“Off with their heads!”

A Chicago study of teacher evaluations was the big story around the country today. The Sun-Times version is here.

Is there anyone who thinks that poor teaching should be evaluated as excellent, superior or whatever term the local eval plan has come up with?

Is it helpful when the data that gets published in the press simply divides teachers in percentage categories (What are we? Students for goodness sakes?) as if we were being graded on a curve.

Is it helpful when 50% of principals say that union rules keep them from addressing poor teaching? They complain that it’s too hard. It requires too much paper work. Special Ed teachers must be laughing out loud over that one.

Doesn’t good teaching really have a chance to blossom in a school that is organized to take advantage of the skills, knowledge and techniques of the practitioner?

Do struggling teachers have a chance to improve in a school that encourages teacher collaboration, transparent classrooms, mentoring and all the best practices that have been researched to death?

Will the Chicago Tribune run another editorial about teachers demanding, “Off with their heads!”