Based on the report conducted at Northwest High School, Larry Yarrell needs extensive professional development about educating urban high school students.
I'm a taxpayer, not an IPS employee, and a union person.
I wonder if any of these omniscent evaluators have ever spent one day teaching classes in an inner city public school?
If they really wanted to fairly evaluate these teachers, they should spend a month serving as teachers in those schools to see what teachers are up against.
These kinds of "experts" in society make big salaries, live in "glass houses" and never get their own hands dirty.
I'm a veteran teacher, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that there are some serious problems in some of these IPS schools, particularly with teachers and principals. To pretend that's not the case makes us all sound like idiots. I'm glad things are finally being done. People (other administration, other teachers, parents, students) have been saying this for 20 years.
Taxpayer, if you want to throw your taxes at crappy schools without questioning why it's crappy, you go for it. But the rest of us know better. To insinuate that it's not possible to be better than crappy is an insult to the hundreds of great teachers in IPS. You don't have to be any expert at all to walk in three classrooms and see that learning is only taking place in one of them. I don't know what IPS teacher you're sleeping with, but it sounds like you could do better. We do have some good ones.
Fight or flight? What about sit back and laugh and watch the house of cards collapse? I may even be tempted to blow kisses at some of my coworkers who have mocked those of us who give a damn about this job. But I'll fight the temptation and maybe even fake a choked sob or two as the state replaces them.
Please!!! The Cambridge Group is nothing more than a group of money-hungry consultants who think they have all tha answers to improve schools. Did you know they were selling their program to each school to tell them how to improve? How valid is that? How worthy and fair does it make their evaluation? We know we have faults, but I for one, do not plan to lose a second's sleep based on their B.S.!
"To insinuate that it's not possible to be better than crappy is an insult to the hundreds of great teachers in IPS." ---------------------------
How did you get the mistaken impression I wrote that it is not possible for IPS schools to improve? My point was that these evaluators (from reading the article in the paper) only spent a very short time in the schools so how can they understand the complexity of the problems there?
I have never gotten the impression that most IPS teachers are screw-offs - and I have known/know quite a few of them.
So, you tell me....how many are screw-offs? Do you agree with the 60 percent rating of the administration?
If so many are screw-offs, then how specifically do they screw off on their jobs?
I would like to hear specifics, not general, sweeping derisive accusations against IPS teachers.
And, by the way, I am not "sleeping" with an IPS teacher - pretty crass public comment, my friend.
Taxpayer, no matter how many IPS teachers you know, I guarantee I know more. I've been here awhile. And I know it's crass, but to be frank, I tire of your comments and question your sincerity. I've been a teacher for longer than my students have been alive, and I've never once met an everyday taxpayer who was so eager to keep weak teachers or deny that they exist. I agree that the administration who keeps these teachers is just as guilty as the teachers themselves. If you know so many IPS teachers, I'm sure you know the problems. We have a lot of seat warmers. Teachers who walk into a classroom, say, "read chapter three and answer the questions," and then flip through a magazine and throw their hands up with disgust when the kids don't cooperate or pass tests. Teachers with no desire to connect with students, no passion for teaching, and an almost sociopathic dislike of their students, and those students' parents. In some schools, it probably is 60%. In other schools, it's less, but it's still significant. You figure, even if it was only 10% (it's way more than that in every non-magnet school I have ever been in) then over the course of 13 years, students would get cheated out of over a year of classroom instruction. Urban school systems like IPS need the best of the best, not the worst.
I don't know why we need to pay for an outside group to evaluate the schools. Those of us who work in them, know what the problems are. We know who the bad administrators and teachers are. It is nowhere near 60% which seems to be a number that Eugene White just made up since he has no data back up his demeaning claims. Anyone who has worked for Larry Yarrell could have told you about how unacceptable his job performance is. We don't need outside experts to tell us that. We live it on a daily basis.
We continue to perpetuate a code of silence concerning the root of the problem: bad parenting/absent fathers. When using stats like 60%,etc., start applying these figures toward unwed mothers and single mother households and we might just begin to find some reality.
There is nothing in the Constitution that says the government is responsible for education. Eliminate all public education. We would all be better off.
"There is nothing in the Constitution that says the government is responsible for education. Eliminate all public education. We would all be better off."
It also said that women couldn't vote,white men could own slaves and NOTHING about corporate tax breaks. I'm sick of these idiots who think they know what the Founding Fathers had in mind. Privatizing ANYTHING doesn't necessarily mean we are getting our money's worth! WE ALL pay taxes, especially sales taxes!
When will we have an outside consultant group evaluate the performance of Central Office?
Seriously. The amount of money - millions - it takes to fill Central Office is amazing. How many of those people are doing the jobs efficiently and effectively?
If teachers are going to be thrown under the bus on evaluations, then the same should be done for all departments. No if's, and's, or but's.
Yeah, you just keep telling yourself it's the parents. But when those same single parents move to other districts or charter schools, all of a sudden those kids can learn. Kids spend the majority of their waking hours at school, not home. If teachers can't teach kids from single-parent homes, they should admit it up front. Why would you work at IPS if you can't teach urban kids or kids from single-parent homes?
