I Got Your Value Added Right Here
by Rebecca Schoenkopf
“Good morning,” he breathed, all breathily, into his cell phone.
“Senator Cedillo,” I purred at him. That is how we talk to each other—sexily. I don’t know who started it, but it was probably him, or else it was me. And yet, somehow, I continued. “Guess whose mama is among the 100 most effective teachers in the LAUSD?!”
“Whose?” he asked, before catching himself. “Yours!” he answered, correctly. “Well, all you have to do is look how she taught you to see that!” He was purring and pandering simultaneously. Gil Cedillo is a politician of exceptional skill. Oh, I do love that man!
He was at a thing for breast cancer, and I had 50 more kvelling phone calls to make, but we took a moment to figure out what he should do when he’s termed out (I proposed lobbying, to keep him in sharp suits), and when he should next buy me lunch.
But as I returned to that L.A. Times page again and again, I kept seeing other teachers’ comments—very angry comments—and saw exactly why my mother didn’t want me to post the link on Facebook. It can’t be nice for those other teachers to be held up as an example of why our kids isn’t learning. (And the Times’ first story in the series held up two teachers—seemingly extraordinarily industrious and sincere—as particular examples of that.) And there is more to teaching than test scores, which my mother is the first to explain. She talks about some of her teacher friends whose scores are average, or even worse, and explains that their classrooms are so enriched with music and art and joy that their kids begin to really love coming to school, and there is not a test for that.
I’ve spoken with a lot of journalists since the Times started its series on value-added test scores and, as you’d expect, a lot of writers and editors are married to teachers, and invariably they slammed the series as misleading and unfair. But while they’re pretty much all of them married to teachers, none of them actually has kids in LAUSD.
Yoohoo! Over here! With a child in public high school, no less! Here is my opinion: some teachers are gifted, and some teachers aren’t, and some teachers are really terrible and need to handle their shit. My own son—sorry, darling—does not test well and never has. It does not affect his teachers’ scores; the value-added assessment specifically controls for that. But this year, out of the blue, he added 40 percentage points to his social studies score. Don’t you think Mr. Rodney Lusain, the history teacher he loves, should be thrown a goddamn parade?
Nor do I agree with my sainted mother, the longtime union rep, in her sunny assessment that it’s no big deal for a kid to have a dud for a teacher for a year, that he’ll make it up eventually, that, like at Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, it’ll all come out in the wash. Mamacita, there has to be better than that! And, confidential to the FURIOUS lady with the high-scoring students but the average value-added scores: yes, even with high achievers to begin with, and with only so much more room to grow, well: three of the top 100 teachers were at “California Distinguished School” Hancock Park Elementary school, with a 900 API and so few kids getting free or reduced lunch, I’m not sure it’s actually in LAUSD.
There was a simple solution to the massive backlash the Times is getting, which is why I should be on staff at the Times: they should have started their series with Sunday’s story, on the best teachers in the district not even knowing they were the best teachers in the district, with nary a pat on the head or even an evaluation that said anything stronger than “satisfactory.” It would have piqued all of our senses of justice, including those teachers who right now are on the verge of sending letter bombs to the Times. (Just as stupid Americans are against taxing the rich because they think someday they’ll be among them, so might average teachers wish the best would be rewarded because someday they might be among them as well.) Instead, reading what was their first story in the series, I was absolutely mortified. It was important and it was justified, but the rampant insensitivity of calling out clearly well-meaning teachers was really difficult to behold. The teachers they profiled certainly weren’t lazy, or uncaring, or waiting like zombies till they might retire. They just weren’t challenging their kids enough; and now, called out in public, they know.
rebecca@fourstory.org
Comments
I oppose Rebecca attending USC.
I don’t see a master plan here, I see Rebecca trying to follow in her Mom’s footsteps.
USC’s most famous attendee is O.J. Simpson, an un-convicted double murderer, and convicted strong arm robber. USC is strong in football.
I’ve always had the impression that USC is second rate university.
2010-09-5 by diegonomicsI’ve had some great teachers in my life. The bad ones I forgot about, so I agree with your mom on that.
My problem is that I never graduated. It made me poor.
It is not my fault!
Rebecca, if you want to attend USC, massive investment in consort watch that it will entail, go right ahead. I can tell you from experience that you’ll be wishing for the good old days, when you had the freedom of anonymity, pretty soon.
Change of topic- young master James is not testing well? Hmmm….
Public schools sometimes don’t sufficiently challenge great minds.
I think this upcoming election is going to be a doozy. I want to be diplomatic with the GOP, but they glower and menace society so much that I find myself reverting to form. I get drunk, I get bold, I get mouthy then I go to bed.
The economy is improving, but people aren’t hiring. Theres alot of plates in the air. Republicans have alot to offer in terms of meat and potatoes economics, but they cant run from their own parties recent history.
The stimulus worked, even though the GOP was obstructive. Where did these people go to school anyway, USC?
2010-09-5 by diegonomics‘Jingling coins in your pocket?’
-Buzo Tactico
When your balls turn into coins, and your tongue turns into a dollar bill, anything can happen.
Tough to lie to a cop.
