This is a kind of week-end cleanup of bits and bobs of stories on hand. Think of it as Downeast’s really big pile o’ stuff.
Clock ticking for union-inspired panel on assessing teachers The recently-passed law allowing student performance to be linked to teacher evaluation — so Maine could/might be able to get Race to the Top money — seems not to have completely done the job. This panel is somehow supposed to help things along. Cynical old me doubts it. Notice who isn’t at the trough table? The public. Yep, the professionals know best. Always.
More push and shove here: Gendron details Race to the Top plan.
Following up on that amazing New Yorker story, The Rubber Room, about the difficulty and expense of getting rid of poor – really poor – teachers in NYC, NYC to stop paying teachers to do nothing .
Here’s an item that’ll send a chill up someone’s spine:
After weeks of protest and a deluge of messages, Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday vetoed a bill that would link teacher pay to student test scores and wipe out tenure for new teachers.
“I know in my heart it’s the right thing to do,” Crist said of his veto.
It reportedly was the first-ever measure in the country linking pay to performance.
Teachers are crucial in a democracy. I know you agree. But read this: In Defense of Public School Teachers in a Time of Crisis.
Now, just so we don’t end on too exalted a note, you’d better read this too: Underfunded Teacher Pension Plans: It’s Worse Than You Think.
And something about this article heading just kind of worries me: Area students sought for arsenic study.