The Answer Sheet Archive: Teachers
Teach for America alum: Where TFA falls short
A Teach for America alumnus writes about why the organization must modernize: "With its emphasis on gains that can be measured on traditional paper and pencil assessments, Teach For America is reinforcing 20th century modes of teaching, thinking, and learning."
By
Valerie Strauss
| March 9, 2011; 5:00 AM ET |
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Comments (12)
Categories:
Guest Bloggers, Teachers
| Tags:
21st century classrooms, teach for america, teachers
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Teachers tell: One thing I wish I'd known
Teachers answer this question: “What was one thing you wished you’d known when you started teaching?”
By
Valerie Strauss
| March 7, 2011; 5:00 AM ET |
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Comments (12)
Categories:
Teachers
| Tags:
learning, teachers, teaching techniques
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Value-added assessment: Theory vs practice
Conflating the importance of teacher quality with the ability to measure it carries big risks, and can lead states, districts and the media to miss the trees for the forest.
By
Valerie Strauss
| March 3, 2011; 9:00 AM ET |
Permalink |
Comments (18)
Categories:
Guest Bloggers, Matthew Di Carlo, Teachers
| Tags:
la times, la times teacher, los angeles times, los angeles times teachers, los angeles times teachers series, teacher assessment, teacher evaluation, teachers, teachers and value-added, teachers database, value added
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School reform through confrontation
Increasingly in state after state, battles over school reform have become confrontational: Wisconsin, Indiana, etc. What are the consequences?
By
Valerie Strauss
| March 2, 2011; 3:31 PM ET |
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Comments (53)
Categories:
Teachers
| Tags:
collective bargaining rights, indiana, indiana collective bargaining, labor movement, no child left behind, teachers, wisconsin protests, wisconsin senators, wisconsin teachers
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Jon Stewart's hysterical defense of teachers
Jon Stewart (finally) does a hysterical bit about the preposterous attacks on the nation’s public school teachers, who have been accused by school “reformers” of being lazy, greedy and lousy at their jobs.
By
Valerie Strauss
| March 1, 2011; 12:47 PM ET |
Permalink |
Comments (93)
Categories:
Laugh and cry, Teachers
| Tags:
diane ravitch, jon stewart, school reform, the daily show, wisconsin protests, wisconsin teachers
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Providence threatens all teachers with termination
Why is the Providence school board threatening every single one of the nearly 2,000 public school teachers in Rhode Island’s capital city with termination?
By
Valerie Strauss
| February 25, 2011; 1:55 PM ET |
Permalink |
Comments (54)
Categories:
Teachers
| Tags:
central falls, providence, providence schools, providence teachers, teach for america, teachers
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Older Entries in This Category »
The "three great teachers in a row" myth,
Valerie Strauss
, February 25, 2011
Sick of highly paid teachers? Here's what to do,
Valerie Strauss
, February 24, 2011
Rhee’s new campaign is not about the kids,
Valerie Strauss
, February 23, 2011
Ravitch: Why should teachers have unions?,
Valerie Strauss
, February 22, 2011
The irony of Obama’s ‘help’ for Wisconsin teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, February 21, 2011
Dawn of the dumbest school data,
Valerie Strauss
, February 18, 2011
Teacher sickout closes Madison schools ,
Valerie Strauss
, February 16, 2011
Ravitch: The Problem with Teach For America,
Valerie Strauss
, February 15, 2011
Why teacher bashing is dangerous,
Valerie Strauss
, February 14, 2011
Veteran teacher: My problem(s) with Teach For America,
Valerie Strauss
