Comments on: NYC charter school's $125,000 experiment
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- This 60 Minutes piece makes a fallacious comparison between the hiring practices of TEP and those of the New York City school system at large. The criteria by which the principal of TEP decided which teachers' contracts he would not renew is not at all comparable to the criteria that might be used to dismiss a public school teacher under normal circumstances, and the juxtaposition of these two very different "firing" situations in order to make a broader point about teacher tenure was misleading and unfair to the two teachers who didn't return to TEP.
Firstly, as the segment notes, all the teachers hired by TEP have already proven themselves to be extraordinary educators. TEP selected its first class of teachers in a nationwide search for the very best educators in the country, and Judy and Heather both exerted themselves to the limit to help make TEP's first year as successful as possible and ensure a positive experience for the TEP students. There is no question that in any other public school, far from being "fired," Judy and Heather would have been models of good teaching to which other teachers would aspire - and indeed, the high quality of their teaching was the reason they were chosen for TEP in the first place. If two contestants at the 2008 Olympics do not return for 2012, it would be ludicrous to come to the conclusion that it is because they are poor athletes.
Second, neither Heather nor Judy was "fired." TEP teachers are all at-will employees, and the principal of TEP decided not to bring them back for the second year based on a determination that their performance was not up to TEP's uniquely high standards. In no way was their non-renewal based on any misbehavior on their part, and the principal of TEP gladly served as a reference for both of them as they searched for and secured other positions after leaving TEP. Far from being egregiously poor, Judy and Heather's job performance at TEP was by many metrics excellent; to give just one example, Judy's special education students were the only group of students in the school who demonstrated significant gains in their ELA scores. Indeed, the student whom 60 Minute highlighted for his reading improvement was one of Judy's students, and it is Judy's voice that can be heard teaching him in the background as he reads aloud at the end of the segment.
Finally, it was not made clear by the 60 Minutes segment how much more teachers were required to do at TEP than they would be at an ordinary public school. In addition to their regular teaching duties, TEP teachers in the school's first year spent many hours each week performing an additional school service role, such as dean of discipline. Furthermore, as a startup school, TEP made special demands on its teachers' time and energy to create a school culture and curriculum from scratch, all while under an intense media spotlight. Based on the experiences and feedback of the first-year teachers, including Judy and Heather, TEP's principal has since made significant changes to these requirements in order to reduce a workload that many among the staff felt was simply unfeasible. In the segment, TEP's principal said he should have four more years to prove his efficacy, saying he had no magic wand that could produce immediate effects; it is reasonable to wonder why his teachers were held to a different time frame.
Given the above factors, it was illogical, disingenuous, and inaccurate of 60 Minutes to portray TEP as a microcosm of New York City public schools where tenure is concerned. On the contrary, TEP is an anomaly, a school privileged enough to have its pick of the best and brightest teachers in the nation, and to decide on a year-by-year basis whether it is getting its money's worth out of those teachers. The $125,000 question about TEP is not whether its teachers deserve the higher salary; undoubtedly they do, as do other excellent teachers across the country. The question is just how much they can reasonably be asked to give in exchange for it.
-Family member of a non-renewed TEP teacher - Reply to this comment
- As a twenty year veteran of the Chicago Public Schools, I remain very curious about Teach for America zealots such as Mr Vanderhoek. First of all, I'd like to know exactly how long he taught in that middle school In New York. If he's like most TFA vets, he was out of the classroom after fulfilling his two year stint and off to bigger and better non-classroom educational pursuits. I don't trust him. The Teach for America model, which appears to be in place at TEP, is not sustainable. It requires a larger salary to lure hard working teachers in and burns them out in a few years with 80-90 work weeks which are not compatible with the realities of life. No matter,"out ya go"- thousands will apply for your teaching position especially in this economy where new college grads are lucky to land a retail job at Walmart. I wished Katie had thought to ask how many TEP teachers were married, had kids, cared for aging parents, were active in their churches, communities. Just wonderin.
