Why video cameras and teacher evaluation do not mix
I wrote a post the other day about Bill Gates’ plan to videotape America’s teachers as part of a teacher evaluation system, an enterprise that he said could cost up to $5 billion, but, he believes, is worth it. Here is veteran educator Anthony Cody to explain why it isn’t.Cody spent 24 years working in Oakland schools, 18 of them as a science teacher at a high needs middle school. He is National Board certified, and now leads workshops with teachers focused on Project Based Learning. He is also a co-founder of the new Network for Public Education with education historian and activist Diane Ravitch and others.
By Anthony Cody
Bill Gates’ latest big idea is the creation of a new $5 billion teacher evaluation system that includes the placement of video cameras in every classroom in America. (I wrote about it here.) The folks at the Gates Foundation seem a bit dismayed at how this
‘The Giggler’ — a story by James Grady about students at a D.C. school
Here is an original short story that author and screenwriter James Grady wrote for students at McKinley Technology High School in the District. During a visit to the school as part of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation’s Writers in Schools program, a … Continue reading →
Author reads with D.C. students, then writes about them
The PEN/Faulkner Foundation has a great program called Writers in Schools, a 24-year-old literary arts outreach effort that pairs nationally known authors with D.C. public schools. The foundation provides free books to students, works with educators to develop curriculum, and … Continue reading →