After every professional football game, a press conference is held, where the coaches and select players go in front of the sports reporter and do a dissection of the game. (This happens as well in collegiate sports, and most any professional sports as well.) It is a time honored tradition.
The coaches, even if they are in a bad mood because of a loss, must take questions from the reporters:
“What was the turning point?”
“What went wrong?”
“If your quarterback Billy Bob hadn’t broken his arm, do you think you might have won?
Conversely winning coaches go through the same post game ritual and answer essentially the same sets of questions.
“How will you prepare for next week’s game?”
“How are the players feeling now?”
“Tell us about Billy Bob’s groin injury.”
It is a public exercise in metacognition. Players as well are asked to participate in the press conference.
“How did you prepare for the defender?”
“What will you do differently next week?”
“Do you still think you are performing at a high caliber?”
“Tell us about your groin.”
Sometimes, these are painful to watch, especially when the coach or players know that they should have won but did not. It is very interesting to see them, in real time, try to explain what went wrong or what went right. For many, they have data at the ready, can reel off numbers of interceptions, yards per passing play, etc. Sometimes, the coach and players make up excuses, blame the referees, or rattle-off clichés about the better team winning or this not being their week.
If you have never watched one of these, you should.
That got me thinking, what if educators had to face the press like coaches do, but after the standardized test scores come in for their schools?
Can you imagine it: A principal would be like the coach, and the teachers would be like the players. They would have to explain to their community why the scores are the way they are. What they plan to do to fix the scores, and then take questions.
Principal Smith: “Before I take any questions, I want to thank you all for being here today. As you know, this year was a difficult year a lot of changes to the rules, a lot of personnel changes at the beginning of the year. We lost a few veteran teachers, we had to bring in some rookie teachers, and of course, the poor results from last year’s scores had a lot of people thinking we would not have a winning test season this year. I believe we proved them wrong as most of the scores clearly indicate. We are moving in the right direction and look forward to next season. Are there any questions?”
Reporter 1: “Tell us Mr. Smith, what was the turning point in this year’s test scores? Who were your bright spots?”
Principal Smith: “Well, we could have done better. We always are trying to do better. Our Third grade teachers really stepped up this year, but it looks like the Fifth grade fumbled the Math portion of the test. The fourth grade held the line and pretty much did what we expected them to do.”
Reporter 2: “What will you be doing differently next test?”
Principal Smith: “We need to be looking at maybe shuffling around our personnel. Our Fifth grade needs stronger support in Math, so we will be looking to bring in a stronger math teacher. Also, we need help in our Special Ed secondary. Too many dropped questions, not answered questions. Not quite sure why that is happening. We need to look at the film, er the data.”
Reporter 2: “Does that mean you are going to fire a Fifth grade Math teacher?”
Principal Smith: “ I am not a liberty to discuss personnel matters at this time, suffice it to say that we need help in Fifth grade and our current players are not picking up the ball and running with it. So we may move, we may shuffle, we may bring in a specialty teacher.”
Reporter 3: “Who was your standout player this season?”
Principal Smith: “Without a doubt, it was Ms. Lopez. She went 4 for 4 with all of her students passing all of the tests. Here she is to talk about it.”
Ms. Lopez: “ I just want to thank God for giving me this opportunity. And the students, they did an outstanding job.”
Reporter 4: “Ms. Lopez why your students do better this year than last year?”
Ms. Lopez: “I think it had to do with how we changed out Math and reading techniques this year. We personalized the learning experience, we moved to new digital books, and we spent more time working on the basics.”
Reporter 4: “And you plan on doing that next year?”
Ms. Lopez: “We need to have a hard look at our data, then make decisions. But we seem to have done something right this year and we want to replicate it next year as well. Thank you.”
Principal Smith: “Thank you all for being here. No more questions. Thank you. Thank you.”
Questions would be shouted out by the reporters, pictures would be taken..it would all be very exciting. But we don’t treat education like we treat sports. We don’t ask educators to publicly explain their results. Maybe we should. Maybe we should begin a new ritual of having educators explain to their public exactly what happens at they schools. And maybe, we need to treat education with the same importance that we do sports.
This is possibly the WORST education-related post on Tumblr.