My work week is very long too. I don't sit down and count the hours but I come in early, leave late and bring tons of work home. I spend tons of my own money -$1187 on classroom supplies last year. The difference is, after twenty years, I'm a fixture in the neighborhood I work in. Younger brothers and sisters of the kids I've taught through the years can count on making mummy cases, painting "caves" like prehistoric men and building medieval castles when they arrive in my Social Science classroom, just like their older siblings did. I kind of like walking down neighborhood streets and having kids shout my name. I feel like a rock star. Oh, yes, and one more thing, I also enjoy being a member of the Chicago Teacher's Union under the leadership of perhaps the finest union leader in the country-Karen Lewis. The union protects me from arbitrary decisions made by prinicipals dealing with school budgets that don't come close to providing them with the funds they need to educate special needs students and English language learners, poor kids. My contract rewards me for a job well done, not with a home in the Hamptons but with a modest 1931 bungalow on the southside of Chicago. I have served the children and families of Chicago well and thanks to them, when it's time to go to that big summer vacation in the sky, my life will have had meaning and purpose. There is nothing nothing like working in a neighborhod public school where every kid who lives within the boundaries, can walk through the door and find a desk and teacher waiting. The privatization of public education must be stopped. The neighborhood school is a safe harbor that anchors a community with open doors and familiar faces. There you'll find democracy in action-no lotteries for admission and the promise that those same faces in the office and hallways and classrooms will be there next year and the next. - Reply to this comment
- As a model for solving USA's education problems the "superstar teacher" approach is absolutely wrong. On average, people are average. What percent of schools can succeed by recruiting 'the best' teachers? 5%? 10%? Very soon the pool of "superteachers" is drained and no more schools can succeed that way. [Sure. That is "simplistic". But so is the stupid rant about "we want only the very best teachers in this school".] Even if they succeed the early few schools to take this tack are not "shining examples" they are selfish, parasitic showcases built by vain egotists. What we actually need is an education system built on process, materials, and equipment that allows for repeatable success when applied by teachers of ordinary skill.
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- What was most discouraging to me after viewing that segment was all the rote instruction and mere repetition that was on display--and the only student work we saw was worksheets. And then, despite that rote style of learning specifically geared for standardized tests, results were disappointing. Local schools were doing better (and in Washington Heights, that's not saying very much)--so wouldn't the students have been better off in their district schools? No one mentioned any authentic work students were asked to do...all we saw was clapping and stomping. The teacher asks, "Is everybody with me?" Then the whole class shouts, "Yes!" Um, really? How would he know if someone was *not* with him? A teacher looking at this for 10 seconds instantly sees the holes in this piece.
And in terms of accountability for the principal, then suddenly we hear "these things take time." So the principal gets to "experiment" on kids for 4 years...and then he could lose his job in the end? It's unbelievable. I'd like to see this "experiment" happen in a wealthy suburb...then you'd see the uproar.
I'm all for changes, but this is demonstrating school going in the absolute WRONG direction...especially for children of low socioeconomic status who are not privy to the style of education of the wealthy, which grooms children for leadership, critical thinking, and learning marketable skills. Would the wealthy billionaires who support these programs send their children to schools with worksheets, conducted in trailers, with students sitting in rows? Of course not.
Show me a school for poor students that provides learning opportunities that allow them to think for themselves and become leaders, not followers, and maybe we can discuss "reform." - Reply to this comment
- I have watched 60 minutes for years and could not believe the bad journalism I witnessed with this piece. As an educator, I couldn't believe that this program, once the standard for TV journalism, could jump on board the "blame the teachers and their unions" for all this nation's education shortcomings. Did you even call the NEA and the AFT and ask how they are working to improve education? No, probably not. What a sad day it is when things have come this far that even 60 minutes is trying to become more like FOX news.