, February 13, 2011
Teacher: If I were Bill Gates (here’s how I would help improve the profession) ,
Valerie Strauss
, February 12, 2011
Unsolicited advice for Teach for America on its 20th anniversary,
Valerie Strauss
, February 12, 2011
Missing the point on Rhee ,
Valerie Strauss
, February 10, 2011
Eliminating seniority-based layoffs: 4 things to consider,
Valerie Strauss
, February 9, 2011
New study: How L.A. Times teachers data is flawed,
Valerie Strauss
, February 7, 2011
Taming teacher turnover: A lesson from Oakland,
Valerie Strauss
, February 7, 2011
What football can teach school reformers ,
Valerie Strauss
, February 5, 2011
The VIVA Project: What teachers told Duncan ,
Valerie Strauss
, February 3, 2011
Letter to President Obama: Who is a 'highly qualified' teacher?,
Valerie Strauss
, January 31, 2011
The 'thinking gap' (and why teachers shouldn't keep kids busy every second),
Valerie Strauss
, January 31, 2011
Legislation: Teachers should grade parents,
Valerie Strauss
, January 31, 2011
Teaching without classroom teachers ,
Valerie Strauss
, January 25, 2011
Teachers and nanny cams: Compliance vs. trust,
Valerie Strauss
, January 25, 2011
Teacher: The worst of "best practices",
Valerie Strauss
, January 24, 2011
How Teach for America sees itself,
Valerie Strauss
, January 21, 2011
Pensions for teachers vs. chancellors,
Valerie Strauss
, January 20, 2011
Giving guns to teachers: A Nebraska legislator submits bill,
Valerie Strauss
, January 20, 2011
Policing the rush to charter schools,
Valerie Strauss
, January 20, 2011
Ravitch: The pitfalls of putting economists in charge of education,
Valerie Strauss
, January 18, 2011
Videotaping teachers the right way (not the Gates way),
Valerie Strauss
, January 18, 2011
The big 5: A teacher's translation guide for policymakers,
Valerie Strauss
, January 12, 2011
How to be taken seriously as a reformer (don't be an educator),
Valerie Strauss
, January 9, 2011
Resolutions someone should make for 2011,
Valerie Strauss
, January 5, 2011
America’s disdain for its children ,
Valerie Strauss
, January 3, 2011
The "bad teacher" bogeyman and its consequences,
Valerie Strauss
, January 3, 2011
Goofy: Teachers are people too,
Valerie Strauss
, January 1, 2011
Ravitch takes stock of education in 2010,
Valerie Strauss
, December 28, 2010
Test scores can't prove whether teacher experience matters,
Valerie Strauss
, December 23, 2010
Congress approves weird definition of 'highly qualified’ teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, December 23, 2010
How a teachers' union actually helped kids (not just adults),
Valerie Strauss
, December 21, 2010
So you want to be a teacher? ,
Valerie Strauss
, December 21, 2010
A 'highly qualified' gift from Congress to Teach for America -- UPDATED,
Valerie Strauss
, December 20, 2010
Willingham: When teachers speak unwelcome truths about your child ,
Valerie Strauss
, December 20, 2010
Valerie vs. Jay on Teach for America, KIPP, etc.,
Valerie Strauss
, December 10, 2010
Teachers: What we need to do to fix schools,
Valerie Strauss
, December 9, 2010
Teachers: How much more can we take?,
Valerie Strauss
, December 9, 2010
Absent teachers reserve 'crisis' created by Klein, Bloomberg, union,
Valerie Strauss
, December 8, 2010
When teachers are their own worst enemies,
Valerie Strauss
, December 5, 2010
A system to tell how your kid is doing in school,
Valerie Strauss
, December 2, 2010
First blame the teachers, then the parents,
Valerie Strauss
, December 1, 2010
Teacher runs into power of Teach for America,
Valerie Strauss
, November 21, 2010
Why teaching experience really matters,
Valerie Strauss
, November 20, 2010
Education leaders don't have all the answers, apparently,
Valerie Strauss
, November 18, 2010
The sad story of an L.A. school labeled 'failing',
Valerie Strauss
, November 17, 2010
Experts: How to overhaul teacher ed (and my problem with their report),
Valerie Strauss
, November 16, 2010
Teacher: ‘Maybe it is time for me to go’ ,