Quit saying "teachers" like we are one unit. What you call "blame," I call giving credit to the power of our profession. And if you are worthless, that's your burden to carry, not mine. Not one time has any administrator or teacher called me worthless. Not all of us are walking around with chips on our shoulders. Some of us really do believe in the power of public education. Sure central office is bloat. That bloat might be justified if they would staff IPS with the kind of teachers that believe in their profession and in the populations they serve.
Most of the IPS teachers I know work their butts off. They work 50-60 hours during the week and then on their own computers at home on weekends. They often work on holidays at home computers doing various kinds of necessary paperwork and often calling parents.
Obviously, with so many hundreds of IPS teachers, there are some who are not dedicated. That's too bad. But I believe they are a distinct minority. They need to be helped to improve or weeded out.
But this overall punitive philosophy and approach to dealing with teachers will never improve anything in IPS.
I also agree with the above poster concerning the root of the problems in IPS having much to do with bad parenting and absentee fathers. I agree that this is a problem that most in government want to ignore. It involves socio-economic realities that have to do with social and economic injustice and the sordid history of racism in this country (okay, go ahead Republicans on here - bash me!).
Politicians and education: a bad mix. Reality and education: a sane mix.
I'm a parent, but I do think some teachers get defensive. The newspaper doesn't say all teachers are bad. Nobody thinks all teachers are bad. Nobody is blaming all teachers for the problems of IPS. There are all kinds of things that recognize some great teachers and great schools in IPS. But there are more bad teachers in IPS than in other districts. And in a district like this, we don't need any more disadvantages than we already have. I agree with the above person about needing the best of the best.
"Politicians and education: a bad mix. Reality and education: a sane mix"
Be careful what you wish for. If you take politics out of education, you have privatized education, which comes with a whole new set of problems. As long as we fund schools with tax money, than taxpayers are going to have input, and taxpayers give their input by voting, and they vote for politicians. It's part of living in a democracy.
I was upset with the report on Broad Ripple High School, this evaluation was completed when Doris Young was out of the building and the teachers/students were out of control. Doris Young runs the business at BRHS and "tells" Linda about bad teachers, the ones who talk about Linda Davis. Come on now, Linda just signed for a case of hot pockets, and she could not leave her office for weeks or the hot pockets could go bad. Seems like Dr. White's "wonder administrators Dr. Scuggs and Davis are huge flops and lazy management.
1. There is a very vocal critic of Larry Yarrell on here. There are many other quiet folks who work at Northwest who are pleased with what he has done to shape up NHS. Is it there yet? No, but it is on its way.
2. To the parent above. I submit that there are more dedicated very hard working selfless teachers in IPS than most Indiana districts. It is not hard to get results in middle class districts where several generations back are college graduates.
I didn't say there weren't great, selfless teachers. But you're blind if you think the kids here get the same chance as at the township schools. Just talk to a few kids from a few different schools about what their 3rd grade class is like, or their 7th grade math or their sophomore english class. The kids don't get the same opportunities and creativity. They just don't. (And most of the township parents didn't graduate from college. The college graduation rate in Indiana is like 25%) I'm not trying to be over critical. I have kept my kids in IPS so far. But when I hear people here say everybody's already doing a great job, it makes me want to cry. Because not nearly enough is being done.
@ Two post above. The NHS teachers are still at the local bar laughing and cracking jokes about how Larry Yarrell fooled Dr. White into thinking he was an instructional leader. I worked with Larry for two years. After three years at NHS, he is still horrible....
The Cambridge company is an English (read Great Britain company). I don't think they have had a huge success in evaluating, changing and improving education in GB. I am always amazed at the experts that organizations will hire and the money they will spend to explain what is already known.
The tragedy is that so many people actually believe it. The thing is, the majority of these kids have a real chance at a real future if they could just get half of the opportunity that we give kids in wealthier districts.
Don't put words in my mouth. I never said that our students had the same advantages as the township schools. I didn't say everybody is doing a great job.
To the Northwest drinking team: Here's to you getting to work with the truly horrible principal you deserve-soon.
I come from KY so I don't have the innate prejudice that most people in Indianapolis have against IPS. I have worked in this district for 15 years and I am PROUD to be an IPS educator. I am really tired of all this teacher bashing. The school I work in is OUTSTANDING. The teachers care about the students, giving of their time and money and going out of their way to help the families we service. Maybe it's an elementary thing, I don't know. What I do know is every teacher I work with is actively teaching at all times. Go School 31!~
All I know is I had a student hug me today to "thank me" for helping and supporting them with the burden of finishing high school. I gave myself a gold star, I am a "winner" no matter how much Dr. White tries to put me down with his nasty remarks.
We should face the fact we have a Superintendent leading us to more failure. With Jane Kendricks in charge of HR, LiYen Johnson in charge of all the schools, and Willie Giles in charge of the day to day operations, we don't have a snowballs chance in hell.
Let me tell you, IPS teachers. God bless each and every one of you! I am a simple taxpayer and I appreciate the hard work you do. Sure, no one is perfect and there are IPS teachers who do need to improve - but tell me what other profession there is that workers are perfect? I totally agree with this post:
"I come from KY so I don't have the innate prejudice that most people in Indianapolis have against IPS. I have worked in this district for 15 years and I am PROUD to be an IPS educator. I am really tired of all this teacher bashing. The school I work in is OUTSTANDING. The teachers care about the students, giving of their time and money and going out of their way to help the families we service. Maybe it's an elementary thing, I don't know. What I do know is every teacher I work with is actively teaching at all times."
