tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post1746282120477905125..comments2024-03-28T19:47:39.985-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: Kansas Solves Teacher Eval RiddlePeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-74025939378698452142015-10-02T11:34:28.754-04:002015-10-02T11:34:28.754-04:00Actually, at the high school where I taught there ...Actually, at the high school where I taught there were more than 100 teachers and probably less than a dozen day and night janitors and most of the janitors worked at night after school ended as they cleaned classrooms so the only teachers they came in contact with were the ones who worked late in to the night like I did when I taught the journalism class for seven years and would be there sometime from 6 AM to 10 PM when the night janitor for the building my classroom was in would drop by to tell us we had to leave because the alarms were being turned on---that's about the only time I ever talked to one of the janitors, and he probably would have voted for me because the journalism kids left him snacks because of the messes they made that he cleaned up. The rest of the time, the few who worked days were usually moving around on electric carts to pick up trash or clean a mess somewhere on campus. Teachers in class teaching seldom if ever saw a janitor in their classroom.<br /><br />Pardon my language, but Rep. Highland is a total fucking moron and he is proof that any fool can get elected to office of that fool is backed by another fool who has billions of dollars.Lloyd Lofthousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08828275232705892137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-47140283256417736872015-09-25T21:20:52.538-04:002015-09-25T21:20:52.538-04:00@ Andrew: Yeah. At one school where I work, the tw...@ Andrew: Yeah. At one school where I work, the two people are called “Maintenance” and “Facilities Management”, and at the other school where I work, they aren't even mentioned in the staff pages. I suspect they come out from an agency. Yeah. Good Point, I suppose. Call them what they are called on the staff pages.Leilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02447044081130341196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-20192724515997487312015-09-25T15:51:59.035-04:002015-09-25T15:51:59.035-04:00It might help a teacher, especially in Kansas, to ...It might help a teacher, especially in Kansas, to remember that the proper title is, in most cases, "custodian," and not "janitor." Make sure your students know that, too, and they understand the difference.Snavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00791842506865658394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-73027439037240898922015-09-25T14:13:19.688-04:002015-09-25T14:13:19.688-04:00@ Dave. Wow. That sucks!
I have taught art and ...@ Dave. Wow. That sucks! <br /><br />I have taught art and regular classroom. I tell the students to clean up well because "It's not fair to the janitor to have to do more work." Sometimes a student has argued, "It's his job." I respond "You have to do homework tonight. Should I assign you more work? After all, it's your job to do homework." That has always ended the argument. Nonetheless, sometimes there is glitter everywhere such that my husband claims he saw the setting sunlight glinting off me in the car as I turned onto our street. So I wouldn't want to have "too much glitter mess" show up on my evaluation. So, yeah, sucks.<br /><br />@ everyone about merit pay:<br /><br />Merit pay works in sales because management can point to an exact cash figure each salesperson has brought in to the company. It's not based on how well the people who bought products did in their businesses, nor on management's opinion of how well each salesman pitches the product. Did that person sell the product? How much? <br /><br />It has no application in the classroom. The tests are not comparable to an exact dollar figure.<br /><br />Teachers should get together and practice putting the air-ball "Aaaaair-baaaaall" tune to "Crabs in a Bucket" until it's commonly expected that, every time someone starts in with the "teacher-merit pay" argument, someone in the audience will just sing "CraaaabsinaBucket" and cause snickering. Who knows? They may stop with that nonsense after being snickered at enough.Leilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02447044081130341196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-57597802357577218132015-09-25T10:32:52.826-04:002015-09-25T10:32:52.826-04:00Agreed. merit pay is however, inherent in sales, b...Agreed. merit pay is however, inherent in sales, but other areas of business I would agree that monetary incentives can sound good on paper but generally don't work well with people. And when failed CEOs like Carly are given multi-million dollar golden parachutes, the whole merit pay concept becomes farcical.NY Teacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08292448959963091160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-67716225333907800982015-09-25T10:21:16.362-04:002015-09-25T10:21:16.362-04:00This is really funny until it actually happens. O...This is really funny until it actually happens. One of the best science teachers I've ever known taught in the room next door until he was non-renewed, mainly because the janitors didn't like the clutter of constant long-range biology and geology projects going on everywhere in his room.Dave Eckstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13521336850803352134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-42418415746144920472015-09-25T10:11:11.619-04:002015-09-25T10:11:11.619-04:00Your comment sort of presupposes that merit pay wo...Your comment sort of presupposes that merit pay works in the business world. It really doesn't even work there, as substantial research has shown. That's reason enough not to import this toxic "common sense" into education.Dave Eckstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13521336850803352134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-12343395040149049662015-09-25T08:24:20.552-04:002015-09-25T08:24:20.552-04:00A merit pay system would produce a teacher-eat-tea...A merit pay system would produce a teacher-eat-teacher environment while undermining the collaboration that really helps to improve the quality of instruction building wide. These politicians are basing there "common sense" hunches on business models that don't belong anywhere near a classroom. The perfect storm of arrogance and ignorance is producing some absolutely horrendous policy ideas. These education thought leaders that never taught a day in their lives should just go away.NY Teacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08292448959963091160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-51179852632650642042015-09-25T06:50:25.644-04:002015-09-25T06:50:25.644-04:00The best teacher (assuming we could really root hi...The best teacher (assuming we could really root him/her out) wouldn't want to be paid more than his/her peers of similar experience and education. Precisely because s/he's a good teacher, s/he understands the detrimental effects of competition engendered by "merit pay".Diennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04570040547158789834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-33115424580453664282015-09-25T06:34:25.556-04:002015-09-25T06:34:25.556-04:00Art teachers won't stand a chance with the mes...Art teachers won't stand a chance with the messes their kiddos create! Janitors don't like sweeping up glitter and small bits of paper. The tidy test preppy teacher might get their vote as best teacher.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12498172022460555970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-5037674559039735972015-09-25T06:34:07.868-04:002015-09-25T06:34:07.868-04:00Art teachers won't stand a chance with the mes...Art teachers won't stand a chance with the messes their kiddos create! Janitors don't like sweeping up glitter and small bits of paper. The tidy test preppy teacher might get their vote as best teacher.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12498172022460555970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-54274059025328724112015-09-25T06:08:45.979-04:002015-09-25T06:08:45.979-04:00I was just adding that very point.I was just adding that very point.Peter Greenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-53846255446829696332015-09-25T06:06:01.602-04:002015-09-25T06:06:01.602-04:00Unfortunately, the school doesn't have a janit...Unfortunately, the school doesn't have a janitor anymore. His job has been outsourced to a temp agency mom from district 2https://www.blogger.com/profile/06072322560353891985noreply@blogger.com