Jewish World Review Nov. 3, 2003 / 8 Mar-Cheshvan, 5764

Joanne Jacobs

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Consumer Reports


Super Pay for Super Teachers?; ‘Failing’ Teachers; Dissect the Bunny; Yuck


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | For $100,000 a year in pay and bonuses, would "super teachers" give up union protections and teach at high-stress, low-performing schools? You bet.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, wants to create a new educational job titled, "super teacher" for educators interested in making $100,000 in salary and bonuses — but there's a catch. Teachers would have to give up certain union protections like tenure and job security.

"They're willing to waive tenure and seniority rights," said Pawlenty. "So we can hire who we want, fire who we want and assign them when we want and how we want to assign them."

The "super teacher" bonuses would kick in when students improved their scores on standardized tests. Pawlenty is proposing that these "super teachers" replace the entire teaching staff at selected schools where students are under-achieving.

The union is willing to negotiate on the idea. I predict they'll want to expand the definition of "super teacher" so broadly that there won't be enough money to raise the pay. And they'll want it to be pay, not bonuses linked to student achievement.

‘Failing’ Teachers

Bob Herbert, a New York Times columnist, blames “failing teachers” teachers for letting classrooms collapse into chaos. He's quoting other teachers talking about some of their colleagues. But you'd expect the liberal-leaning Herbert to blame the system and demand more money. Nope.

The teachers I talked to spread the blame widely among students, parents, teachers and administrators. But they were hardest on teachers.

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"You have teachers who are very diligent," said a middle-aged teacher from the Bronx. "They work very hard, and even come up with money out of their own pockets to pay for supplies, or even to help these children when they are in trouble. But there are many, many others who are not remotely interested in these kids. They tell the kids to their faces: 'I don't care what you do. I'm still going to get paid.'

"They mean it. They don't care. The kids pass classes they don't even attend, and attend classes they aren't even assigned to."

Nothing will improve until we’re willing to face the ugly truth about the violence, corruption and chaos in urban schools, Herbert writes.

Dissect the Bunny

To counteract "humane education" curricula, a group that favors biomedical research on animals is promoting a "science-based science curriculum" aimed at elementary and middle school students. CNSNews.com reports:

OSERA's curriculum advocates for animal laboratory testing and opposes animal rights, placing it at odds with much of what humane education teaches.

"Kids don't understand when they are contacted by animal rights organizations such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) or any of the other groups, for every cause there is an effect," (M. Sue) Benford said, referring to what she sees as the great benefits of animal biomedical research.

"They don't understand that if someone goes in and destroys a laboratory where maybe 20 years of research has been underway to cure, let's say, smallpox or anthrax or cancer, somebody may die for that," Benford added.

But PETA fired back and accused Benford's group of "brainwashing kids."

Benford survived childhood cancer thanks to medical research, including research on animals.

Benford cited her daughter's 4th grade class as an example of how today's elementary school kids have already been indoctrinated into the animal rights ideology.

When the 4th grade teacher told the class that animals were used in research to produce modern medications, many students in the classroom said, "that's terrible, that's awful," Benford recounted. When the teacher asked, "Can you come up with an alternative  — [the students] said, 'yeah, test it on old people,'" Benford said.

Yuck

There's a great way to get school kids to cut down on snacks. Fill the vending machines with soy milk and granola bars.

Since Snicker bars and soda were replaced with granola and soy milk, snack sales have slumped by more than 40 percent at schools in a limited pilot program in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

That's worrying some officials who fear they may have to cut sports and after-school clubs traditionally funded by revenue from campus snack and soda sales. But others say that the program, in place since March, needs more time and that sales of healthy snacks are picking up.

"Hot Cheetos and sodas" are "kind of the American way," says Erick Garcia, 17. "It's like taking part of our bodies away from us."

At my last high school reunion, the family picnic was catered by an alum who owns a vegetarian restaurant. It was all "healthy" food. I've never seen so many disgruntled children. The adults weren't much happier either. I tried the soy milk. It was horrible. At the somewhat premature end, organizers were begging people to take leftovers with them. I literally ran from a former classmate who tried to shove a carton of soy milk into my arms.

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JWR contributor Joanne Jacobs, a former Knight-Ridder columnist and San Jose Mercury News editorial writer, blogs daily at ReadJacobs.com. She is currently finishing a book, Start-Up High, about a San Jose charter school. Comment by clicking here.

10/27/03: Parent, teachers, parents as teachers; cramming in education; out of control
10/21/03: Go, Samaritan; 2 + 2 = ?; Majoring in Middle-class Status
10/14/03: To Gag a Mockingbird; saying 'hate' is hate speech; protest school
10/08/03: No Homework Overload; Self-centered Social Studies; The Boy Code; Codswallop; College 101: Don't Jump Out of Your Bunk Bed
09/29/03: Flunking mom; classroom classics; ritalin gag rule; lousy children
09/22/03: Order, disorder
09/08/03: No Child Left Behind: A Primer
08/29/03: The Decline and Fall of Social Studies
08/18/03: F is for valedictorian
08/14/03: Start-up success
08/11/03: Subliterate Superintendent
08/04/03: Alternative High School
07/28/03: Out of the System
07/21/03: Too Snobby for Shop
07/14/03: Be very afraid
07/09/03: Know-nothing nonsense
06/30/03: Affirmative action reactions
06/23/03: Overdressed Students, Underdressed Teachers, Dressed-down Exams
06/16/03: Paper 'Is-ness,' Excluding Awards, New Racial Consciousness and Politics
06/09/03: Racist math, red tape for charters, potty reading
06/02/03: Teacher Pay, Illiteracy , No Republicans Allowed
05/27/03: Research papers, athletics, reading
05/19/03: Soft America, plagiarism, Minutemen and Jets
05/12/03: Demographics, nerves, valedictorian, vouchers
05/05/03: Gender Bias, Banned Words, Helen of Troy
04/28/03: Tests, home-schooling, self-esteem
04/25/03: Lessons, American Pride, Iraqi Schools
04/14/03: Iraqi Textbooks and the English language
03/31/03:Teachers, hugging, text messaging
04/07/03: War talk at school
03/24/03: Watching the war
03/10/03: Classroom chaos
03/03/03: Teaching tales
02/24/03: Segregation stories
02/18/03: Writing Essays, America, Beyond Bert and Ernie
02/13/03: Size matters
02/10/03: Parental homework, cheaters and memoirs
02/03/03: Diplomas, academics, preschools and Ritalin
01/27/03: Head Start, Social Studies, Marx, Africa and Math
01/22/03: Teachers as targets
01/13/03: Big Bully's Feelings
01/06/03: School of 60's Whining and Communal Destruction
12/23/02: Teaching in
12/16/02: Chocolate city?
12/10/02: Mandatory Victimhood --- and when cleaning up a school is 'racist'
11/25/02: Multi-colored math, sensitive science
11/20/02: How to leave no child behind
11/18/02: The tummy track
11/11/02: Dysfunctional documents?
11/04/02: Why go to college? Why test schools?
10/28/02: Pride goeth before an F
10/21/02: Diversity adversity
10/14/02: Bad hat day
10/07/02: Inflated sense of worth
09/30/02: The Royal road to knowledge
09/24/02: Sierra's Club
09/20/02: Stupidity Watch
09/03/02: First, win the war
08/26/02: Out of their field, out of their minds?
08/20/02: Fun with failure

© 2003, Joanne Jacobs