You have every right to be proud. And so does every other IPS teacher. I am writing this as someone who does not have a pony in this race.
Hey...no mention of the ruby slippers at yesterday's "thelebration of thcolarthip, rethponsibility, rethpect and courage", brought to you by Betht Buys!
I rest my case. For every one "outstanding" in IPS, we have two like the one above. Wonder why kids are disrespectful? If we have teachers mocking the most superficial things about people (speech handicaps and clothing), and disrespecting school leadership, how on earth can we expect kids to see the importance of critical thinking, kindness, and respect of peers as well as authority? It's depressing.
Did anyone notice that Larry Yarrell failed to provide comments to the media about the condition of his school? When RTV6 showed up about him suspending kids for dress code violations, he didn't hesitate to get in front of the camera. Stop by his office sometimes. He and Rev. Micheal Brown sit and listen to the Amos Brown Show and calls in when the parents say something bad about Northwest.
I rest my case. You need to make a case in order to rest it.
For every one "outstanding" in IPS, we have two like the one above. So the "outstanding" employees in IPS are outnumbered by a factor of 2 to 1 by poor performers? Wow, the administrators at E. Walnut must be breeding like rats. That is depressing Mary Louise.
Wonder why kids are disrespectful? If we have teachers mocking the most superficial things... Kids are disrespectful primarily because of what they are not taught at home. They are disrespectful because of comments from teachers? Nice try girl.
It's depressing. Mary Louise it's depressing how often you sing the same tune.
I agree that Doris Young at BRHS is AWESOME! I also think Linda Davis practices cronyism. She allows a creative writing class to be taught by a friend, one who has no college degree and no teaching license.
Just FYI, "I rest my case" was not Mary Louise. I'm the parent who posted a couple of other posts on this thread about how there are some great teachers but way too many bad ones, especially in a district that really needs great teachers. The post about "outstanding" followed by the ignorant one kind of proved my point. That's what I meant by I rest my case.
Hey...no mention of the ruby slippers at yesterday's "thelebration of thcolarthip, rethponsibility, rethpect and courage", brought to you by Betht Buys!
WOULD YOU DO THIS TO A CHILD IN YOUR CLASS WITH A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT? OBVIOUSLY YOU WOULD! YOU ARE ONE OF THE TEACHERS WHO NEEDS TO GET OUT OF IPS--NOW!
I agree. To make fun of someone with a disability is just sad. As someone earlier said, No wonder the students act as they do sometimes. You are part of the problem. Offer solutions or keep your crappy comments to yourself please.
Let the parents, students, and the community leaders be aware that the graduation for 2010 will go up because Gene White has elected to go by the lower state of Indiana graduation requirements rather than the Core 40 that IPS Board of Education had adopted as the graduation requirements about five years ago. We back tracked on instilling academic rigor and gave into promoting good media. In other words, we lowered the standards for graduation. The kids are in night classes, credit recovery, Saturday School classes when they don't have to be. Watch out!!! He is a going to brag he has improved the graduation rates.
And pray tell how do you propose that IPS hire outstanding teachers when the pay is lower than nearby districts and the administration only excels at one thing, teacher bashing?
IPS has wonderful speech therapists, and adults often get speech therapy. Perhaps Dr. White should set a good example, learning never ends, isn't he a lifelong learner?
Eugene White only has failures.....no successes but it is not because of his speech impediment. It is because he is mean, vindictive and a self centered bully. IMHO
"YOU are the one with the problem with his speech, not him. It obviously has not affected his success."
He's head of an allegedly failing school system. This is thuckthess?
"IPS has wonderful speech therapists, and adults often get speech therapy. Perhaps Dr. White should set a good example, learning never ends, isn't he a lifelong learner?"
Abtholutely.
"Eugene White only has failures.....no successes but it is not because of his speech impediment. It is because he is mean, vindictive and a self centered bully. IMHO"
IMHO2!!!!!!!!
Yes, my posts are disrespectful and unprofessional, and meant bo be, but so is the act of dragging fellow IPS educators so publicly through the muck and mire, while accepting cash bonuses for OUR hard work and unsung efforts. He should get the same respect (or lack thereof) that he gives.
No, I'd never ever berate or humiliate a child with a disability. A school leader who purports to possess such innate talents should have the ability and perserverence to overcome an obvious impediment.
Perhaps some of us are too defensive. What do YOU have to hide?
I have NOTHING to hide! I teach Special Ed kids with speech impediments all day. I just find it interesting that you bolster your positon by making fun of the man's disability. Sure, he sucks. Sure, he is not a great boss. But say that. Why make fun of him? You can criticize him as a professional that you purport yourself to be. But making fun of someone's disability takes you right down to his level. If he is so bad, do you really intende to do that?
Larry Yarrell is terrible because he is constantly developing curriculum strategies to make students successful like that terrible ECA Action Plan that other high schools have embaced. He is even worst for creating a Freshmen Center where 81% of the freshman class are true sophomores with 12 credits are more. He continues to masquerade as an instructional mover and a shaker by increasing the graduation rate from 40% in 2007 to 50% in 2009. We definitely don't need scum like him in IPS.
