A Note On Teacher Evaluations [A Memo For Sanity]
UFT Prez Michael Mulgrew, NYS Education Commissioner John King, and NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo
Remember a few years ago when I told you that trying to create equations for the intangibles is calamitous forany profession, especially education? If think tanks prognosticate that the 21st century needs ideals like collaboration and transparency, then we’re doing a poor job of exemplifying that in schools.On Saturday, for example, Commissioner John King released New York State’s mandated teacher – and principal – evaluation system because the United Federation of Teachers and NYC Department of Education couldn’t come to an agreement on their own. (N.B.: Mayor Mike Bloomberg came at the last minute and put a stop to the almost-finished negotiations, but that’s another story completely.) In his press release, King waxes poetic about students, saying “they’ve waited too long” for these reports to come out, an empty statement since