Teacher Evaluation

May 13, 2013 at 2:24 pm

Dean Hardin Coleman discusses teacher evaluation and its value. Teacher evaluation can help identify and promote great teachers. But, what are effective systems of evaluation?

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Accountability of Schools of Education

April 16, 2013 at 12:48 pm

Dean Hardin Coleman discusses how schools of education must be accountable for their students both while they are still in school and also after graduation in order to ensure they are effective teachers. and educational professionals.

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Education Policy and the 2012 Election

November 5, 2012 at 5:20 pm

The views expressed below are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the views of Boston University School of Education.

Education Policy and the 2012 Election is written by Sean Ashburn, Class of 2014.

Here is something I know: regardless of circumstances at birth, every child deserves equal access to a high-quality education that will provide pathways to a fulfilling future. Here is something I’ve learned: every child deserves elected officials who are invested in that equality of opportunity.

My first meaningful exposure to policy making in education began during my junior year of high school, when I assumed the position of student representative on my district Board of Education in southern Maine. In this role, I gained insight into local politics, parental influence, teacher union bargaining, property taxation, and public school funding. However, simultaneously I came to recognize the potent involvement of the federal government, whose economic and curricular priorities are conveyed to state departments and interpreted by local school districts and their administrators in order to provide, we hope, the best education possible for the nation’s youth.

This same school year brought the inauguration of our country’s 44th President, Barack Obama, and it is also the year in which I read Savage Inequalities, Jonathan Kozol’s 1991 exploration of the profound disparities in facilities, resources, and educators within America’s assorted public schools. These two forces, the election of the nation’s first black President and the research that introduced me to the inequities present in our education system, obliged me to acknowledge both the incomparable power of education for young people and the often painful effects of injustice for those who are disadvantaged.

Shortly thereafter, in July of 2009, I had the occasion to meet with the U.S. Secretary of Education as part of my participation in the Bezos Scholars Program at the Aspen Ideas Festival. That afternoon, Secretary Arne Duncan, a friend and appointee of President Obama, entered the boardroom filled with twelve precocious seventeen-year-olds and twelve educators from across the country, and immediately revealed his hope for our intimate conversation: to hear the ideas and suggestions of individuals currently experiencing the system over which he presided. Instead of sharing his own biography or expounding on his Race to the Top initiative, Secretary Duncan asked us to speak, dutifully took notes, and warmly personified our President’s expectations for his Cabinet members: to be an official that leaves his or her office, talks to folks, understands their challenges, and considers the solutions that they propose. I was immediately captivated by this man, and also by his superior, both of whom authentically substantiate their concern for the real experiences of America’s students and whose efforts confirm that they deeply aspire to use their authority to improve our nation’s schools.

Years later, the School of Education at Boston University has provided me with stimulating opportunities to explore and energize my passion for the field of education, but my past experiences remind me that the work of America’s teachers is not independent from the greater political system that is constructed by citizens’ democratic participation. Consequently, I embraced the invitation to volunteer with the southern Maine division of Organizing for America, President Obama’s grassroots re-election team, during the summer of 2012. As an OFA Neighborhood Team Leader, I was responsible for recruiting volunteers and co-hosting house parties and informal phone banks in western York County. I was also fortunate enough to hear President Obama speak at two of his campaign events in New Hampshire, where I was again reminded of the narrative of achievement that this man represents for every young person, and especially for every young person whose upbringing makes it challenging to envision the possibility that he or she could ever become the President of the United States of America. During each call I completed and each event I attended, my hope was to remind voters of what I consider to be the foundation of Barack Obama’s story and of his candidacy: all people have a human right to equality that must be protected, not restricted, by their government. “We’re better off when everyone gets a fair shot,” President Obama has reminded us throughout his re-election campaign and his own life experience verifies that this remark is more than political rhetoric. Obama acknowledges of he and his wife’s accomplishments, “Michelle and I are here only because we were given a chance at an education. I will not settle for an America where some kids don’t have that chance,” and through funding Race to the Top innovations, increasing federal Pell Grants, reforming student loan repayment, and investing in community colleges, President Obama has illustrated his commitment to college access, to social and economic mobility, to meaningful educational opportunities, to eliminating the savage inequalities alive in our poorest schools and neighborhoods, and to a true American Dream free of stipulations based on class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship, and religion. Our visionary President is not ashamed to attribute his improbable success to the power of education and he has reminded us all that if we make high-quality education a possibility, a priority, for every single child, we can activate the potential of an entire generation and continue to restore hope for the future of America.

Here is something I’ve learned: in 2012 and in every election hereafter, it is imperative that our country elect a leader who advocates for an excellent education system and equal opportunity for every child.

