educators and public experts in specific fields (no politicians allowed) should decide on minimum requirements for various career paths and for assuming the rights and responsibility of citizenship in a democracy. Teachers should be expected to educate their students to these standards by degrees along the K-12 pathway, BUT only after districts have (1) altered their curriculum to insure that teachers and students speak (literally) the same language – English, and (2) insured that teachers will not be downgraded on their evaluation for their failures with “refuseniks” – those who can not be made to care.
Criteria for evaluation: 1. student achievement of minimum requirements, 2. teacher’s ability to send students soaring above and beyond the minimums.
The evaluation itself would be a combination of the following: observation by a 3-person group made up an administrator, a parent and an expert, student evaluations, self-evaluation and test scores.
Q: Who should decide if and where teachers work?
A: The if is obviously decided by the results of the evaluation. At the end of the process, teachers should be divided into five categories (and paid accordingly) – master, excellent, very good, good and good-bye.
As to assignments, it should be an administrative function to see that every school has a balance of teachers from the categories above – except, of course, for the good-byes. These administrators should be held accountable for both the fairness and the success of these assignments.<<<
Headline: Iran and Syria Claim Victory for Hezbollah
I hate to say I told them so, but I did. Israel is no longer the lean, mean military machine of its youth – age softens urgency. It should have been war or no war against Hezbollah. Instead, it was a half-assed effort that encouraged its enemies.
But at least Israel’s effort, though feeble, was justified. Ours in Iraq is a disaster without justification.<<<
The creation story that came out of Zionism and Western guilt is a troubling one. But like many injustices, it is a fait accompli. Therefore the blood of dead innocents is not only the responsibility of Muslims and Jews. It is on all the creation countries that have not, by word or deed, crushed the myth that Israel is not forever.
To paraphrase Martin Niemöller: They sent their rockets and suicide bombers after the Jews. We were silent. We were not Jews.<<<
Did you know? In a post-cease-fire poll that appeared in the newspaper Maariv, 67 percent of its public believes that Israel should assassinate Nasrallah, even if that means destroying the cease-fire.<<<
From The Economist, Aug. 12th: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling a special session of the legislature to address the problem of California's overcrowded prisons. The article advises lawmakers to start by ending the state's three-strikes law, cleaning up prison-guard corruption, and taking politics out of the mix.
Comment: The three-strike law was a disaster from its moment of conception, which occurred, I assume, when sperm from a lobbyist fertilized an egg laid by a politician. The specifics of justice are better administered by the just than by the law-makers.<<<
NY Times columnist John Tierney, with some justice, calls Al Gore out for pushing busses as “the cheapest and most energy-efficient transportation for long distances,” while surveying the polluted world by plane, a travel method the former VP deplores for you and me. Obviously, it would be difficult to take a bus to the glacier melts in Antarctica, but I think Al often flies where busses dare to go.
But he is not the only “leader” who ignores the wisdom of Gandhi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
For example, there are the “peace-loving” leaders who make war, the “pro-public school” people who send their kids private, the parents who demand a do as I say, not as I do from their kids or even Joe Lieberman, who will not lose with the grace he would have expected from his opponent.
And how about you and I? How often are we the change we want to see in the world?<<<
Iraqi eye-opener of the week: From the NY Timer: “Senior administration officials have acknowledged to me that they are considering alternatives other than democracy,” said one military affairs expert who received an Iraq briefing at the White House last month and agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity.”
Bush = Iraq will be a shining beacon of democracy in the Middle East = Wrong, again, George.<<<
Just when I think that my opinion of politicians can go no lower, I am once again proven wrong. This time it was Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Republican o
f Illinois, claiming “our terrorist surveillance programs are critical to fighting the war on terror and saved the day by foiling the London terror plot.”
Great intelligence work by the British and the Pakistanis save thousands of American lives, and the Republicans take the credit. Shameful.<<<
From the LA Times: “Additional checked luggage strained LAX's 1960s-era baggage system to its limits. Three miles of aging belts that crisscross the lower levels of the airport's nine terminals struggled to carry the extra load, leading to delays getting bags onto aircraft and baggage carousels.”
Comment: Just one more example of how badly, California, the sixth richest “country” in the world, has damaged its infrastructure by under-taxing itself. Are we on the way to becoming the richest “third-world country” on earth?<<<
Here’s this week’s ethics question:
I was alone with my 85-year-old mother the day before she passed away. I asked her, If she could do anything over again, what would it be? She surprised me by saying she should have married “Robert,” an old flame, rather than my father. I’m conflicted over telling my brother and sister. It might be deeply disturbing to them, but it is an important part of our family history. Is it ethical to withhold this information? Name Withheld, Flagstaff, Ariz.
