The Observation Deck

The voters of Lakewood have just given the school board and the Lakewood Teachers Association everything they asked for. Will they take this opportunity to quickly agree to a new contract that will:

1. Address the cost of the seriously unfunded pension system?
2. Accept the need for a health plan with a reasonable level of co-pay and deductible?
3. Accept the need for a meaningful employee health care contribution?
4. Elliminate the COBRA?
5. Insert wording in the contract that implements an 8 hour day?
6. Remove wording that limits student contact?
7. Insert wording that quantifies efforts and results?
8. Controls the abuse of sick time?

Or, having the pot gold will it be back to business as usual?

Is this our future?

http://abcnews.go.com/International/sli ... s-10561645

http://moneynews.com/StreetTalk/L-A--Ba ... /id/357970

You can't eliminate COBRA - it's federal law.

sharon kinsella wrote:You can't eliminate COBRA - it's federal law.

OOPPPS! I meant to say COLA.

Remove the BRA
and insert the LA

Bill Call wrote:5. Insert wording in the contract that implements an 8 hour day?

So they'll get overtime when they work more than 8 hours a day?

When I was teaching, I never got an 8 hour day even once, it always took more time than that. Clock-watching probably won't do anything for quality in any event, for those working far less.

Jerry Ritcey wrote:

Bill Call wrote:5. Insert wording in the contract that implements an 8 hour day?

So they'll get overtime when they work more than 8 hours a day?

When I was teaching, I never got an 8 hour day even once, it always took more time than that. Clock-watching probably won't do anything for quality in any event, for those working far less.

The LTA contract contains a section on teacher work load.

It states that a teachers work load is not to exceed 7 1/2 hours per day (including lunch). There is also a section that prohibits "teacher contact with students more than 5 hours per day".

An 8 to 5 day seems quite reasonable to me. Productivity in private sector white collar jobs is at an all time high. Why is government immune to productivity increases?

Bill

You are the numbers guy.

I would be happy with the Transparency Matt Markling is trying to bring to the school
board but being asked if he is crazy at every turn, and the "accountability" they ran
the campaign on.

The residents turned out and supported the schools and showed trust.
Now maybe the school board could return the favor.


FWIW

.

As our schools already do have an excellent rating, and our students seem to perform so well, (often, under adverse economic circumstances) I would have to say that we're pretty doggone productive already.

Seriously Bill, I think that if you look at educational contracts nationwide, you'll find that student contact hours and teacher work days are fairly standardized around the country.

Why all of that needed to be spelled out in the first place, came from the "good old days", when worn-out teachers ran one-room school houses all day, and students scribbled in their horn books without relief for virtually an entire day (excluding whatever brief recesses and lunchtimes MAY HAVE BEEN allotted back then)

There's a genuine human fatigue factor involved with productivity, as any business leader knows. Of course, in the business environment, it seems that there is always the push for greater productivity, and sometimes that can come at the expense of humanity. The schools have always tried to balance that "push for productivity" with the needs of young people to have time to grow up. We all know, for example, that all students will not learn their multiplication facts on the same day, nor will they learn at the same rate; for many reasons well beyond a classroom teacher's control. Students do not all have the same home support or circumstances either. That's the principal reason that serious caring educators continually MUST resist efforts to quantify and standardize educational outcomes...There are simply too many human variables in play. These are, after all, children and not automatons. For that same reason, teachers cannot be held to be solely accountable for educational outcomes either. There is a shared responsibility here that, by it's very nature, can never be quantified to purely business-model standards.

I honestly think if there's a "moral hazard" to be found here, it would be with the danger of our schools becoming so productivity-oriented that we lose sight of the fact that we are supposed to be helping children...

Back to the banjo...

Gary Rice wrote:.... Students do not all have the same home support or circumstances either. That's the principal reason that serious caring educators continually MUST resist efforts to quantify and standardize educational outcomes....

We are doomed.

Suppose Lebron James' mentors told him. "You do not have proper support at home and come from a disadvantaged backround so don't expect to much of yourself because we don't expect much either".

Don't miss my point, Bill. Look at the context of the whole post.

It's not that we, whether as a society, or as educators, should not have high standards and expectations. We certainly do.

There are two genuine questions out there, however.

Firstly, there's accountability and then, there's personal responsibility.

A teacher can be, and in fact, is, held accountable for offering a clear and competent presentation of the material. They also are held accountable for trying to insure the successful participation of their students, as well as to make every reasonable effort to insure that the students will comprehend the material, and that they are available to offer help, as necessary.

These are also some of the present cornerstones of the appraisal process. Teachers are indeed, held accountable.

At the same time, education is a shared responsibility. Parents, the community, and ultimately, the students themselves, must demonstrate effort and a willingness to proactively participate in the educational process.

Teachers cannot be held accountable for factors beyond their control. They can teach, encourage, and provide the tools for success. They can't make a student study, however.

Students are different too. The more subjects are standardized into one-size-MUST-fit all, the greater the danger of some students not fitting in with the rest of the group. Expectancies after all, are subjective entities all their own. It's always a challenge as to where to draw a line as to what, and how much subject matter should be required, and by what point in the students' experiences that mastery can or should be achieved in a given subject. All students can certainly learn, but the more diverse the educational experience, the greater the opportunities there are for student successes

It's the student, however, who in the final analysis, must get that ball through the hoop, in as many successful areas of life as possible.