Boston University School of Education invites further discussion and/or other additional op-ed articles on this topic. Boston University School of Education is non-partisan and does not endorse either candidate.

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I Teach Public School in Southern Most Texas

October 18, 2012 at 11:36 am

“I Teach Public School in Southern Most Texas” is an Alumni Op-Ed written by David Casebeer, Class of 1986.

I am a retired Air Force officer, and a public school teacher in southern most Texas. I am concerned about the negative commentary about just who can attend our public schools. The reemerged political xenophobic posturing really bugs me!  In order to abate these “new” Latin and Asian “trespassers”, we erected our own “Iron Curtain” on our southern border. Is this not like the “wall” that “protected” the good communist from western decadency and materialism? Did not President Reagan say, “Tear down that Wall?” Must we continue to erect barriers? Have we reverted to the 19th century parties of “No Nothings,” Nativists, and other anti-immigration attitudes?

My commissioning oath demands that “I support and defend the Constitution of the United States […]  So help me, God.” That simple statement of values puts me in a challenged position. How do I support law, when that law preempts constitutional protection, or as Lincoln said, referring to expansion of slavery, “by the better Angels of our nature?” As a citizen and a public servant, how do I support laws that contradict my oath of office, my personal values, professional ethics, and a higher moral code? Just how would Chief Justice Taney’s constitution view of Dred Scott’s rights, that an African-American, as a slave, even a freedman, could never be a citizen, fly today? It took the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution spell out citizenship, and who and how a person could be a citizen.

This reverberates daily in our work and our classrooms. It is not only the “undocumented” student that affects our American classroom, but those who are English language learners, which unfortunately, includes many who hail from multi-generational American backgrounds unaccustomed to high functioning academic rigor. Moreover, I have taught far too many children, who come to high school unprepared to read, write, or think critically. These are children who need our positive attention, not to be pawned off for someone else to bother with, or as in a shell-game, hope that the “pea” will magically appear. What is truly to fear, as Franklin Roosevelt suggested, “But fear itself.” We worry about the alienation of our population into neighborhoods of that of foreign domain. Yet, by the second or at least third generation, English is the standard of communication and the home language languishes.

All of us, native born or not, are represented by our congress. All have the right of petition. All born on our American soil are citizens of the government of the people. My Mayflower ancestors were immigrants, as were my manumitted “Dutch” forbearers into Penn’s woods. A “Pennsylvania Dutchman” was not a “homey” attribute, but a slur. So by 1775, my people were “American colonials,” subjects of and then traitors to England. In the patriot ranks, alongside my family, were freeborn and freed (and some not either) people from a menagerie of genetic blends, with the same goal of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. At this same time, a friend’s family settled into a Spanish land grant north of the Rio Grande River. After Texas independence and subsequent statehood, this became disputed territory and a prime factor for our 1846-1848 war with Mexico. What of the people? As my spouse’s students’ suggest, “we did not cross the river, the river crossed us.”

We are a nation of immigration. Immigrants have and continue dig our canals, harvest our fields, build our roads, bridges, and cities. Some were ripped from their homes and chained into slavery and others into labor. Our nations’ strength continues to be built by immigrants. Fear, prejudice, and hatred rise from cultural, economic and religious mistrust, bad experiences, and jingoism. I recall a film that came out a few years ago, “A Day without Mexicans,” in that some rejoiced, at first, when “Juan and Juanita,” vanished and then recognized the reality of just how deep our immigrant roots are. Emma Lazarus wrote “Give me your poor, your Huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Is this not the point, America?

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A World of Incredible Diversity

June 1, 2012 at 11:35 am

“A World of Incredible Diversity” was written by Katherine Carlebach, Social Studies Education major, Class of 2012.

Illustration by Andrew J. Barlow

Illustration by Andrew J. Barlow

I always thought that my college education was to prepare me for my real life job. That the focus should be the courses that would help me understand the way teaching worked, the positive and negative aspects of American education, and, of course, the history content to build strong curriculum. I was aware to some extent that I would need more than this academic background to enter confidently into the world of teaching, but I had no concept of just how important developing my whole self would be.

Throughout the past four years at Boston University, my concept of preparedness has been blown open. Academically, I am ready to tackle the challenges of teaching. The incredible professors in the School of Education and the History department have shared with me their insights. I gained tremendously from their collective experiences and I look forward to using the wisdom they have imparted in my own classroom. But beyond the rich content, I value highly the way that SED professors look at their students as peers, making it known that, although they are there to teach, we are all in pursuit of the same goals, and must work together to effect change in education. The time I spent as a student has been invaluable. But perhaps the most surprising and most eye opening lessons of my college career took place outside the classroom.