Absolutely! It is too bad that your mother made this death-bed confession to you. Whatever reward she gained was fleeting while the punishment she inflicted becomes part of her legacy. You don’t say whether or not you were pained by it, but what is too be gained by deeply disturbing your siblings? There are times when the price one pays for truth is too high.
Longfellow was right: “Let the dead past bury its dead.”<<< *
Houston 5, Pittsburgh 2: Roger Clemens posted his 345th win, giving up one run in six innings to help the Astros complete a three-game sweep. Clemens, who gave up four hits, yielded two runs or fewer for the eighth time in 10 starts. His 2.32 earned-run-average since June 22 leads NL starters.
Reaction: I do not like Clemens, but the man is still consistently pitching like this at 44. I think that considering his whole career, he may well be the best pitcher of all time. Koufax, Gibson and others had more talent but less longevity.<<<
Department of To Know Me Is To Know Me:
I don’t do waiting very well, but I am pretty good at sitting and watching.<<<
• Entire poem (The Psalm of Life) appears under poetry section titled
Friday Evening Blues on this site.
Writer James Lee Burke is like fine wine. You have one bottle of great Cabernet a year – on your birthday. You then spend the rest of the year drinking the very good and wonder if there is a difference. But comes your birthday and with the first sip, there it is.
Would you like a sip? Here is a sentence from Burke’s new book, “Pegasus Descending:”
“He wondered if the role of public fool came in incremental fashion with age, or if you simply crossed a line one day and found yourself in a room full of echoes that sounded almost like laughter.”<<<
I have mentioned before that the LA Times has added an excellent weekly column on education written by former educator Bob Sipchen. In a recent piece he asked the following questions, which I have tried to answer thoughtfully and realistically. However, I am well aware that my concept of realism defines what should and can happen rather than what will happen.
Q: Who should be a teacher?
A: Someone who loves kids, loves his subject matter, is creative, flexible, and has a sense of humor. Someone who knows that what he is doing is serious and yet doesn’t take it or himself too seriously.
How do we create good teachers?
A: Good teachers are born, not “created.” Persuading these women and men to become teachers is another issue. You do that by making the career choice more attractive – a professional pay package, freedom to use their creative talents, better working conditions and enhancing the prestige of the profession by making them the good guys rather than the
scapegoats.
Q: How should schools recruit good teachers?
A: By offering all of the above - AND by weeding out the poor teachers who drag down the profession.
Q: How can schools retain good teachers?
A: By supporting them. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, “give then the tools and they will do the job.” The tools are such things as smaller class sizes, computers, access to the Internet, modern labs. Another thing, small but important – eliminate unnecessary meetings.
Q: Who should judge a teacher's performance and how?
A: First the how – a public panel made up of appropriate educators and public experts in specific fields (no politicians allowed) should decide on minimum requirements for various career paths and for assuming the rights and responsibility of citizenship in a democracy. Teachers should be expected to educate their students to these standards by degrees along the K-12 pathway, BUT only after districts have (1) altered their curriculum to insure that teachers and students speak (literally) the same language – English, and (2) insured that teachers will not be downgraded on their evaluation for their failures with “refuseniks” – those who can not be made to care.
Criteria for evaluation: 1. student achievement of minimum requirements, 2. teacher’s ability to send students soaring above and beyond the minimums.
The evaluation itself would be a combination of the following: observation by a 3-person group made up an administrator, a parent and an expert, student evaluations, self-evaluation and test scores.
Q: Who should decide if and where teachers work?
A: The if is obviously decided by the results of the evaluation. At the end of the process, teachers should be divided into five categories (and paid accordingly) – master, excellent, very good, good and good-bye.
As to assignments, it should be an administrative function to see that every school has a balance of teachers from the categories above – except, of course, for the good-byes. These administrators should be held accountable for both the fairness and the success of these assignments.<<<
Headline: Iran and Syria Claim Victory for Hezbollah
I hate to say I told them so, but I did. Israel is no longer the lean, mean military machine of its youth – age softens urgency. It should have been war or no war against Hezbollah. Instead, it was a half-assed effort that encouraged its enemies.