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- The sactimonious hypocrisy of Zeke Vanderhoef is pathetic.The two teachers, in his view, didn't cut it after 1 school year, and they are out.The students of TEP didn't do well on state tests, but he feels that he gets at least 4 years to do well.He isn't willing to stand by his own standards.He clearly doesn't understand tenure. It does not, and never has, given any school teacher a job for life.It simply grants due process rights, after 3 yrs. of at will employment.Tenured teachers can and do lose their jobs.With Klien and Vanderhoef, there is a failure of leadership, not tenure.Vanderhoef should, by his own standards, be fired.He didn't cut it.I spent 36 years teaching.The Vanderhoefs come and go,while the teachers keep teaching.
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- Usually, I feel 60 Minutes does excellent reporting...not in the case of this story! Where to begin? Well, very sketchy - not enough info on this "principal" who seems to think quite highly of himself. I noticed about 12 kids in the classes - the elementary school I work at has 25+ in each class and nearly all the classes have kids who don't speak English, are autistic/learning disabled or both! One of the "fired" teachers commented that she was working 80-90 hours per week - did she complain and was then fired? That is sickening and is one of the things that unions protect against. Nothing was mentioned about the other "fired" teacher. Now, how about the non-factual info? It was presented as though teachers immediately get tenure in public schools and "can't be fired". Tenure takes a long time, many quit or move on to other professions, and yes, teachers can be fired! I have had it with the public school teacher-bashing and you just jumped right onto the bandwagon. Shame on you! All in all, both my husband and I (neither of us are teachers but we both work in education) give the reporting on this story a big "FAIL".
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- Best teachers job any teacher can get, is in the DoDDs school system. Their in the top 5% and you can't beat the benefits.
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- I am dismayed that 60 Minutes has jumped on the 'blame-the-teacher' and the union band wagon as education's problems and think that offering a higher salary is the answer. Let me keep the salary I make now and hire back support staff so that I can do my job! It was implied that those 'good teachers' put in 80 hours a week! My staff puts in close to that for way less $. Good teachers are not inspired by money. Good teachers have the support of their parents, schools, State, and Nation. Good teachers are inspired by their students and will do anything it takes to try and help those students succeed. I know for a fact that I cannot do what needs to be done for my students with the 40 min. of prep-time that I get a week. I am responsible for teaching 11 subjects (just counted), plus basic morals and values. (Yes, I have lessons for that too.) Did I mention I teach a 5/6 blended??? I want my lessons to be meaningful, engaging, and fun for my students - the reality is -especially elementary school teachers - do not have the time to prepare these types of lessons. Am I a bad teacher? Our district is in a budget crises. Next year we are probably going to lose most of our support staff and Music will be gone, and I will take a pay cut! 60 Minutes, check the statistics on how many new teachers actually stay in the profession - and then talk to them. I think you will find that it wasn't the low-salary that drove them to find another profession.
One last thing - I have been teaching for 25 years and the recent trends in education are not good for kids and sabotage my profession, however, the number one thing that does make a difference is the parents. A friend of mine teaches 'across the tracks' in my district. When I see my former students who are now going to college, becoming doctors, dentists etc. he is chagrined. He reads about his former students in the newspaper - drug charges, assault, etc. Is he a bad teacher? He was nominated in the State of Oregon last year for Teacher of the Year! It is the home-life, the family structure and support system that make a difference! Quit blaming teachers! - Reply to this comment
- I have been watching 60 Minutes for years, but I think this was hands down the most one-sided, misreported story I've ever seen on the program. You spent an entire year or so following the school, yet you never once bother to mention in the piece what the principal's background is, what makes him so qualified to be the sole arbiter of these teachers' performances? And you spend the entire time focused only on the current principal and teachers with a whopping total of ONE outsider expressing an opinion on the issue? Oh, and also you showed the same clip of the teacher who pumps his students up with the hand clapping twice, so you could hardly make the claim that you were pressed for time. This was "journalism" at its absolute lowest.
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