Real curriculum is defined as the ability to teach standards and benchmarks without the CRT dread of gloom hanging over every piece of our lesson plans. Young teachers don't have old pet projects; but they have discovered the constraints of the CRT.
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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.diaz07mar07,0,3616316.story Check this story out.....They are crazy and truly mis-informed. If you have trouble reaching the story, search on Sonia Diaz on http://www.baltimoresun.com .
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I hope Sonia uses me as a reference!
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I miss seeing Jack around; he has great cooking stories.
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Hey...if it takes this blog for parents to visit our classrooms, then YEA! I look forward to their interactions with my students!
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CRT is not the LCPS' solution for an epidemic IEP...
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Thanks for the info on the lunch prices. I thought only free and reduced lunches were subsidized. Knowing that even the kids who pay full price aren't really paying full price makes it easier to pay that extra dollar for my meal. Thanks again.
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How dare Jack and Laws try to become the victims of what they state. Maybe Gibbs should conduct a further investigation and seek the real truth behind being "terminated without a cause" as they allege. The real victims are other people and not them!
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Thank goodness CRT is finally over. Maybe now we can get back to teaching and the students can get back into the learning mode. Whoever is in charge of scheduling CRT needs to seriously rethink their plan for next year. (BTW-thanks to all of you CRT coordinators for doing a job most others wouldn't want)
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Of course we can teach the real curriculum now that CRT is over. Have you ever read the CRT questions and compared them with benchmarks and standards? We spend the first half of the year teaching according to benchmarks, then spend most of the third nine weeks teaching to the CRT. For those naysayers, if the CRT is aligned with benchmarks and standards, why is there no Social Studies on there? Why are there only one or two Science questions that relate to the curriculum? CRT is just another way to get schools to jump through hoops in order to make AYP.
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Why do we make such a big deal out of CRT scores? At my school, we had a bunch of students miss CRT because of suspensions or ditching. A lot of those kids will score very well on the CRT, but most of them will not do anything to improve their school, their community, or themselves. When can we take the focus off some stupid test and put it back on teaching the kids who want to learn? And why do we have to spend so much time and effort trying to keep the kids who don't want to be in school around? This whole system is making me wonder if teaching is all it is cracked up to be...
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To the administrator who referred to the person making a comment about PDT's as an "idiot", I found that uncalled for and unprofessional for someone in your position. The fact that you mentioned that you could do without some people in your building was also uncalled for. Have you ever stopped to think that those same people you could without perhaps do without you? PDT's are only one person on your staff who do their job they don't make your school, they are not the end all be all to effective education. Effective teachers, natural teachers, (I am assuming these people that you could do without are teachers), and all other staff, auxiliary and ancillary are what make your school and keep you, the administrator, looking effective, whether they contribute alot or a little. I guess what I am trying to say is that if their are any administrators on this blog they should refrain from comments such as "people I could do without in my building." This comment I find unsettling because I value and think highly of all my staff members, for it is their building, not my building. Is it bliss? Heavens no! Not always, but in the end we all work to together for the children's educational sake, leaving the petty politics out of the focus of the student's education and productivity. Pettiness and politics is before 7:45 and after 4:00, discussed, dealt with by solution, if possible, and then we move on. If you can call a person who is making a personal opinion on a blog an "idiot", someone virtually unknown to you, it makes me wonder what do you call these "people that you could do without in your building" in the privacy of your own office and around others? If this is the way you feel about "these people" and complete strangers, who are just offering up an opinion then perhaps you should reconsider your role as an "educational leader administrator.", or you can take you role as an administrator seriously and speak to those people who you don't want in your school to resolve any issues that you may have with them. I do agree with you about PDT's, they are great. We would be would lost without ours, but you could have simply said this without the insulting sarcasm and mentioning the staff that you could do without, not cool. You should chose your words and comments a little more carefully considering that you are an "educational leader." Stop to think that perhaps there were some administrators that you worked under that could have done without you when you were a staff member. Makes me wonder what kind of an atmosphere do you have in your school. I apologize for the rant, but teachers have it difficult enough with having to wonder if they have to tread on eggshells. Remember, in the present climate of administration, here today, gone tomorrow. I for one take the good with the not so good, its part of being an educational professional, and makes school life, my family life, my life a lot easier. Your unthinkable comments, for me, overshadowed what you commented about. Which at this point I can't remember because your introduction about "idoits" and undesirables in "your building" mad more of an impression than what you were trying to communicate. Think about this.