But at least Israel’s effort, though feeble, was justified. Ours in Iraq is a disaster without justification.<<<
The creation story that came out of Zionism and Western guilt is a troubling one. But like many injustices, it is a fait accompli. Therefore the blood of dead innocents is not only the responsibility of Muslims and Jews. It is on all the creation countries that have not, by word or deed, crushed the myth that Israel is not forever.
To paraphrase Martin Niemöller: They sent their rockets and suicide bombers after the Jews. We were silent. We were not Jews.<<<
Did you know? In a post-cease-fire poll that appeared in the newspaper Maariv, 67 percent of its public believes that Israel should assassinate Nasrallah, even if that means destroying the cease-fire.<<<
From The Economist, Aug. 12th: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling a special session of the legislature to address the problem of California's overcrowded prisons. The article advises lawmakers to start by ending the state's three-strikes law, cleaning up prison-guard corruption, and taking politics out of the mix.
Comment: The three-strike law was a disaster from its moment of conception, which occurred, I assume, when sperm from a lobbyist fertilized an egg laid by a politician. The specifics of justice are better administered by the just than by the law-makers.<<<
NY Times columnist John Tierney, with some justice, calls Al Gore out for pushing busses as “the cheapest and most energy-efficient transportation for long distances,” while surveying the polluted world by plane, a travel method the former VP deplores for you and me. Obviously, it would be difficult to take a bus to the glacier melts in Antarctica, but I think Al often flies where busses dare to go.
But he is not the only “leader” who ignores the wisdom of Gandhi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
For example, there are the “peace-loving” leaders who make war, the “pro-public school” people who send their kids private, the parents who demand a do as I say, not as I do from their kids or even Joe Lieberman, who will not lose with the grace he would have expected from his opponent.
And how about you and I? How often are we the change we want to see in the world?<<<
Iraqi eye-opener of the week: From the NY Timer: “Senior administration officials have acknowledged to me that they are considering alternatives other than democracy,” said one military affairs expert who received an Iraq briefing at the White House last month and agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity.”
Bush = Iraq will be a shining beacon of democracy in the Middle East = Wrong, again, George.<<<
Just when I think that my opinion of politicians can go no lower, I am once again proven wrong. This time it was Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Republican o
f Illinois, claiming “our terrorist surveillance programs are critical to fighting the war on terror and saved the day by foiling the London terror plot.” Great intelligence work by the British and the Pakistanis save thousands of American lives, and the Republicans take the credit. Shameful.<<<
From the LA Times: “Additional checked luggage strained LAX's 1960s-era baggage system to its limits. Three miles of aging belts that crisscross the lower levels of the airport's nine terminals struggled to carry the extra load, leading to delays getting bags onto aircraft and baggage carousels.”
Comment: Just one more example of how badly, California, the sixth richest “country” in the world, has damaged its infrastructure by under-taxing itself. Are we on the way to becoming the richest “third-world country” on earth?<<<
Here’s this week’s ethics question:
I was alone with my 85-year-old mother the day before she passed away. I asked her, If she could do anything over again, what would it be? She surprised me by saying she should have married “Robert,” an old flame, rather than my father. I’m conflicted over telling my brother and sister. It might be deeply disturbing to them, but it is an important part of our family history. Is it ethical to withhold this information? Name Withheld, Flagstaff, Ariz.
Absolutely! It is too bad that your mother made this death-bed confession to you. Whatever reward she gained was fleeting while the punishment she inflicted becomes part of her legacy. You don’t say whether or not you were pained by it, but what is too be gained by deeply disturbing your siblings? There are times when the price one pays for truth is too high.
Longfellow was right: “Let the dead past bury its dead.”<<< *
Houston 5, Pittsburgh 2: Roger Clemens posted his 345th win, giving up one run in six innings to help the Astros complete a three-game sweep. Clemens, who gave up four hits, yielded two runs or fewer for the eighth time in 10 starts. His 2.32 earned-run-average since June 22 leads NL starters.
Reaction: I do not like Clemens, but the man is still consistently pitching like this at 44. I think that considering his whole career, he may well be the best pitcher of all time. Koufax, Gibson and others had more talent but less longevity.<<<
Department of To Know Me Is To Know Me:
I don’t do waiting very well, but I am pretty good at sitting and watching.<<<
• Entire poem (The Psalm of Life) appears under poetry section titled
Friday Evening Blues on this site.
posted by jmt | 9:24 AM
1 Comments:
Pearls of wisdom regarding education. Treat us like professionals and expect us to act professionally!
This is getting so old!
Another Great one Jim!
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