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CAT Tracks for May 9, 2012
PERA WEBINAR |
CAT Tracks Editor's Damn Note:
Save, save, save...
...that which you are typing on computer...
...often!
I know that...
...I preach that.
But...
...when I get on a roll.
Sigh...
Let's see, where was I?
PERA = Performance Evaluation Reform Act
That "thing" that was done unto you by Democratic and Republican legislators who don't have a clue, who think they know more about educating the children of Illinois than you, the trained professional.
I have ranted and raved against PERA several previous occasions...just on the principle of the "thing", the injustice of holding teachers accountable for "student growth" when it is a known FACT (just asked the likes of Diane Ravitch) that student achievement (as measured by state test scores) are determined by circumstances beyond the teachers' control - e.g. disintegrating families, poverty, et al.
Holding teachers accountable for said growth (possibly to the tune of talking pineapples) is wrong, wrong, WRONG!
But...
My rants and raves have lacked substance...my mind refusing to look behind the curtain of lies and deception. I simply could not bring myself to get into the nuts and bolts of the proposed performance evaluation law...brought to you by the nuts and dolts who currently occupy the Illinois General Assembly. I hoped it would simply go away.
Alas...
It did not.
So...
On Thursday, May 10th at 4 p.m., this old dinosaur is going back to school.
It might behoove you to do the same!
The link below provides you a chance to sign up...
From the IEA Insider
Illinois performance evaluation and you!
Please join us at 4 p.m., May 10 for an hour-long webinar conducted by Meredith Byers, Susan Goudreau, Kathi Griffin, Mary Jane Morris and Jim Tammen.
Participants will:
Click here for login information.
POSTSCRIPT:
Speaking of evaluations (past and future)...
This stuff is a matter of (employment) life or death, so you'd best pay attention!
Due to the relatively RIF-free environment this Spring, you may have not noticed that the new "seniority list" law has arrived in CSD #1. The first list (received by all tenured teachers) was like the lists of previous years...you saw yourself (and your colleagues) listed by departments in the order of years of experience.
What you may not know...
...there was a second list.
On this second list, you were assigned a number...you were a 4 or a 3 or a 2 or a 1. "Four" is good ("excellent" actually) and "one" is basically good-bye. (Your "number" depends on your past two performance evaluations...if both were "excellent", you are a four. If "satisfactory or proficient", you are a three. There are a multitude of other variations...some dependent upon your past three evaluations.)
You want the nitty-gritty, bottom line?
In a reduction-in-force situation, a 3rd-year, non-tenured teacher with a "4" stays...a 25-year teacher with a "3" leaves.
Seniority?
Forgetaboutit!
The only time "seniority" is even looked at is in the case of a tie.
Yep...
It's time to suck up to the powers that be! Stick that nose waaaaaay up there!!!
Your dedication, passion, and expertise means nothing.
Your "excellence" depends on one or both of two things:
Yes...
...the future is now!
If you want to know what's behind that light at the end of the tunnel...
...I'd advise you to tune in Thursday at 4 p.m.
That roaring I hear might be the Hallelujah Chorus tuning up for a rendition of "Oh Happy Day"...
...but it sounds suspiciously like a train to me!
CAT Tracks Editor's Note:
This "second edition" ain't as good as the first, but I'm done with it!
Forgive any typos...
...no way I'm going back.
Hell, it might disappear again!
PS: Unlike what they say about "revenge", my rants and raves are best served piping hot...not warmed over!