The GOPs most charismatic leader is Sarah Palin- an airhead.
Si o no?
Yes or no?
True or false?
Its not an unkindness to a woman who would aspire to direct public policy to observe that its apparent you’re an airhead.
Tina Fey is smarter than you.
Everyone is supposed to suffer under your airheadedness just because you´re ambitious and its poor form to be ungentlemanly?
Just saying. Just saying.
The GOP is in disarray. Placing them back in power would be foolish.
Vote Democrat.
Buzo video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9FRZLLLhV8
2010-09-5 by diegonomicsLets talk about two bitches that really need to get a job, but thought their craving for power would be better served, running for office.
I’ll give you a hint.
Neither of these piss poor excuses for candidates for office has the endorsement of the actual governor of California.
Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman.
Carly, didn’t you screw things enough at Hewlitt Packard? You’re an ambition driven disaster. Ask people at the largest technology company in the world- Hewlitt Packard.
My take? Get a job, bitch.
Meg Whitman.
It doesn’t take an FBI profiler to detect that you throw money at the problem, some of which you gained in squirrely Wall Street deals.
Sure you had to return some of it when you got busted, but hey, it’s a pirates game, staying one step ahead of the law while raking it in, left and right.
Bitch, get a job.
I’m not being unkind to women, I’m telling two women that they should get jobs.
The new GOP thinks that gender will make the difference. They don’t need to own their performance, argue on substance or otherwise.
Buzo video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kb3YOavv3g&feature=player_embedded#!
Happy Labor Day to Republicans and Democrats alike!
Heres some Jack Johnson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_BoZ_Qdyl0
2010-09-5 by diegonomicsIm willing to apologize for the use of the B word.
Okay?
2010-09-6 by diegonomicsSigh.
Yeah, I can dedicate a song to Fiorina and Whitman:
This is choice punk rock, dont say I never did nothing for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xNUGlu_r40&feature=related
2010-09-6 by diegonomicsI had to take 6 units of “education” classes when in college inorder to teach a summer class at a Rec. dept in clay sculpture (duh?) Here’s what I discovered:
1. Education Schools create EduTheories that change every few years. The EduTheories are foisted off on public schools and after a few years they’re deemed to be failures so a NEW! IMPROVED EduTeory comes out of the EduSchools and is foisted off on public schools and after a while . . . .
2. The EduBIZ requires teachers (of any type) to take X number of EduClasses in order to get an EduCertificate, which mean Y number of EduSchool Teachers must be hired to teach EduStudents and issue an EduCertificate that is then processed in Sacramento by people employed to process Educertificates under the EduBIZ Dept, which writes the requirements that require teachers (of any type) to take X number of EduClasses . . . . It’s a perfect closed systems. Magic!
3. I called my mother to wail, “These Educlasses are the DUMBEST classes I’ve ever taken, ever!” to which she replied, “I had to take Educlasses 40 years ago and they also were the dumbest classes I’ve ever taken. Hold your nose and get through it.” I then called a really terriffic teacher I knew and wailed, “These Educlasses are the DUMBEST classes I’ve ever taken, ever,” to which she replied, “I had to take those classes 20 years ago and they were the dumbest ever. Hold your nose and get through it.”
4. When it comes to education, nobody knows anything. And if they do find something that works, the EduBiz will create a new EduTheory and change it all every few years anyway, thereby losing ANOTHER generation of kids.
Good luck to everybody. And good on the Times. Maybe people will wake up and say, Whaaaa the . . . .???
2010-09-7 by Ann CalhounOkay, Republican spy, thanks for that.
Say ´hello´ to Meg for me. Noone can seem to reach her, maybe you can.
BTW, Rebecca´s alot more likely to show up in Washington D.C.
WITH A JOB!
Than either of you two wenches.
Meg, come out and play. It’s already been determined that if your campaign fails, billionaires around the country will shy away from parlaying their stack into a political position.
Billionairess, that never bothered to vote, who asks Californians for something that you could never find time in your busy schedule to do.
Now you can´t find time to show up and present yourself before the media.
You never voted.
Now you don’t show.
Buzo Radio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNZIiIK2i-g
2010-09-8 by diegonomicsMeg Whitman stands next to no chance of becoming governor.
We need to dispel Republican moths flying into the fire.
California’s for Democrats. Got it?
Take your rank ambition and stuff it in a nonreusable plastic grocery sack.
Its easy to criticize Jerry Browns political record, when you have none. You didn’t even bother to vote, much less acquire public service experience.
Now you want to be governor.
You’re underqualified, Meg.
Governor of California is such a huge responsibility. Jerry knows.
Lets break it down:
SD County: You could pull a split here, if you can avoid political demolition in the debate phase of the campaign:)
Orange County: The OC has swung Democrat, but charismatic, integritous Republican candidate Van Tran really shows how to conduct a campaign. Hes run before. This one is obviously his.
LA County: Nope.
San Francisco: Nope.
Oakland: Nope.
Been to Oakland, recently, MEG!?
That’s it, Meg. Buzo TV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dKpHtc9F9M
2010-09-9 by diegonomics
good, bec. it’s an important issue. i surely do love you and am so very proud.
2010-09-3 by yo mama