Valerie Strauss
, November 16, 2010
Teacher: Data, my new dirty word,
Valerie Strauss
, November 13, 2010
So you want to be a professor? A laugh/cry video,
Valerie Strauss
, November 13, 2010
What’s wrong with releasing names and scores?,
Valerie Strauss
, November 12, 2010
A public school teacher’s distress ,
Valerie Strauss
, November 8, 2010
A 'doable' solution to teacher quality,
Valerie Strauss
, November 5, 2010
Some good news for California teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, November 4, 2010
The peculiar ‘ovation’ for D.C. teachers ,
Valerie Strauss
, November 1, 2010
The importance of being unprincipled,
Valerie Strauss
, October 31, 2010
The real effect of teachers union contracts,
Valerie Strauss
, October 25, 2010
Building teacher accountability from the ground up,
Valerie Strauss
, October 23, 2010
Kohn: The pretend reformers,
Valerie Strauss
, October 22, 2010
On school reform, by Philadelphia's mayor and superintendent,
Valerie Strauss
, October 21, 2010
English teacher: Data can drive us down wrong road,
Valerie Strauss
, October 21, 2010
Threats to school reform ... are within school reform,
Valerie Strauss
, October 20, 2010
Reduce standardized testing to improve accountability, school quality,
Valerie Strauss
, October 19, 2010
Willingham: Should teachers be so important?,
Valerie Strauss
, October 18, 2010
Rothstein: Why teacher quality can't be only centerpiece of reform,
Valerie Strauss
, October 17, 2010
Supt. Ackerman's critique of 'manifesto',
Valerie Strauss
, October 16, 2010
'Manifesto' should be resignation letter,
Valerie Strauss
, October 12, 2010
How to save schools right now: Let teachers teach,
Valerie Strauss
, October 10, 2010
Still trying to make sense of NBC's Teacher Town Hall,
Valerie Strauss
, October 8, 2010
Down the education rabbit hole,
Valerie Strauss
, October 6, 2010
Ravitch: Why teachers should never be rated by test scores,
Valerie Strauss
, October 6, 2010
The nutty demonization of Randi Weingarten,
Valerie Strauss
, October 5, 2010
What public school teachers really need,
Valerie Strauss
, October 4, 2010
How Joel Klein insulted physical education teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, September 30, 2010
Ravitch: The long, failed history of merit pay and how the Ed Department ignores it,
Valerie Strauss
, September 29, 2010
About the suicide of an L.A. teacher,
Valerie Strauss
, September 28, 2010
What Americans really think about public schools,
Valerie Strauss
, September 20, 2010
Teacher: What my evaluation must include,
Valerie Strauss
, September 19, 2010
While we wait for ‘Superman,’ let's focus on teaching,
Valerie Strauss
, September 16, 2010
Ravitch: Welcome back to school "reform",
Valerie Strauss
, September 8, 2010
How much power should we give to ed data?,
Valerie Strauss
, September 2, 2010
Should test scores be used AT ALL for teacher evaluation? ,
Valerie Strauss
, September 1, 2010
Surviving back-to-school night,
Valerie Strauss
, August 31, 2010
The surprising thing teachers want from parents -- Willingham,
Valerie Strauss
, August 30, 2010
Study blasts popular teacher evaluation method,
Valerie Strauss
, August 29, 2010
Why the National Writing Project should be saved,
Valerie Strauss
, August 26, 2010
'Impossible' working conditions for teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, August 25, 2010
How ed reformers push the wrong theory of learning -- Brady,
Valerie Strauss
, August 24, 2010
Willingham: 3 key factors in teacher evaluation (beyond the hype of value-added),
Valerie Strauss
, August 23, 2010
How to give classrooms a mission,
Valerie Strauss
, August 23, 2010
Russo: The willy-nilly nature of teacher layoffs,
Valerie Strauss
, August 19, 2010
Willingham: Big questions about the LA Times teachers project,
Valerie Strauss
, August 17, 2010
The best kind of teacher evaluation,
Valerie Strauss
, August 17, 2010
Accountability in DCPS: Details from teacher's IMPACT report ,
Valerie Strauss