I find it ironic that there is concern that if administrators had the power, they would fire teachers based on nothing but personality conflicts. Yet I have not seen a single teacher named and insulted on this forum, either based on their ability or their superficial traits. Wonder why that is. It's not like IPS administration doesn't know about this blog. It's not like they couldn't post anonymously just as easily as anyone else. They could certainly compare such-and-such teacher to an annoying actor, make fun of the way so-and-so talks, and generally agree that you-know-who is lazy and vicious. Obviously the administrators at IPS are too professional to do so. However, I have seen numerous insults from teachers about administrators and all of them are based on gossip, personality conflicts, and superficial nonsense. You never get a "this program was working and administrator A shut it down." or "Graduation and test data shows things have gone downhill since administrator B took over." Or "The majority of teachers think we should implement ____ policy/curriculum because it has had such success in other urban schools, but administrator C is completely close-minded to the idea." Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are good and bad teachers and good and bad administrators. But if you knew nothing about IPS except for the posts on this forum, it really makes unprofessional teachers look like the biggest part of the problem. You can call it "venting" all you want, but most people don't vent like that. So the idea that people who DO vent like that (and think like that) are involved with educating, mentoring and modeling professional adult behavior for children is troubling and disturbing.
There. That's MY vent. (And I'm not an administrator, I am a teacher, but not in IPS.)
CLEARLY the "venting" poster two posts up is not from IPS. You have no idea or clue as to what goes on in our district. Our administrators have been threatened within an inch of their lives if they so much as post as smile emoticon on this Blog.
Why do you think they (principals) don't post? It would be much easier to trail a post to a principal than it would be to a teacher.
That being said, not all of our administrators are bad people. In the words of our illustrious leader, 60% of them are ineffective (that is not true, but I couldn't help myself). The administrators that are named in this Blog must have done something wrong to more than one teacher. The same names keep coming up.
And since you seem to know it all, why don't you stop and think why so many of us in this district are hurting. The way we feel of ourselves as educators is in part to our supervisors and their impression of us. When we are told over and over (in staff meetings, in the press, through the school grapevine) that we are all unsatisfactory, teachers (human beings at that) will do one of two things: ignore the comments and continue to do our best, or lash out in anger because our feelings are hurt. The teachers that post on here are part of the latter. Maybe they are part of the latter because they tried to do their best, but it still wasn't good enough.
Constructive criticism in our district is of a bygone era. We are hurting, and that hurt filters down to the children in the long run.
I welcome you, two posts up, to come and work with us in IPS for a year or two. Let's see if you still stand on your soapbox.
P.S. I agree with the fact that a lot of these posts are unprofessional and juvenile. I am not standing up for those posts. I am standing up for us teachers that are getting a bad name because of a few rebels on an anonymous blog.
To the fool a few posts up: If you think the IPS administrators are professional then you are badly misinformed about their attitudes and personal behavior. Some of the most tawdry personal behaviors go on with those working in the Ed. Center. There are good, hard working administrators but I am afraid that they are in minority. I have no data but since the standard has been set that we can claim percentages with no backup data, I will state that 60% of administrators are failing in their jobs.
Three factors influence motivation, autonomy, mastery, and drive, and the control exerted by the people down town through their decision making in the form of pacing guides and benchmark testing have killed the first two motivating factors for most teachers, leaving only purpose. And purpose really develops through the first two. So Dr. White is probably right, 60 percent of the teachers are bad, they have no motivation to change, and what motivation then did have has been killed. IPS is really in a sorry state. Anyone interested in this topic might look at Daniel Pink's new book, Drive, which is all about motivation or Carole Dwerk's book Mindset. Both will seem spot on in describing the problems of IPS. And for a system that professes to be "Data and Research Driven" we certainly ignore a lot of research.
Why do we need an outside organization to point out weaknesses? Does this sell newspapers, or just demoralize the IPS team?
ReplyDeleteWhere are our strengths?
Excellent educators temper their concerns for student with positive aspects.
Perhaps we need to consider additional evaluations with excellence in the scope.
huh????
ReplyDeleteBased on the report conducted at Northwest High School, Larry Yarrell needs extensive professional development about educating urban high school students.
ReplyDeleteI'm a taxpayer, not an IPS employee, and a union person.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if any of these omniscent evaluators have ever spent one day teaching classes in an inner city public school?
If they really wanted to fairly evaluate these teachers, they should spend a month serving as teachers in those schools to see what teachers are up against.
These kinds of "experts" in society make big salaries, live in "glass houses" and never get their own hands dirty.
I'm a veteran teacher, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that there are some serious problems in some of these IPS schools, particularly with teachers and principals. To pretend that's not the case makes us all sound like idiots. I'm glad things are finally being done. People (other administration, other teachers, parents, students) have been saying this for 20 years.
ReplyDeleteTaxpayer, if you want to throw your taxes at crappy schools without questioning why it's crappy, you go for it. But the rest of us know better. To insinuate that it's not possible to be better than crappy is an insult to the hundreds of great teachers in IPS. You don't have to be any expert at all to walk in three classrooms and see that learning is only taking place in one of them. I don't know what IPS teacher you're sleeping with, but it sounds like you could do better. We do have some good ones.
