Letters

Can teachers be teachers again?

Posted 9/4/14

To the Editor:

Having studied and read all of the new proposals for teachers and the classroom, I’m beginning to wonder if it is already too late.

It has been a few years that so many …

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Letters

Can teachers be teachers again?

Posted

To the Editor:

Having studied and read all of the new proposals for teachers and the classroom, I’m beginning to wonder if it is already too late.

It has been a few years that so many mandates, without funding for the most part, have traveled from Washington, D.C., to the Rhode Island State House, that have upset the teaching apple cart and caused so much agony for those in the teaching business. Whose career choice was to offer their talents and dedication to the classroom! Periodically “uneducated” politicians and State House administrators, all thinking they know more than those who were trained to teach our children, forward their rules without knowledge of the individual districts’ requirements!

When money (plenty of taxpayers’ money) arrives with the “we know better than you” plans or law, most of the money is spent by adding more individuals to oversee and push the mandates. And I will add that with a very heavy hand at times. Go back and look when Ms. Gist was first hired and see how her office and taxpayer money has been added for personnel and administration. It amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and yet the district of Cranston has had to do with Basics for its program.

This has meant that honors programs, middle and grade school sports and music have all had to be eliminated or curtailed in order to make do for the mandated basic program!

One of the most upsetting “command structure” requirements put forth is the core curriculum for teaching. There have been many stories and hearings on this hotly contested requirement. In my opinion it would do more harm than good by eliminating the professionals in the district to develop a curriculum that is not only proper for the district, but encompasses all of the new or improved methods for teaching and making sure that all teachers and administrators are current for their responsibilities.

The short answer is to make sure that the professionals in the district are held accountable for our student performance, not someone or organization that we cannot “see” or question!

The second is teacher evaluation/testing by different methods and timing. Please tell me (convince me) that any abstract method of testing, devised by those in government or universities, could ever be a better source for teacher evaluation than that devised and promulgated by the management of the district, led by a team headed up by the superintendent, educational assistants, principals and school committee members. This local evaluation would be answerable for all results to the parents and all interested parties in Cranston.

Quite frankly, this type of district responsibility accomplished on a human basis is the best bet for our children to be taught to the very highest standards. Other methods of teacher evaluation from “on high” could never be as successful as that done by those having the day-to-day knowledge of being on the “scene.” And might very easily do more harm than good. An analogy might be that a fireman cannot put out a fire if his hose is too far away!

A wonderful outcome with local control would be that teachers, administrators, school committee members, parents and the whole community would coalesce around the district being very proud of its accomplishments in the classroom and on the field of competition.

This would also promote better discipline in the classroom and on the field of competition when students, teachers, administrators and coaches are all working with the knowledge that they are being treated fairly and professionally by those they serve with on a daily basis.

For it is written “that everything can be accomplished with you.”

A happy person is a better worker.

Richard Tomlins

Cranston

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