The Auto-Tuning of Teacher Voices: VIVA and the NEA 360° Report on Education Accountability
By Anthony Cody.
In December I published a post submitted by a group of teachers that had been working on a special project called the VIVA/NEA 360° writing collaborative. These teachers had been working on a report that was to offer a “new vision for accountability” for K12 education. Many of them were unhappy with the process that had unfolded, and what I heard from them reminded me of some experiences of my own in the past. There were 17 individuals involved, and all were offered the chance to share their individual points of view, and the posts that follow are from the seven individuals who chose to write. Before we get to those posts, I want to share my own perspective.
If a singer happens to sing a tune out of key, nowadays there is a way to use technology to fix that. Their voice can be “auto-tuned,” electronically altered so that it is in key. Something similar is being done to make sure that teacher’s voices are brought into key, and sing the tune that is desired. The series of stories I am about to share will show how that hidden process works, so that we can get a bit closer to the authentic voices of the teachers behind the microphones.
Over the past decade a number of organizations have emerged that purport to provide teachers with platforms from which they might be heard. Education policy, it is well known, often suffers from the absence of the teacher, and these organizations claim that they are providing teachers with that precious “seat at the table.”
There are a number of groups that have issued such reports – and I have been involved with several myself. In 2007, I was invited to participate in a project called TeacherSolutions, a team of 18 teachers which produced a report entitled Performance Pay for Teachers, Designing a System that Students Deserve. The team was sharp and professional, and when we gathered to discuss our final draft, there was a lively discussion over whether our final recommendations should allow for the use of test scores in teacher pay. I argued quite strenuously against this. However, at a certain point, a person on staff with CTQ stepped in and said “there are certain things the funder requires.” The bottom line was our report had to include some sort The Auto-Tuning of Teacher Voices: VIVA and the NEA 360° Report on Education Accountability - Living in Dialogue:
The Process and the Report: What Went Wrong
This post is part of a series related to the VIVA/NEA 360° Report. See an overview here. By Joy Peters. The process was laid out before us clearly: contribute a lot, be selected, write, and report. We did that. We had made the deadline. We were successful. We were proud of what we had produced. Everyone contributed though out all voices were heard. Each of us had taken time from our families, time
It’s Time to Speak Out: Comparing Reports
(This post is part of a series related to the VIVA/NEA 360° Report. See an overview here. You can download a summary of the changes to the report drafts here: What Was Left Behind, prepared by the same author.) by Petra Schmid-Riggins It’s late, silence echoes through the house, time to go to sleep. So why is an inner voice screaming, “It’s time to speak out.” The writers of the Writing Collaborat
Using Our Teacher Voices: the Fight to Be Heard
(This post is part of a series related to the VIVA/NEA 360° Report. See an overview here.) By Amanda Koonlaba. In October 2014, while on maternity leave, I received an email from Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association, about participating in an Idea Exchange with VIVA Teachers. This Idea Exchange posed these questions, “A wide body of research suggests instructional
We Must Create Avenues for Authentic Teacher Voices to be Heard
(This post is part of a series related to the VIVA/NEA 360° Report. See an overview here.) By Enid Hutchinson. I became a teacher because growing up I loved my teachers, and, I loved working with children. When I was growing up, teaching was a profession that was respected and honored by parents, students and the community. I couldn’t think of anything else I’d rather do than work with children, m
Let All Teachers’ Voices Be Heard
(This post is part of a series related to the VIVA/NEA 360° Report. See an overview here.) By Nancy Kunsman. An email from National Education Association (NEA) president Lily Eskelson-Garcia in October invited NEA members to share our voices concerning best practices in education accountability. I tend to be one of these people who sign up, try it out, and move on, but the idea that intrigued me a
Teachers Speak Out, Then Get Schooled
(This post is part of a series related to the VIVA/NEA 360° Report. See an overview here.) By Rachel Rich. I felt like I had won the Teachers’ Schoolhouse Sweepstakes as I opened an invitation to an NEA survey on “360 Degree Accountability”. How often do teachers get asked for an opinion?! I was equally blown away when asked to help summarize survey results and then present them to the NEA in Wash
The Auto-Tuning of Teacher Voices: VIVA and the NEA 360° Report on Education Accountability
By Anthony Cody. In December I published a post submitted by a group of teachers that had been working on a special project called the VIVA/NEA 360° writing collaborative. These teachers had been working on a report that was to offer a “new vision for accountability” for K12 education. Many of them were unhappy with the process that had unfolded, and what I heard from them reminded me of some expe