ReplyDeleteFight or flight? What about sit back and laugh and watch the house of cards collapse? I may even be tempted to blow kisses at some of my coworkers who have mocked those of us who give a damn about this job. But I'll fight the temptation and maybe even fake a choked sob or two as the state replaces them.
ReplyDeletePlease!!! The Cambridge Group is nothing more than a group of money-hungry consultants who think they have all tha answers to improve schools. Did you know they were selling their program to each school to tell them how to improve? How valid is that? How worthy and fair does it make their evaluation? We know we have faults, but I for one, do not plan to lose a second's sleep based on their B.S.!
ReplyDelete"To insinuate that it's not possible to be better than crappy is an insult to the hundreds of great teachers in IPS."
ReplyDelete---------------------------
How did you get the mistaken impression I wrote that it is not possible for IPS schools to improve? My point was that these evaluators (from reading the article in the paper) only spent a very short time in the schools so how can they understand the complexity of the problems there?
I have never gotten the impression that most IPS teachers are screw-offs - and I have known/know quite a few of them.
So, you tell me....how many are screw-offs? Do you agree with the 60 percent rating of the administration?
If so many are screw-offs, then how specifically do they screw off on their jobs?
I would like to hear specifics, not general, sweeping derisive accusations against IPS teachers.
And, by the way, I am not "sleeping" with an IPS teacher - pretty crass public comment, my friend.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTaxpayer, no matter how many IPS teachers you know, I guarantee I know more. I've been here awhile. And I know it's crass, but to be frank, I tire of your comments and question your sincerity. I've been a teacher for longer than my students have been alive, and I've never once met an everyday taxpayer who was so eager to keep weak teachers or deny that they exist. I agree that the administration who keeps these teachers is just as guilty as the teachers themselves. If you know so many IPS teachers, I'm sure you know the problems. We have a lot of seat warmers. Teachers who walk into a classroom, say, "read chapter three and answer the questions," and then flip through a magazine and throw their hands up with disgust when the kids don't cooperate or pass tests. Teachers with no desire to connect with students, no passion for teaching, and an almost sociopathic dislike of their students, and those students' parents. In some schools, it probably is 60%. In other schools, it's less, but it's still significant. You figure, even if it was only 10% (it's way more than that in every non-magnet school I have ever been in) then over the course of 13 years, students would get cheated out of over a year of classroom instruction. Urban school systems like IPS need the best of the best, not the worst.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why we need to pay for an outside group to evaluate the schools. Those of us who work in them, know what the problems are. We know who the bad administrators and teachers are. It is nowhere near 60% which seems to be a number that Eugene White just made up since he has no data back up his demeaning claims. Anyone who has worked for Larry Yarrell could have told you about how unacceptable his job performance is. We don't need outside experts to tell us that. We live it on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteWe continue to perpetuate a code of silence concerning the root of the problem: bad parenting/absent fathers. When using stats like 60%,etc., start applying these figures toward unwed mothers and single mother households and we might just begin to find some reality.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing in the Constitution that says the government is responsible for education. Eliminate all public education. We would all be better off.
ReplyDelete"There is nothing in the Constitution that says the government is responsible for education. Eliminate all public education. We would all be better off."
ReplyDeleteIt also said that women couldn't vote,white men could own slaves and NOTHING about corporate tax breaks. I'm sick of these idiots who think they know what the Founding Fathers had in mind. Privatizing ANYTHING doesn't necessarily mean we are getting our money's worth! WE ALL pay taxes, especially sales taxes!
When will we have an outside consultant group evaluate the performance of Central Office?
ReplyDeleteSeriously. The amount of money - millions - it takes to fill Central Office is amazing. How many of those people are doing the jobs efficiently and effectively?
If teachers are going to be thrown under the bus on evaluations, then the same should be done for all departments. No if's, and's, or but's.
Teachers CANNOT BE BLAMED FOR EVERYTHING.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are told over and over again that we are worthless, we tend to believe it.
Yeah, you just keep telling yourself it's the parents. But when those same single parents move to other districts or charter schools, all of a sudden those kids can learn. Kids spend the majority of their waking hours at school, not home. If teachers can't teach kids from single-parent homes, they should admit it up front. Why would you work at IPS if you can't teach urban kids or kids from single-parent homes?
ReplyDeleteQuit saying "teachers" like we are one unit. What you call "blame," I call giving credit to the power of our profession. And if you are worthless, that's your burden to carry, not mine. Not one time has any administrator or teacher called me worthless. Not all of us are walking around with chips on our shoulders. Some of us really do believe in the power of public education. Sure central office is bloat. That bloat might be justified if they would staff IPS with the kind of teachers that believe in their profession and in the populations they serve.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing in the federal constitution about education, but there is in every state constitution.
ReplyDeleteMost of the IPS teachers I know work their butts off. They work 50-60 hours during the week and then on their own computers at home on weekends. They often work on holidays at home computers doing various kinds of necessary paperwork and often calling parents.
ReplyDeleteObviously, with so many hundreds of IPS teachers, there are some who are not dedicated. That's too bad. But I believe they are a distinct minority. They need to be helped to improve or weeded out.
