From: bkb@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (brian.bebeau)
Subject: Re: I won
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 17:44:58 GMT

In article <75720022@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com> donp@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Don Pettengill [CT R+D]) writes:
>In misc.education, klf@cbnewsi.cb.att.com (karen.l.fenton) writes:
>
>> > 	Sit in on classes, and hold teachers accountable if they are teaching
>
>> This is absolutely precluded by most union contracts I've seen.
>
>as!) ordinary people. And school board members *should absolutely*
>personally acquaint themselves with what is going on in the classrooms
>of the schools they run. As for "formally evaluate" - perhaps not,
>particularly at first. But I would hazard a guess that a ten-year
>board member who sits in on classes several times every week, would be
>much better clued in to the educational process he or she is
>overseeing, than one who has never seen the inside of a working
>classroom.
>
Well, this is the problem. Most people who are disagreeing with
Karen are saying you *should* sit in on classes. I think so too
(and I think Karen does too). My wife has certainly never had any
problem with parents or even administrators sitting in and observing
her classes on the spur of the moment. As a gesture of courtesy
though, you should call ahead and arrange it at least a day ahead.

I think what Karen was objecting to mainly was the suggestion that
a school board member actively evaluate a teacher's performance,
especially based on a short observation session. If you go in to
observe and start launching into criticisms right away, you'll
make an enemy for life. Evaluating teachers is not part of your
job. Don't micromanage.

[My wife the teacher just called was I was typing this. She says
she'd be *delighted* to have a school board member observe her
class, it's so rare. In her experience (13 years) the best school
board members are the ones who get involved in the schools.]

Here's what a school board member *should* do in observing a class.
Notice the entire school environment. Is it conducive to learning?
If not, what can *you* do about it? Notice the textbooks. Are the
kids bored by them? Do they seem to be effective or are kids having
a hard time grasping the concepts because they're presented too
obtusely? How much time is spent doing things that aren't basic
to learning, such as paperwork, discussing non-core subject material,
etc.? How much of that is due to school-board (or state) mandates?
Is it necessary? Can you do anything to reduce that? Ask teachers
what the school board could do to make their life easier. Sure, 
you'll get some pie-in-the-sky answers, but you'll probably get
good, doable ones too. Concentrate on what you can do to free 
teachers to *teach*. 

BTW, it seems like every school system is heavy with bureaucracy.
Finding some way to streamline administration would certainly
save a lot of money, without increasing class size. And it's
certainly within the realm of the school board. Take a look
at busing costs too, it's often a huge chunk of change.


-- 
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Brian Bebeau			Interactive Systems at AT&T-Columbus
brian@cblph.att.com   or   bkb@cbnewsl.att.com
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