This kind of “defending ourselves” IS happening in schools across the nation, it’s just not televised. And the only reason for the level of scrutiny in “sports” is because it’s a 20+ BILLION dollar industry. There are entire television networks with 24-hour sports news.
No one should WANT that level of private-sector money or economic incentivizing behind education, and the fact that this blogger is clamoring for it is disgusting. Education is not, and should not be, an industry. Education should be open access for everyone, not another gate-keeping measure.
Secondly, let’s set aside for a moment that a player is judged solely on their own stats, rather than an average of every other player’s stats. Let’s ignore that players are specialized, and their “ratings” are based on their individual skills. (Kickers are judged on different data points than QBs). We don’t tell coaches “yeah, we know all your guys are good at different things, but they each need to increase the total number of touchdowns by 18% a year or you’re fired!” Let’s set all of that aside in this blogger’s sloppy attempt at a metaphor.
To draw this comparison of teachers to football coaches/players only highlights the immense, almost laughable, salary inequalities that exist between the two. You want me to act like a football player? Let’s start by respecting the profession as much as we glorify football players, and start paying me like a football player. Get the hell out of here with your teacher-shaming bullcrap.
We already have these meetings. We devote entire staff meetings to analyzing data and sharing strategies for test prep. I haven’t taught a testing grade in four years, yet I’m expected to give input because I have insight into how these students performed in younger grades.
When you teach in a school like the one I used to teach in, though, the conversation isn’t “what went wrong for these 15-20 kids that didn’t meet expectations” but “what went RIGHT for these 15-20 kids that met expectations.”
What would improve performance at a Title I school? MONEY. Lack of technology in the classroom or at home means lack of familiarity with how to take a computer based test. Lack of staff means vacancies are filled with an endless parade of substitute teachers or a backup of students waiting to be tested for an IEP (which would afford them accommodations during testing). Districts with less money disproportionately employ first and second year teachers, some without full credentials who have entered the profession through Teach for America or another internship program. The same districts cannot retain teachers past their first few years, either because they burn out or get a better-paying job elsewhere.
In general, lower socioeconomic status can translate into poor performance on tests because unstable living situations or food insecurity make it difficult to focus on a test. Some students move between schools and districts, which interrupts their learning. Some kids, due to their families’ living situations, just aren’t enrolled in school for awhile.
And then you can start talking about cultural bias in tests.
As a fifth grade teacher, let me interject here and say what’s already been said. My team and I (and all the teams in the school) have weekly meetings on Wednesdays, staff meetings Tuesdays, and Professional Development days dedicated to analyzing student test data. We have iPad apps that they take tests on so we get immediate feedback on which standards they mastered and which they did not. We are CONSTANTLY in communication with other teachers, the Title Teachers, and SpEd teachers about who is doing what. We daily have to account for student performance. Never mind some of my kids don’t have glasses, some didn’t eat last night, some are falling asleep in class, some are going through trauma of death in the family, arrests in the family, shootings in their neighborhoods, and the day I taught that lesson, they were out of their medication and couldn’t focus. This is my day to day and I am expected to be responsible for all of it. I’m annoyed by the original post.
Any teachers out there:
1) already doing this?
2) not getting paid like a professional athlete?
What if—and this is wild—education reformers had to do this? What if Gates was grilled over his missteps? Or if Mark had to sit in a room in Newark and take questions? The bloggers, think tankers, and twitter all-stars who always have a clever quip about how teachers are lazy, or foolish, or incapable of doing their job. When are they called out in a press conference like OP describes? Maybe a question here and there, but week in and week out? Yeah, no.
People love to say there is zero accountability in the education sector, but where is the real and public accountability among education reformers?
Also, imagine thinking the *real* problem in education is teachers don’t have to make comments like this to reporters…
Ms. Lopez: “I think it had to do with how we changed out Math and reading techniques this year. We personalized the learning experience, we moved to new digital books, and we spent more time working on the basics.”
After every professional football game, a press conference is held, where the coaches and select players go in front of the sports reporter and do a dissection of the game. (This happens as well in collegiate sports, and most any professional sports as well.) It is a time honored tradition.
The coaches, even if they are in a bad mood because of a loss, must take questions from the reporters:
“What was the turning point?”
“What went wrong?”
“If your quarterback Billy Bob hadn’t broken his arm, do you think you might have won?