But this overall punitive philosophy and approach to dealing with teachers will never improve anything in IPS.
I also agree with the above poster concerning the root of the problems in IPS having much to do with bad parenting and absentee fathers. I agree that this is a problem that most in government want to ignore. It involves socio-economic realities that have to do with social and economic injustice and the sordid history of racism in this country (okay, go ahead Republicans on here - bash me!).
Politicians and education: a bad mix. Reality and education: a sane mix.
I'm a parent, but I do think some teachers get defensive. The newspaper doesn't say all teachers are bad. Nobody thinks all teachers are bad. Nobody is blaming all teachers for the problems of IPS. There are all kinds of things that recognize some great teachers and great schools in IPS. But there are more bad teachers in IPS than in other districts. And in a district like this, we don't need any more disadvantages than we already have. I agree with the above person about needing the best of the best.
ReplyDelete"Politicians and education: a bad mix. Reality and education: a sane mix"
ReplyDeleteBe careful what you wish for. If you take politics out of education, you have privatized education, which comes with a whole new set of problems. As long as we fund schools with tax money, than taxpayers are going to have input, and taxpayers give their input by voting, and they vote for politicians. It's part of living in a democracy.
I was upset with the report on Broad Ripple High School, this evaluation was completed when Doris Young was out of the building and the teachers/students were out of control. Doris Young runs the business at BRHS and "tells" Linda about bad teachers, the ones who talk about Linda Davis. Come on now, Linda just signed for a case of hot pockets, and she could not leave her office for weeks or the hot pockets could go bad. Seems like Dr. White's "wonder administrators Dr. Scuggs and Davis are huge flops and lazy management.
ReplyDelete1. There is a very vocal critic of Larry Yarrell on here. There are many other quiet folks who work at Northwest who are pleased with what he has done to shape up NHS. Is it there yet? No, but it is on its way.
ReplyDelete2. To the parent above. I submit that there are more dedicated very hard working selfless teachers in IPS than most Indiana districts. It is not hard to get results in middle class districts where several generations back are college graduates.
I didn't say there weren't great, selfless teachers. But you're blind if you think the kids here get the same chance as at the township schools. Just talk to a few kids from a few different schools about what their 3rd grade class is like, or their 7th grade math or their sophomore english class. The kids don't get the same opportunities and creativity. They just don't. (And most of the township parents didn't graduate from college. The college graduation rate in Indiana is like 25%) I'm not trying to be over critical. I have kept my kids in IPS so far. But when I hear people here say everybody's already doing a great job, it makes me want to cry. Because not nearly enough is being done.
ReplyDelete@ Two post above. The NHS teachers are still at the local bar laughing and cracking jokes about how Larry Yarrell fooled Dr. White into thinking he was an instructional leader. I worked with Larry for two years. After three years at NHS, he is still horrible....
ReplyDeleteThe Cambridge company is an English (read Great Britain company). I don't think they have had a huge success in evaluating, changing and improving education in GB. I am always amazed at the experts that organizations will hire and the money they will spend to explain what is already known.
ReplyDeleteeliminate public education by merging it with the juvenile justice system. thats where most ips kids belong anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe tragedy is that so many people actually believe it. The thing is, the majority of these kids have a real chance at a real future if they could just get half of the opportunity that we give kids in wealthier districts.
ReplyDeleteDon't put words in my mouth. I never said that our students had the same advantages as the township schools. I didn't say everybody is doing a great job.
ReplyDeleteTo the Northwest drinking team: Here's to you getting to work with the truly horrible principal you deserve-soon.
I come from KY so I don't have the innate prejudice that most people in Indianapolis have against IPS. I have worked in this district for 15 years and I am PROUD to be an IPS educator. I am really tired of all this teacher bashing. The school I work in is OUTSTANDING. The teachers care about the students, giving of their time and money and going out of their way to help the families we service. Maybe it's an elementary thing, I don't know. What I do know is every teacher I work with is actively teaching at all times. Go School 31!~
ReplyDeleteLarry is a weasel in tall grass. Cheers to the teachers at nhs
ReplyDeleteAll I know is I had a student hug me today to "thank me" for helping and supporting them with the burden of finishing high school. I gave myself a gold star, I am a "winner" no matter how much Dr. White tries to put me down with his nasty remarks.
ReplyDeleteLarry is afraid of losing his job, so lets hope Dr. White places another "shinning star" in his place. Oh, Principal Shipp, come on down to NWHS.
ReplyDeleteWe should face the fact we have a Superintendent leading us to more failure. With Jane Kendricks in charge of HR, LiYen Johnson in charge of all the schools, and Willie Giles in charge of the day to day operations, we don't have a snowballs chance in hell.
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you, IPS teachers. God bless each and every one of you! I am a simple taxpayer and I appreciate the hard work you do. Sure, no one is perfect and there are IPS teachers who do need to improve - but tell me what other profession there is that workers are perfect? I totally agree with this post:
ReplyDelete"I come from KY so I don't have the innate prejudice that most people in Indianapolis have against IPS. I have worked in this district for 15 years and I am PROUD to be an IPS educator. I am really tired of all this teacher bashing. The school I work in is OUTSTANDING. The teachers care about the students, giving of their time and money and going out of their way to help the families we service. Maybe it's an elementary thing, I don't know. What I do know is every teacher I work with is actively teaching at all times."
