PEORIA, IL -- The amazing change in ambiance in Peoria School District 150 and its Board Meetings, under the interim superintendent, continues. All seems to be harmony, with the fear and tension from the previous superintendent vanished.
The Jan. 25 board meeting generated public comments, of course, but they were less critical than before.
Sevino Sierra wondered why there were no hispanics on the committee selecting the new, permanent superintendent.
Terry Knapp thanked the committee working to revitalize arts education, and also applauded the strategic plan released to the public then approved by the board. But he criticized the Common Core program, and predicted it, too, "will collapse of its own weight" within five years, as the No Child Left Behind program failed.
Sharon Crews discussed teachers and teaching, and said the answer to the current teacher shortage is to reward good teachers and give them autonomy. A copy of her remarks will be posted below.
A recording of the public comments is posted here.
-- Elaine Hopkins
Here are the comments of Sharon Crews:
A teacher shortage has become a major problem for public schools. I saw the teaching environment, especially due to discipline problems, going downhill in the early ‘90s. By the time I retired in 2005 the problems had increased.
Since 1994 two district teachers have been named Illinois Teacher of the Year. I have never understood why the reward for great teaching is to be taken out of the classroom. In fact, the only significant financial reward for any teacher is to leave the classroom to be an administrator or counselor. Many new teachers start immediately to earn administrative certification. To me, that means that teachers know that financial security cannot be achieved by being a teacher or worse yet it may mean they don’t want to be teachers.
I believe teachers should be rewarded financially for taking any liberal arts courses, not just graduate courses—the more a teacher knows the more knowledge that can be imparted to students. When I was assigned to teach senior English, I realized that I was lacking the background in British history needed to relate the history behind the literature. I spent many hours reading history books and developing the required historical term paper topics and outlines to help students organize their research. No administrator knew or cared how many hours I devoted to these and many other classroom projects.
I want to challenge you to ask all teachers to keep records for one year of all the time they work before and after school, at home in the evening, on weekends, on days off, and in the summer: grading papers, planning lessons, researching, phoning parents, etc. You will be shocked. You will, also, find out which subject areas seem to demand the most work from teachers. Gathering this information should inspire you to find ways to reward teachers.
Also, for a year, I want to challenge you to ask teachers to keep records of all of their own money they spend on classroom needs. Again, you will be shocked.
Teaching is a very personal and creative venture—good teachers put their hearts and souls into their work. Each teacher has his/her own teaching style. Teachers want to teach—not to administer computer programs or read scripted lessons. Please find ways to attract teachers and then incentives and support to keep good teachers in the classroom—but not merit pay to pit teachers against each other. We now have an environment friendly to teachers—please build on it.
Comments