Conversely winning coaches go through the same post game ritual and answer essentially the same sets of questions.
“How will you prepare for next week’s game?”
“How are the players feeling now?”
“Tell us about Billy Bob’s groin injury.”
It is a public exercise in metacognition. Players as well are asked to participate in the press conference.
“How did you prepare for the defender?”
“What will you do differently next week?”
“Do you still think you are performing at a high caliber?”
“Tell us about your groin.”
Sometimes, these are painful to watch, especially when the coach or players know that they should have won but did not. It is very interesting to see them, in real time, try to explain what went wrong or what went right. For many, they have data at the ready, can reel off numbers of interceptions, yards per passing play, etc. Sometimes, the coach and players make up excuses, blame the referees, or rattle-off clichés about the better team winning or this not being their week.
If you have never watched one of these, you should.
That got me thinking, what if educators had to face the press like coaches do, but after the standardized test scores come in for their schools?
Can you imagine it: A principal would be like the coach, and the teachers would be like the players. They would have to explain to their community why the scores are the way they are. What they plan to do to fix the scores, and then take questions.
Principal Smith: “Before I take any questions, I want to thank you all for being here today. As you know, this year was a difficult year a lot of changes to the rules, a lot of personnel changes at the beginning of the year. We lost a few veteran teachers, we had to bring in some rookie teachers, and of course, the poor results from last year’s scores had a lot of people thinking we would not have a winning test season this year. I believe we proved them wrong as most of the scores clearly indicate. We are moving in the right direction and look forward to next season. Are there any questions?”
Reporter 1: “Tell us Mr. Smith, what was the turning point in this year’s test scores? Who were your bright spots?”
Principal Smith: “Well, we could have done better. We always are trying to do better. Our Third grade teachers really stepped up this year, but it looks like the Fifth grade fumbled the Math portion of the test. The fourth grade held the line and pretty much did what we expected them to do.”
Reporter 2: “What will you be doing differently next test?”
Principal Smith: “We need to be looking at maybe shuffling around our personnel. Our Fifth grade needs stronger support in Math, so we will be looking to bring in a stronger math teacher. Also, we need help in our Special Ed secondary. Too many dropped questions, not answered questions. Not quite sure why that is happening. We need to look at the film, er the data.”
Reporter 2: “Does that mean you are going to fire a Fifth grade Math teacher?”
Principal Smith: “ I am not a liberty to discuss personnel matters at this time, suffice it to say that we need help in Fifth grade and our current players are not picking up the ball and running with it. So we may move, we may shuffle, we may bring in a specialty teacher.”
Reporter 3: “Who was your standout player this season?”
Principal Smith: “Without a doubt, it was Ms. Lopez. She went 4 for 4 with all of her students passing all of the tests. Here she is to talk about it.”
Ms. Lopez: “ I just want to thank God for giving me this opportunity. And the students, they did an outstanding job.”
Reporter 4: “Ms. Lopez why your students do better this year than last year?”
Ms. Lopez: “I think it had to do with how we changed out Math and reading techniques this year. We personalized the learning experience, we moved to new digital books, and we spent more time working on the basics.”
Reporter 4: “And you plan on doing that next year?”
Ms. Lopez: “We need to have a hard look at our data, then make decisions. But we seem to have done something right this year and we want to replicate it next year as well. Thank you.”
Principal Smith: “Thank you all for being here. No more questions. Thank you. Thank you.”
Questions would be shouted out by the reporters, pictures would be taken..it would all be very exciting. But we don’t treat education like we treat sports. We don’t ask educators to publicly explain their results. Maybe we should. Maybe we should begin a new ritual of having educators explain to their public exactly what happens at they schools. And maybe, we need to treat education with the same importance that we do sports.
This is possibly the WORST education-related post on Tumblr.
This kind of “defending ourselves” IS happening in schools across the nation, it’s just not televised. And the only reason for the level of scrutiny in “sports” is because it’s a 20+ BILLION dollar industry. There are entire television networks with 24-hour sports news.
No one should WANT that level of private-sector money or economic incentivizing behind education, and the fact that this blogger is clamoring for it is disgusting. Education is not, and should not be, an industry. Education should be open access for everyone, not another gate-keeping measure.