The students in the School of Education were some of my greatest teachers. Leaving high school, I found myself suddenly surrounded by people whose ideas about politics and good teaching were at odds with my own; people who challenged me to think beyond my initial reaction, to search for an explanation and to appreciate their opinions. I found inspiration in their enthusiasm and direction from their guidance. Knowing that I had a strong and supportive network of friends and family allowed me to branch out, to explore, and to make the most of my college education.

Over the past four years I had the opportunity to travel extensively. Traveling taught me to rely on the kindness of others, to challenge my assumptions but most of all, to be flexible, patient and open-minded. One of my most jarring experiences came in Ghana, when, after an afternoon at a village school, the classroom teacher casually asked that I pray for the students before the school day ended. Coming from an almost secular up-bringing, the idea that I would be somehow responsible for the spiritual well-being of this classroom was terrifying. I stood, paralyzed, in front of 30 beautiful children, their heads bowed and their hands clasped on their desks. I led my first prayer in 20 years that day, and managed not to offend anyone either.

Entering Boston University in the fall of 2008, I was fully prepared to tackle my academics. I knew that making it through the next four years would require diligence and hard work. I was unprepared, however, for how much I would learn from the people and the experiences I would have outside the classroom. My time at Boston University was about so much more than study skills or job training. Some of the most valuable lessons came from watching the way my professors interacted with me and my peers, from the friendly debates amongst friends, and from my time abroad. Everything that I learned can, and will, be applied to my future as an educator, but more than that, it has helped me to feel prepared to enter a world of uncertainty, a world of incredible diversity, and make the most of each experience.

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Is Grading Exciting?

May 31, 2012 at 12:28 pm

“Is Grading Exciting?” is an Alumni Op-Ed written by Marilyn Salagaj, Class of 2000.

Image obtained from teachingcollegeenglish.com

Image obtained from teachingcollegeenglish.com

On the cover page of my Physics Exams, it states “I am excited to see what you have learned” and it is mostly true.  Am I excited to see that my students are still accidentally writing “weight” when they really mean “mass?” – not really.  On the other hand, it is thrilling to see how many of the students are able to accurately articulate how a car driving around a corner and a truck driving around the same corner are different using the physics terms inertia, centripetal force, and acceleration correctly.  No one becomes a teacher because he or she loves grading assessments; and yet it is an essential task we must complete carefully and thoughtfully.

It seems to be impossible for me to mark an answer incorrect without thinking to myself “Why didn’t this student know the answer?”  We all want our students to learn what we spend class time teaching.  So we wonder is there anything I could have done differently.  Did we do enough hands-on learning?  Did I provide enough practice?  Could I have said anything to help motivate the student to spend more time studying outside of class?  Most often this moment of reflection is cut short by the fact that there are piles of exams that need to be graded and time is always a limiting factor; especially now that parents can check online for real-time grade updates.

Grading is time-consuming for me since I am the type of teacher who needs to write comments all over the paper in order to assign a grade to each open response question.  Other teachers have stated, “You know that most of your students will not be reading what you write.  They’ll just check the grade online.”  And that may be true.  But what if the student does take the time to look over each answer?  I want to be sure that the exam is not only an assessment tool, but that it is also a learning opportunity.  I offer feedback regarding what they did well and how they could have improved their response.  I do not enjoy calculating quarter grades since I want students to continue to improve their understanding of both new topics and topics that we studied earlier in the year.  The reality is that there must be periodic check points to formally acknowledge what the student has learned up until an arbitrary date.  So I grade with all of my purple pen comments in hope that my students will learn from my suggestions.

Many schools are pushing for common assessments – formal tests, lab reports, or projects that all teachers of the same subject assign and grade using the same rubric.  The main idea behind common assessments is not to see which teacher should get a plaque for teacher of the year, but to see what we can learn from each other.  If one teacher’s students consistently out perform the other students, then that teacher most likely has valuable information that would help the other teachers become more effective.  It should not be considered a competition.  In my 11 years of teaching for 4 different schools, I have not yet worked with a teacher who did not want to be as effective as possible.  We all want to have that warm fuzzy feeling of success we get when grading an assessment that amazes us because of how much our students have learned.  It never feels good to mark an answer incorrect. So why not learn from each other?

I encourage other teachers to collaborate, use common assessments, analyze the data, and continuously work to improve your pedagogy. All of your hard work will improve your students’ learning.   Consider grading and comparing common assessments results – one tool that will allow you to have more warm and fuzzy moments.

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