You have every right to be proud. And so does every other IPS teacher. I am writing this as someone who does not have a pony in this race.
God bless you, IPS teachers.
Hey...no mention of the ruby slippers at yesterday's "thelebration of thcolarthip, rethponsibility, rethpect and courage", brought to you by Betht Buys!
ReplyDeleteKudos for the organizers! Great program!
I rest my case. For every one "outstanding" in IPS, we have two like the one above. Wonder why kids are disrespectful? If we have teachers mocking the most superficial things about people (speech handicaps and clothing), and disrespecting school leadership, how on earth can we expect kids to see the importance of critical thinking, kindness, and respect of peers as well as authority? It's depressing.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone notice that Larry Yarrell failed to provide comments to the media about the condition of his school? When RTV6 showed up about him suspending kids for dress code violations, he didn't hesitate to get in front of the camera. Stop by his office sometimes. He and Rev. Micheal Brown sit and listen to the Amos Brown Show and calls in when the parents say something bad about Northwest.
ReplyDeleteI rest my case.
ReplyDeleteYou need to make a case in order to rest it.
For every one "outstanding" in IPS, we have two like the one above.
So the "outstanding" employees in IPS are outnumbered by a factor of 2 to 1 by poor performers? Wow, the administrators at E. Walnut must be breeding like rats. That is depressing Mary Louise.
Wonder why kids are disrespectful? If we have teachers mocking the most superficial things...
Kids are disrespectful primarily because of what they are not taught at home. They are disrespectful because of comments from teachers? Nice try girl.
It's depressing.
Mary Louise it's depressing how often you sing the same tune.
I agree that Doris Young at BRHS is AWESOME! I also think Linda Davis practices cronyism. She allows a creative writing class to be taught by a friend, one who has no college degree and no teaching license.
ReplyDeleteJust FYI, "I rest my case" was not Mary Louise. I'm the parent who posted a couple of other posts on this thread about how there are some great teachers but way too many bad ones, especially in a district that really needs great teachers. The post about "outstanding" followed by the ignorant one kind of proved my point. That's what I meant by I rest my case.
ReplyDeleteHey...no mention of the ruby slippers at yesterday's "thelebration of thcolarthip, rethponsibility, rethpect and courage", brought to you by Betht Buys!
ReplyDeleteWOULD YOU DO THIS TO A CHILD IN YOUR CLASS WITH A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT? OBVIOUSLY YOU WOULD! YOU ARE ONE OF THE TEACHERS WHO NEEDS TO GET OUT OF IPS--NOW!
I agree. To make fun of someone with a disability is just sad. As someone earlier said, No wonder the students act as they do sometimes. You are part of the problem. Offer solutions or keep your crappy comments to yourself please.
ReplyDeleteLet the parents, students, and the community leaders be aware that the graduation for 2010 will go up because Gene White has elected to go by the lower state of Indiana graduation requirements rather than the Core 40 that IPS Board of Education had adopted as the graduation requirements about five years ago. We back tracked on instilling academic rigor and gave into promoting good media. In other words, we lowered the standards for graduation. The kids are in night classes, credit recovery, Saturday School classes when they don't have to be. Watch out!!! He is a going to brag he has improved the graduation rates.
ReplyDeleteAnd pray tell how do you propose that IPS hire outstanding teachers when the pay is lower than nearby districts and the administration only excels at one thing, teacher bashing?
ReplyDeleteIPS has wonderful speech therapists, and adults often get speech therapy. Perhaps Dr. White should set a good example, learning never ends, isn't he a lifelong learner?
ReplyDeleteYOU are the one with the problem with his speech, not him. It obviously has not affected his success.
ReplyDeleteEugene White only has failures.....no successes but it is not because of his speech impediment. It is because he is mean, vindictive and a self centered bully. IMHO
ReplyDelete"YOU are the one with the problem with his speech, not him. It obviously has not affected his success."
ReplyDeleteHe's head of an allegedly failing school system. This is thuckthess?
"IPS has wonderful speech therapists, and adults often get speech therapy. Perhaps Dr. White should set a good example, learning never ends, isn't he a lifelong learner?"
Abtholutely.
"Eugene White only has failures.....no successes but it is not because of his speech impediment. It is because he is mean, vindictive and a self centered bully. IMHO"
IMHO2!!!!!!!!
Yes, my posts are disrespectful and unprofessional, and meant bo be, but so is the act of dragging fellow IPS educators so publicly through the muck and mire, while accepting cash bonuses for OUR hard work and unsung efforts. He should get the same respect (or lack thereof) that he gives.
No, I'd never ever berate or humiliate a child with a disability. A school leader who purports to possess such innate talents should have the ability and perserverence to overcome an obvious impediment.
Perhaps some of us are too defensive. What do YOU have to hide?
I have NOTHING to hide! I teach Special Ed kids with speech impediments all day. I just find it interesting that you bolster your positon by making fun of the man's disability. Sure, he sucks. Sure, he is not a great boss. But say that. Why make fun of him? You can criticize him as a professional that you purport yourself to be. But making fun of someone's disability takes you right down to his level. If he is so bad, do you really intende to do that?
