Yes, Virginia, There Are Bad Teachers
"So I guess you just deny that there are any bad teachers at all."This is a popular retort to various forms of "Your system for evaluating teachers is a lousy system." It is a dumb retort. It is dumb in the same way the following exchanges are dumb.Chris: I am going to cure your mother's cancer by poking her in the eye with a pointy stick.Pat: I do not want you to poke my mothe
Why Conservatives Should Not Love the Vergara Decision
Over at the National Review, Rick Hess catches what conservatives should have noticed before they started applauding the Vergara decision.While I am clearly someone who isn't a fan of that decision, I was surprised that some conservatives were not also at the very least nervous about it, given that it involved 1) Serious judicial activism in the service of 2) Extending government c
Did NYC Tenure Changes Chase Away Weaker Teachers?
At EdWeek, Stephen Sawchuk reports on research which suggests that NYC tenure changes chased away weaker teachers. I suspect that the research is further proof that, when it comes to teacher quality, we have no idea what the hell we're talking about.The working paper, written by Susanna Loeb of Stanford with Luke C. Miller and James Wyckoff of the University Virginia, looks at what happened in New
6-15-14 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION: Tenure- Private vs. PublicNobody else has tenure. Why should teachers get it?So what if you could be fired for any reason? That's how employment works for every one else. Most people are "at will employees."You've heard these arguments (and if you haven't, gird your loins and go strolling through the trolling in the comments section of any article about Vergara and/or ten
