I-SS Board Members
All I-SS students and employees have to be given the opportunities and the support needed to achieve true success. This can only be done in an atmosphere of encouragement, transparency and accountability. We must find a superintendent who not only brings a different approach to education but who is also open to the suggestions of others.
The Baldrige approach has brought some success to the school system but it also had a number of disadvantages. First, it forced teachers to instruct all students with the same methodology. Students are not cogs on an assembly line. Teachers have to be free to find an approach that works for the students in their classes. Second, there was no openness to other ideas. Teachers were discouraged from trying different approaches. Teachers were discouraged from going to conferences and meetings in their subject areas. This led to frustration for the teachers and for the students. Lastly, there were thousands of I-SS dollars spent to implement and maintain the Baldrige plan. This money was taken from other programs and initiatives that could have benefitted the students. Thousands of other schools have achieved great successes without using the Baldrige plan and I-SS can do so as well.
Paul E. Klaene
What a great letter. I hope that everyone who reads your blog sends a letter.
ReplyDeleteWhen were teachers discouraged from going to conferences concerning their subject matter? I have never heard that. How does Baldridge make all teachers teach the same way? Are any of you that comment on this website actual teachers in the classroom now and not retired? If you guys are standing up for teachers, I hope that you have visited all classrooms and have spoken with all teachers in the system. I hope it is not a defined small group that hates Baldridge. You all have spoken some big words and have made large accusations. I hope that if you are truly out there for teachers and students, that you consider all teachers and not a small group of retirees or teachers that hate Baldridge. I hope you can tell the teachers that have had successful students and experiences with Baldridge the downfalls of the program. I hope you can tell the students that ask constantly about their PDSA and if they can do 2 instead of 1 your reasons for criticizing the program. You all have opened a big can here. I hope that your intentions are truly for students and teachers and not just to criticize Baldridge and Dr. Holliday. Have you truly talked with him or do you just see the surface? Were you there when he came to my room and sat with my students while they worked in groups? The kids loved it! He will be missed and I hope that your group knows that he did do a lot of positive things for our system.
ReplyDeleteReally it all boils down to a simple facts, things like the PDSA only work if you buy into the process. If you don't like PDSA as a teacher then the kids won't either. I'm not taking a side on the issue, just stating the facts. There are many other ways to get children engaged in learning other than PDSA and I in no way see it as the cure-all technique. Personally, my kids liked it and would even complain if I tried to skip it for a week.
ReplyDeleteare you willing to post the responses you get or a summmary from the board members?
ReplyDeleteI am willing to post any responses I receive from individual Board members or from the Board as a whole. I do hope I receive a response and will be glad to share that response with the readers of this blog. However, if a Board member responds and asks me not to post the response, I will honor that request.
ReplyDeleteThis is in response to the person who asked: "When were teachers discouraged from going to conferences concerning their subject matter?" On February 18, 2009 the Record and Landmark published an article by Dr. Holliday titled 'I-SS Redoubles its Efforts'. In that article, Dr. Holliday stated the following: "We do not spend money on sending teachers to state and national conferences unless they are presenting and enhancing the reputation of the school system. The findings from the research and the McKinsey report are very clear. Improving instructional skills and the quality of teaching is done through application and on-the-job coaching and modeling."
ReplyDeleteThen, some time after that, Dr. Holliday criticized a group of science teachers who, at their own expense, went to a one-day science conference. He said that you couldn’t learn anything at a one-day conference. That certainly sounds discouraging to me. And, by the way, if Dr. Holliday had bothered to ask any of those science teachers about that conference, he would have found out just how much they did learn.
PDSAs may work with some teachers but not all. All students do not care for them ,especially when you have to facillitate manipulate them. We need a true survey of teachers who really used PDSAs without fear of retribution. The BOE needs to really find out. The majoity of teachers ,I have discussed PDSAs with, hate them, and these teachers have students who have learned and exceeded test predictions.
ReplyDeleteAs for the mission statements, issues , deltas, and goals they are quite pleased with this. As with all programs you need to critique, fix and throw out what does not work. All teachers are not the same, and what may work for one does not necessarily work for all.
Has anyone responded to your email yet? If not, I am suprised and curious to know why.
ReplyDeleteI also sent an e-mail to the BoE. I have sent several over the last couple of months. I have yet to hear back from a single one. When I e-mail people at the state level of education or representatives, I receive a responce in a short period of time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comment above. I emailed DPI and received an email back the very next day. Why are we tolerating this type of mediocre behavior from public servants? We need the newspapers involved and I don't mean the R & L. Perhaps we need to contact 9 on your side and get them to start investigating the waste of our money.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. I have e-mailed our board and never have received any info back and more than once. I have emailed Perdue , Fox and Obama. I always get an e-mail back and this has been several times. Fox has called me several times but usually I'm not here. She really wants to know what is going on in ISS schools. Send her an e-mail.
ReplyDeleteIf they refuse to respond to emails, maybe we should start calling....
ReplyDeleteDid you ever get a response from any board members?
ReplyDeleteOther than my chance conversation with Mr. John Rogers, Jr. while I was at Wal-mart, I have had no response from the Board members.
ReplyDelete