School admins corral, intimidate teacher who spoke out at school bd meeting

[Bozita]

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/10/grand_rapids_teacher_says_supe.html

Grand Rapids teacher says superintendent, school officer corralled, intimidated her after she spoke out against blended education at meeting
Published: Tuesday, October 05, 2010, 11:03 AM Updated: Tuesday, October 05, 2010, 11:33 AM
Kym Reinstadler | The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS -- A Union High School teacher was questioned vigorously by Superintendent Bernard Taylor and Chief Academic Officer Carolyn Evans following Monday's school board meeting after handing out student essays critical of the district's new blended instruction to board members.

English teacher Roselyn Charles-Maher also read aloud an invitation penned by a student, Vanessa, who urged board members to experience a school day because classes are overcrowded, technology problems gobble up instructional time, and blended classes are chaotic because they have three teachers in rotation.

Neither Taylor nor board members issued public comments about the essays, but Taylor and other administrators descended on Charles-Maher at the conclusion of the meeting, first in the board room, then in a conference room just off the outer lobby.

-snip-

Deeming the conversation unproductive Monday night, Charles-Maher said she announced she didn't want to talk about it anymore and exited the auditorium, only to be whisked into a lobby conference room by Evans, she said, who questioned whether the essays were part of the curriculum.

Charles-Maher said Evans wanted to shut the door for privacy, and reportedly reminded Charles-Maher that her teaching was scheduled to be evaluated this year. A Creston High teacher in the lobby, Dennis Branson, said he advised Charles-Maher to keep the door open because she wasn't under investigation.

Charles-Maher and Branson said Taylor then stepped into the conference room and tried to close the door, but Branson prevented it by wedging his foot in the doorway.

"I'm not going to stand by while another teacher gets berated," Branson said. "Rose spoke as an advocate for kids. That's what teachers do."

Charles-Maher said Taylor stood in the doorway, physically impeding her from leaving the conference room, but she soon was able to slide past. She described the situation as "surreal."

-snip-

more...

[benlurkin]

1. The Establishment wouldn't be where they are without intimidation

The teacher is lucky to have a witness to this.

[DirkGently]

2. Powers that Be tend to get nasty when threatened with embarrassment.

[rocktivity]

3. Overview of Blended Instruction

What is blended instruction? This is an important question to you if you are considering the time required to complete a master’s degree in a program implementing a new approach to teaching...

Blended Instruction is a combination of online learning & face-to-face instruction. The blend in UAB’s new secondary program will be at least 50% on-line instruction in each education class you take. (An exception to this may be methods courses in art, French, music, and Spanish. They may be taught in a traditional, face-to-face fashion.) Remember, though, that your 12 hours of graduate-level content, such as graduate courses in English or mathematics courses, will NOT be delivered in a blended format...
http://www.ed.uab.edu/blendedmasters/overview.htm">More


rocktivity

[thelordofhell]

4. The only people who have seen better salaries and working conditions in education

are the administrators.

[d_r]

5. the comments there....

one person just keeps making this an anti-union thing.

[RZM]

6. She must prefer single malt education . . . .

:)

[Reader Rabbit]

7. This is how many administrators operate these days.

Pretend that everything is fine—by doctoring the paperwork, fudging the numbers, and applying a lot of window dressing—and then try to silence anyone who dares to point out inequities and inadequacies of the system.

In far too many educational situations, the teachers are the only ones who care about the well-being of the students, but anything teacher say is suspect, because the corporate media has convinced everyone that teachers are the problem.

[Bozita]

8. The reporter posted additional info in the comments area.

reporterkym October 05, 2010 at 12:28PM
Follow

Students were reading Jonathan Swift. Their assignment was to write a satire. Four students in the class wrote satires about blended instruction. The teacher gave copies of those essays to board members, but did not read them aloud. The statement the teacher read was written by another student, whom she said was hesitant to speak herself, who said there are "more downs than ups" to blended instruction, complained that classes are overcrowded, and her creative writing class has been taught by substitutes all year. In any business, it's important to listen to the customer (students). GRPS officials have promised to collect data on how instructional changes at the high schools affect student achievement. The board's education committee is developing tools to help them fairly sort and weigh that data. The fact that the district didn't pilot changes in one building before instituting them districtwide is a sore spot with teachers, but there's a reasonable expectation that sound decisions will be made going forward.

[madfloridian]

9. For years in our area no teachers could dispute policy...

without risking getting marked down on respecting authority or other similar criteria.

I doubt it has changed much.

[Bozita]

10. kick for the late night crowd