Let’s Evaluate Doctors on the Survival Rate of Cancer Patients Without question, the American Medical Association would immediately announce opposition to this proposal and enumerate the reasons why it’s based on a faulty premise. They would state that their membership was unanimously opposed to the idea, since it does not take into account the fact that doctors serve patients who come to them with different levels of cancer. Obviously the death of patients in advanced stages should not in any way be deemed the fault of the physician. Most rational citizens would likely agree with the impractical mandate. Surprisingly, teachers are not afforded similar support from politicians, business officials and even many members of the general public. The recent teacher evaluation mandates promulgated by New York State’s Governor Cuomo, required up to 50% of a teacher’s evaluation be based upon how the teacher’s students do on State examinations. It seems that politicians and business officials, without any background in education, feel qualified to disregard the course work, knowledge, experience, and state certification of school leaders. One only has to recall Mayor Bloomberg’s disaster in appointing, Cathie Black, an extremely successful business official, to lead the New York City School System. In a short period of time, her colossal failure validates the need for someone trained and experienced in educational administration to determine how to evaluate schoolteachers. The business leader believes, “What’s measured gets done,” while the educator believes, “What is nurtured, grows!” When a teacher is assigned a class of students in our contemporary schools, the children are representative of our current society. We must remember that our children are also at different stages of development! When planning for instruction, a teacher must consider that each student is at a different academic readiness. Additionally, they come to school with a multitude of social and family experiences that may impact on their ability to learn. A few students in a typical class of 25-30 have some of the following characteristics: • Billy is depressed since his parents are separating. • John has dyslexia. • Mary excels in every subject. • Roberto is brilliant and 3 years above grade level. • Michael is a mainstreamed special education student. • Umberto and Julio are still learning English. • Rufus and Joan are in the gifted class. • Juanita works hard to keep up with her classmates. • Noel is a scholar athlete. • Julia does little work and is “boy crazy.” • Tom work little in class but always passes his tests. • Maria is a wonderful, bright and conforming student. • Judy is non-attentive, depressed and overweight. • Graham is bright and hard-working. • Ryan is very shy and never participates. Every one of the children mentioned above has specific needs and the teacher is expected to educate and counsel them. In addition, the educator must consider the other students in the class who are eager to learn. Adolescents are also dealing with hormonal changes that often cause them to be more concerned about peer relationships than what is being taught in the classroom. However, unlike doctors, dentists and psychologists, teachers rarely have the luxury of tutoring their students in a one-onone situation. Teachers work with group sizes of 25-35. A secondary school teacher has five classes totaling about 125 students in all. If the typical teacher is able to control the class, earn the respect of the students, and cover her planned lesson, she is to be commended. If her students also take notes, behave, do homework and study for examinations, she is truly a miracle worker. To evaluate an educator’s effort on the basis of one admittedly unreliable examination is to have no understanding of the complexities of a teacher’s job in contemporary American schools. Excellent teachers are being asked to “drill and practice,” when in the past they made learning a journey, not a destination. Outstanding teachers shift the goal of a lesson when they perceive children are excited about a subject and take advantage of that “teachable moment.” Any educated person will enthusiastically relate the time when a teacher “turned them on” to an area of study, and encouraged them to go beyond the lesson of the day. Instead of requiring teachers to force-feed their students with test preparation lessons, politicians should involve educators and attempt to learn what strategies are transferable to underachieving students and the poorer performing school systems. Dr. Robert Ricken is a former school superintendent and presently a Senior Adjunct Professor of Educational Administration at C.W. Post, L.I.U. His most recent book, “Mastering the Balance of the Principalship: How to Be a Compassionate and Decisive Leader” has recently been translated into Chinese. BY BOB RICKEN An Education Evaluating the valuation methods of teachers North Shore Towers Courier n June 2016 45
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