Secondly, let’s set aside for a moment that a player is judged solely on their own stats, rather than an average of every other player’s stats. Let’s ignore that players are specialized, and their “ratings” are based on their individual skills. (Kickers are judged on different data points than QBs). We don’t tell coaches “yeah, we know all your guys are good at different things, but they each need to increase the total number of touchdowns by 18% a year or you’re fired!” Let’s set all of that aside in this blogger’s sloppy attempt at a metaphor.
To draw this comparison of teachers to football coaches/players only highlights the immense, almost laughable, salary inequalities that exist between the two. You want me to act like a football player? Let’s start by respecting the profession as much as we glorify football players, and start paying me like a football player. Get the hell out of here with your teacher-shaming bullcrap.
We already have these meetings. We devote entire staff meetings to analyzing data and sharing strategies for test prep. I haven’t taught a testing grade in four years, yet I’m expected to give input because I have insight into how these students performed in younger grades.
When you teach in a school like the one I used to teach in, though, the conversation isn’t “what went wrong for these 15-20 kids that didn’t meet expectations” but “what went RIGHT for these 15-20 kids that met expectations.”
What would improve performance at a Title I school? MONEY. Lack of technology in the classroom or at home means lack of familiarity with how to take a computer based test. Lack of staff means vacancies are filled with an endless parade of substitute teachers or a backup of students waiting to be tested for an IEP (which would afford them accommodations during testing). Districts with less money disproportionately employ first and second year teachers, some without full credentials who have entered the profession through Teach for America or another internship program. The same districts cannot retain teachers past their first few years, either because they burn out or get a better-paying job elsewhere.
In general, lower socioeconomic status can translate into poor performance on tests because unstable living situations or food insecurity make it difficult to focus on a test. Some students move between schools and districts, which interrupts their learning. Some kids, due to their families’ living situations, just aren’t enrolled in school for awhile.
And then you can start talking about cultural bias in tests.
As a fifth grade teacher, let me interject here and say what’s already been said. My team and I (and all the teams in the school) have weekly meetings on Wednesdays, staff meetings Tuesdays, and Professional Development days dedicated to analyzing student test data. We have iPad apps that they take tests on so we get immediate feedback on which standards they mastered and which they did not. We are CONSTANTLY in communication with other teachers, the Title Teachers, and SpEd teachers about who is doing what. We daily have to account for student performance. Never mind some of my kids don’t have glasses, some didn’t eat last night, some are falling asleep in class, some are going through trauma of death in the family, arrests in the family, shootings in their neighborhoods, and the day I taught that lesson, they were out of their medication and couldn’t focus. This is my day to day and I am expected to be responsible for all of it. I’m annoyed by the original post.
Any teachers out there:
1) already doing this?
2) not getting paid like a professional athlete?
What if—and this is wild—education reformers had to do this? What if Gates was grilled over his missteps? Or if Mark had to sit in a room in Newark and take questions? The bloggers, think tankers, and twitter all-stars who always have a clever quip about how teachers are lazy, or foolish, or incapable of doing their job. When are they called out in a press conference like OP describes? Maybe a question here and there, but week in and week out? Yeah, no.
People love to say there is zero accountability in the education sector, but where is the real and public accountability among education reformers?
if you ask a right winger why a job like, say, sanitation worker has such an abysmal wage even though their job is necessary they’ll tell you that it is an unskilled occupation. we could contest that but for the sake of argument let’s concede.
by this logic, value is derived by how much labor is required to accomplish something, in this case the labor of learning the skill in addition to the labor of completing the task at hand. a doctor would earn a much higher wage because of the labor required to earn the necessary degrees to practice. okay.
but then if you ask a right winger why the price of a pair of glasses, a mattress, or even a bottle of water is so expensive, despite these things being cheap and easy to make, they’ll tell you that value is not determined by the labor that goes into it, but by need and demand.
this inconsistency reveals how neoliberal economics functions: the value of something means whatever is most convenient to the ruling class.
The first “by this logic” is an easy mistake to make, but it is still a mistake. “Unskilled” is shorthand for lots and lots of people can do this job.
The gym is like an MMORPG. When you first come in, you are level 1 and just know the most basic moves and can complete the simplest of quests. Whereas the higher levels know lots of cooler moves and can accomplish greater challenges.
this guy played so many games he forgot about learning
