Even principals think IEA and Audrey’s Law is wrong.
People who know me know not to bring up the topic of school principals as dinner conversation.
Better to ask about religion and politics, argue Cubs or White Sox, choose between Al’s or Mr. Beef.
I have worked for a dozen principals in my three decades as a teacher. Since I am still an employee for six more months, let’s just leave it at that. I’m not naming names yet.
I have previously pointed out that the career path for many appears to be: Teach for a couple of years, discover you don’t really like the classroom, get a Type 75 administrative certification and then become a principal.
They then no longer just make two dozen or more kids miserable. They make dozens and dozens of teachers miserable too.
But now even principals say that the school reform laws that link teacher evaluation to student test scores are stupid ideas.
They even think it is such a stupid idea that hundreds of New York state teachers have signed a statement saying that teachers performance reviews based on students test scores as a requirement for Race to the Top money is bad policy.
I never would have believed it.
The ultimate irony is that principals are in revolt against the kind of law that our Illinois union leaders, specifically the IEA’s Executive Director Audrey Soglin, wrote and had the Illinois legislature pass in order to qualify for RTTT money.
Race to the Top money that we didn’t get.
But don’t get me started.
Of course they realize this. There have been a dozen news stories in the last week about new accountability, and that even THEIR evaluations are based on testing. Apparently the didn’t read or pay attention last spring. NOW they’re upset when they realize they’ll be on the hook for the same silly “accountability” standards they’ve been holding teachers to.
Even worse, assistant principals will be measured by discipline data. What?!
I sometimes wonder if there’s a forum somewhere— one that we just don’t know about— where all the administrator-types are chiming in on the issues of the day. But there isn’t one, at least not in Illinois. Not on pensions, not on SB 7, not on anything. I know there are excellent principals around– I could name some, but they’re not in the fight. If you ever need to find a quiet place to read a book or something, just go to where Illinois principals are gathered. There won’t be a peep.
Of course there are good principals. But Tim is absolutely right. Don’t go looking for any on a bus to lobby in Springfield, at an Occupy anything camp or at a meeting even when it is about there own pensions. They’ll let teachers do the heavy lifting.