, August 5, 2010
Do we need another hero?,
Valerie Strauss
, July 31, 2010
Study: Error rates high when student test scores used to evaluate teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, July 29, 2010
Were some D.C. teachers fired based on flawed calculations?,
Valerie Strauss
, July 28, 2010
The problem with how Rhee fired teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, July 23, 2010
How we evaluate relief pitchers and teachers ,
Valerie Strauss
, July 14, 2010
The myth of teacher tenure ,
Valerie Strauss
, July 13, 2010
Teacher accountability schemes let teens off the hook -- Willingham,
Valerie Strauss
, July 12, 2010
Bill Gates' troubling involvement in school reform,
Valerie Strauss
, July 12, 2010
A new look at Teach for America,
Valerie Strauss
, July 11, 2010
Ravitch on teachers and her critics,
Valerie Strauss
, July 8, 2010
Extremism in school reform is not a virtue,
Valerie Strauss
, June 25, 2010
The long-lasting power of a great teacher,
Valerie Strauss
, June 25, 2010
Principal: How to REALLY turn around a school,
Valerie Strauss
, June 24, 2010
Ravitch to Obama: 'Change course before it is too late",
Valerie Strauss
, June 22, 2010
Christian churches oppose Race to the Top, Obama blueprint ,
Valerie Strauss
, June 21, 2010
Teacher: 'Worst year in the classroom' in decades,
Valerie Strauss
, June 20, 2010
Arne Duncan's opposition: A partial list ,
Valerie Strauss
, June 19, 2010
Randi Weingarten: Rhee is wrong ,
Valerie Strauss
, June 17, 2010
Teachers cover Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance',
Valerie Strauss
, June 17, 2010
Ravitch: 'Are we in an era of National Stupidity?',
Valerie Strauss
, June 16, 2010
New controversy at Rhode Island school ,
Valerie Strauss
, June 12, 2010
Teachers council blasts Arizona policy on accents,
Valerie Strauss
, June 8, 2010
Study: N.Y. teacher performance pay program flops,
Valerie Strauss
, June 8, 2010
Chicago's teacher performance-based pay didn't work -- new analysis,
Valerie Strauss
, June 1, 2010
Charters should leave D.C. teachers contract alone,
Valerie Strauss
, May 20, 2010
The real world of teachers ,
Valerie Strauss
, May 17, 2010
Why Obama, Duncan should have kept quiet about Rhode Island teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, May 17, 2010
Tentative agreement reached on Rhode Island teachers,
Washington Post Editors
, May 16, 2010
Don't rush to link teacher evaluation to student achievement,
Valerie Strauss
, May 14, 2010
In Arizona, bad ethnic studies bill becomes law ,
Valerie Strauss
, May 12, 2010
Teachers refuse to give standardized tests to kids,
Valerie Strauss
, May 12, 2010
Horse, then cart, on teacher evaluation -- Hess ,
Valerie Strauss
, May 11, 2010
Learning Stories: Tell your own,
Valerie Strauss
, May 7, 2010
Accented teachers may be better for English language learners: study,
Valerie Strauss
, May 5, 2010
Heavily accented teachers removed from Arizona classrooms ,
Valerie Strauss
, May 2, 2010
Obama awards Teacher of the Year ,
Valerie Strauss
, April 29, 2010
How to measure student growth,
Valerie Strauss
, April 28, 2010
VP, Jill Biden pay respect to teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, April 27, 2010
Even more education trouble in Florida,
Valerie Strauss
, April 23, 2010
Maryland’s big education mistake,
Valerie Strauss
, April 19, 2010
Crist vetoes bad bill, Florida teachers win,
Valerie Strauss
, April 15, 2010
New York to close teacher 'rubber rooms',
Valerie Strauss
, April 15, 2010
When school reform made teachers sick -- literally ,
Valerie Strauss
, April 15, 2010
Teasing teachers in Florida ,
Valerie Strauss
, April 14, 2010
Willingham: Obama should stop coercing teachers and start persuading,
Valerie Strauss
, April 12, 2010
Even Megan Fox knows Calif. has an education crisis,
Valerie Strauss
, April 12, 2010
The governor and the teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, April 12, 2010
New Harvard research on teacher effectiveness,
