A teacher explains: Why I won’t resign. A letter of resolution.
I have shared some very passionate teacher resignation letters on the blog, including an incredible one from former local teacher Jordan Kohanim. (If you missed her piece, read it here.)But here is a letter from a teacher explaining why she is not resigning. New York teacher Christine McCartney published this letter on her terrific “An Educator’s Re-education” blog.
McCartney has been at the University of Tampere in Finland through a Distinguished Fulbright Award in Teaching. She writes that she is “studying how Finnish teachers utilize ongoing, formative assessments to inform their practice.”
In her intro to her letter, McCartney explains, “After having spent the past month in Finland, however, gaining new insights from the Finnish education system and having the freedom of time to reflect on my own experiences as a teacher in New York, I have a different kind of letter. Call it my Letter of Resolution. I wrote it because I have had enough. I can’t handle any more …
New calls to probe cheating allegations in Washington under Rhee
PBS’s John Merrow recently revealed a 2009 confidential memo pointing out troubling test answer erasures in Washington, D.C., schools, which were led at the time by Michelle Rhee, now the head of the national advocacy group StudentsFirst.
Merrow reported that the erasure concerns raised in the memo by an outside data consultant failed to prompt any investigation by top officials in the district.
The Washington Post is reporting that a probe is unlikely at this point, either. (A 2007 law placed Washington’s public schools under mayoral control. Under the D.C. model, the city council appoints some of the school board members.)
The Post reports:
Merrow reported that the erasure concerns raised in the memo by an outside data consultant failed to prompt any investigation by top officials in the district.
The Washington Post is reporting that a probe is unlikely at this point, either. (A 2007 law placed Washington’s public schools under mayoral control. Under the D.C. model, the city council appoints some of the school board members.)
The Post reports:
The chairman of the D.C. Council’s education committee said Sunday that he has no plans to launch a full-scale investigation into allegations of widespread cheating on standardized tests in 2008, during the tenure of former Chancellor Michelle Rhee.
Council member David Catania (I-At Large) said that he intends to find out why …