ReplyDeleteAccording to his interview last week, I AM at his level. So are you.
ReplyDeleteYes, he sucks. Yes, he's not a great boss.
You and I know exactly how hard we each work every second of every day. Until our administration lets us do what we do best, we'll always suck.
We are simply too professional to point our our children's weaknesses in a public forum.
Larry Yarrell is terrible because he is constantly developing curriculum strategies to make students successful like that terrible ECA Action Plan that other high schools have embaced. He is even worst for creating a Freshmen Center where 81% of the freshman class are true sophomores with 12 credits are more. He continues to masquerade as an instructional mover and a shaker by increasing the graduation rate from 40% in 2007 to 50% in 2009. We definitely don't need scum like him in IPS.
ReplyDeleteLOL@ the post two posts above! You go!
ReplyDeleteGeorge Jefferson would be a better principal than Larry Yarrell.....oops, they are the same person.
ReplyDeleteI find it ironic that there is concern that if administrators had the power, they would fire teachers based on nothing but personality conflicts. Yet I have not seen a single teacher named and insulted on this forum, either based on their ability or their superficial traits. Wonder why that is. It's not like IPS administration doesn't know about this blog. It's not like they couldn't post anonymously just as easily as anyone else. They could certainly compare such-and-such teacher to an annoying actor, make fun of the way so-and-so talks, and generally agree that you-know-who is lazy and vicious. Obviously the administrators at IPS are too professional to do so. However, I have seen numerous insults from teachers about administrators and all of them are based on gossip, personality conflicts, and superficial nonsense. You never get a "this program was working and administrator A shut it down." or "Graduation and test data shows things have gone downhill since administrator B took over." Or "The majority of teachers think we should implement ____ policy/curriculum because it has had such success in other urban schools, but administrator C is completely close-minded to the idea." Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are good and bad teachers and good and bad administrators. But if you knew nothing about IPS except for the posts on this forum, it really makes unprofessional teachers look like the biggest part of the problem. You can call it "venting" all you want, but most people don't vent like that. So the idea that people who DO vent like that (and think like that) are involved with educating, mentoring and modeling professional adult behavior for children is troubling and disturbing.
ReplyDeleteThere. That's MY vent. (And I'm not an administrator, I am a teacher, but not in IPS.)
I'm a parent, and I think the above post is excellent.
ReplyDeleteCLEARLY the "venting" poster two posts up is not from IPS.
ReplyDeleteYou have no idea or clue as to what goes on in our district. Our administrators have been threatened within an inch of their lives if they so much as post as smile emoticon on this Blog.
Why do you think they (principals) don't post? It would be much easier to trail a post to a principal than it would be to a teacher.
That being said, not all of our administrators are bad people. In the words of our illustrious leader, 60% of them are ineffective (that is not true, but I couldn't help myself). The administrators that are named in this Blog must have done something wrong to more than one teacher. The same names keep coming up.
And since you seem to know it all, why don't you stop and think why so many of us in this district are hurting. The way we feel of ourselves as educators is in part to our supervisors and their impression of us.
When we are told over and over (in staff meetings, in the press, through the school grapevine) that we are all unsatisfactory, teachers (human beings at that) will do one of two things: ignore the comments and continue to do our best, or lash out in anger because our feelings are hurt. The teachers that post on here are part of the latter. Maybe they are part of the latter because they tried to do their best, but it still wasn't good enough.
Constructive criticism in our district is of a bygone era. We are hurting, and that hurt filters down to the children in the long run.
I welcome you, two posts up, to come and work with us in IPS for a year or two. Let's see if you still stand on your soapbox.
P.S. I agree with the fact that a lot of these posts are unprofessional and juvenile. I am not standing up for those posts. I am standing up for us teachers that are getting a bad name because of a few rebels on an anonymous blog.
To the fool a few posts up: If you think the IPS administrators are professional then you are badly misinformed about their attitudes and personal behavior. Some of the most tawdry personal behaviors go on with those working in the Ed. Center. There are good, hard working administrators but I am afraid that they are in minority. I have no data but since the standard has been set that we can claim percentages with no backup data, I will state that 60% of administrators are failing in their jobs.
ReplyDelete"Constructive criticism in our district is of a bygone era."
ReplyDeleteIPS certainly leads the state in one area: teacher bashing and a punitive (punishment) approach to dealing with its teachers.
I know of no other school district in this state where teachers are treated with less respect and dignity as professionals.
Excellent post a few posts up!
ReplyDeleteThree factors influence motivation, autonomy, mastery, and drive, and the control exerted by the people down town through their decision making in the form of pacing guides and benchmark testing have killed the first two motivating factors for most teachers, leaving only purpose. And purpose really develops through the first two. So Dr. White is probably right, 60 percent of the teachers are bad, they have no motivation to change, and what motivation then did have has been killed. IPS is really in a sorry state. Anyone interested in this topic might look at Daniel Pink's new book, Drive, which is all about motivation or Carole Dwerk's book Mindset. Both will seem spot on in describing the problems of IPS. And for a system that professes to be "Data and Research Driven" we certainly ignore a lot of research.
ReplyDelete