Valerie Strauss
, April 12, 2010
Diane Ravitch’s letter to Florida lawmakers ,
Valerie Strauss
, April 10, 2010
Rhee's biggest, and most costly, failing,
Valerie Strauss
, April 9, 2010
Florida ed reform passes: Is it a model or disaster? ,
Valerie Strauss
, April 9, 2010
More for Florida educators to be angry about,
Valerie Strauss
, April 6, 2010
Teachers fighting back in Florida ,
Valerie Strauss
, March 31, 2010
How about merit pay for parents?,
Valerie Strauss
, March 30, 2010
Less Testing, More Learning ,
Valerie Strauss
, March 28, 2010
Florida Senate approves disastrous teachers bill,
Valerie Strauss
, March 24, 2010
Disaster for Florida teachers: Senate Bill 6,
Valerie Strauss
, March 24, 2010
Teacher who hung Obama in effigy should go,
Valerie Strauss
, March 18, 2010
On Obama (and Jay Mathews) and teacher accountability,
Valerie Strauss
, March 15, 2010
Why Obama should invest in teachers,
Valerie Strauss
, March 12, 2010
The school message hoax: Press 1 to lie about your kid's absence,
Valerie Strauss
, March 11, 2010
Teacher firings and Obama comments stir serious backlash,
Valerie Strauss
, March 2, 2010
Obama's unfortunate comments on teacher firings,
Valerie Strauss
, March 1, 2010
The hype of 'value-added' in teacher evaluation,
Valerie Strauss
, February 25, 2010
Why not link teacher pay to test scores?,
Valerie Strauss
, February 17, 2010
Should we eliminate senior year?,
Valerie Strauss
, February 17, 2010
What teachers really think about snow days,
Valerie Strauss
, February 10, 2010
Hating interactive whiteboards,
Valerie Strauss
, January 28, 2010
Willingham: 'A terrible idea',
Valerie Strauss
, January 25, 2010
Teaching without gimmicks,
Valerie Strauss
, January 22, 2010
A question for President Obama,
Valerie Strauss
, January 19, 2010
Teachers, students and sex,
Valerie Strauss
, January 15, 2010
Talk to kids about Haiti tragedy,
Valerie Strauss
, January 14, 2010
What makes an effective teacher?,
Valerie Strauss
, January 13, 2010
Top 10 education issues for 2010,
Valerie Strauss
, January 8, 2010
Take The Sheet's 2009 Education Quiz,
Valerie Strauss
, January 1, 2010
Answer Sheet to education quiz,
Valerie Strauss
, January 1, 2010
Do we need more male teachers?,
Valerie Strauss
, December 29, 2009
Cuban: School teachers as politicians,
Valerie Strauss
, December 22, 2009
The decade's 10 big education ideas,
Valerie Strauss
, December 18, 2009
Brady on education unions: I'm no fan but they get a bad rap,
Valerie Strauss
, December 17, 2009
Willingham: An online teaching surprise,
Valerie Strauss
, December 7, 2009
Blasingame: Vampires vs. angels in adolescent lit, why schools are removing Laurie Halse Anderson books--and more,
Valerie Strauss
, December 4, 2009
Levine: Ed schools should grab Duncan's lifeline--and not 'carp' about his critique,
Valerie Strauss
, October 30, 2009
Should teachers reveal their political opinions in class?,
Valerie Strauss
, October 29, 2009
Educator: 'Race to the Top's' 10 false assumptions,
Valerie Strauss
, October 23, 2009
What teachers think about their jobs, testing,
Valerie Strauss
, October 23, 2009
Teachers, Scientists and The Dalai Lama Hold a Different Kind of Education Conference,
Valerie Strauss
, October 8, 2009
The Group: Our Kids' Teachers, Good and Bad,
Valerie Strauss
, October 8, 2009
Dorothy Rich: What Really Matters (And Is Overlooked) for Educational Success,
Valerie Strauss
, September 18, 2009
Students: What Makes a Good--and Bad--Teacher,
Valerie Strauss
, September 15, 2009
Readers: Should Teacher Pay Be Linked to Student Test Scores?,
Valerie Strauss
, September 14, 2009
Teach Your Child to Be Their Own Advocate,
Valerie Strauss
, September 8, 2009
CHECKING IT OUT: What's a ‘highly skilled’ teacher in D.C.?,
Valerie Strauss
, September 8, 2009
Stop Sending Sick Kids to School,
Valerie Strauss
, September 1, 2009
Q & A on Learning,
Valerie Strauss
, September 1, 2009
New Rules for Back- to-School Night ,
Valerie Strauss
, August 31, 2009
