What About Evaluation of Teachers?

Award winning New York principal, Carol Burris, describes the way she believes teachers ought to be evaluated: The Newest Rhetoric on Teacher Evaluation—and Why It is Nonsense.

How Do Teachers Feel about the Widespread Attacks on the Profession?

Pilgrim Press has just published a new book of personal prayers for school teachers.  Title is Give Me Strength: Personal Prayers for School Teachers.  It's a wonderful book.  Check out this review.

John Merrow, PBS reporter, maintains a web page with statements from public school teachers, Why I Teach.

Here is the April 10, 2012 Bridging Differences blog by Diane Ravitch, What Do Teachers Want?, a blog post that reports on an April 2012 survey of public school teachers across the United States. 

Are Bargaining Rights for Teachers Under Attack in Your State?

Check out these key articles that reflect upon the September Chicago Teachers' Strike.

Here is a link to our web page with resources on Attacks on Teachers and Collective Bargaining Rights.

Worried about Scapegoating of Public School Teachers?  Check out these reflections...

• February 12, 2012: Michael Winerip, in the NY Times, reports on wonderful teaching at PS 142 in New York City.
• November 6, 2011:  Michael Winerip, in the NY Times, reports that Tennessee's new test-based, teacher merit evaluation program rates all teachers based on math and reading scores.  A middle school teacher of music or P.E. gets to choose whether to be evaluated on the math or reading test results, even though that teacher instructs in  neither reading or math.  Sound pretty crazy?  Check out this article.
• Rev. Dr. Art Cribbs, pastor at the San Marino, California Congregational United Church of Christ and former executive director of the UCC Office of Communication and OC, Inc., shares this reflection on the importance to his own family of his children's public school teachers.  "What's up with all this business about slamming teachers and dumping on public education?" he asks.
• March 31, 2011: Marie Myung-OK Lee, who now teaches writing at Brown University, writes this tribute to two high school English teachers in Hibbing, Minnesota, teachers who helped form her as a person and as a writer: "What I Learned at School." 
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  June 3, 2010:  The Rev. John Thomas, Senior Advisor to the President and Visiting Professor in Church Ministries, and former General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, shares his thoughts on faith, ministry, theological education and the public role of the church in the world.  In this very moving blog, Rev. Thomas shares his reflections on the current public education debate, "It's Not OK to Hate Teachers."  
• June, 2010, Rethinking Schools editorial asks, "What's Up with All the Teacher Bashing?"  
• June 4, 2010, Mike Rose, UCLA professor and author of wonderful books on public education, Possible Lives and Why School?, just published a Los Angeles Times opinion piece, "A Lesson for Teachers: Learning to Teach Well is a Long Journey, and Not an Easy One." 
  
• 2006 Message on Public Education cover story, "Federal Law Felt as Attack by Public School Teachers," explores the damage the No Child Left Behind Act has inflicted on teachers.

UCC Justice & Witness Ministries Participates in Save Our Schools Rally...

Read here about  the July 30, 2011, Save Our Schools (SOS) rally near the White House and the article published in United Church News.