Teachers should not compete with each other for extra dollars (Edward Deming says that this kind of competition doesn't even work in business, that it demoralizes the workplace). Teachers should share what they know, not hoard their trade secrets for their private benefit. . .
Most teachers I know are happy, even proud to share their knowledge, experience, and ideas with others - especially idealistic newcomers.
The era of NCLB has been marked by lowered state standards, cheating, and widespread gaming of the system. While the states claim big leaps forward, NAEP shows very little improvement. In math, the gains were larger before NCLB than after it was implemented. On eighth grade reading, there have been no gains at all since 1998, even though these are the students who grew up with NCLB. . .
This empirical data fails to recognize the frustration and fear engendered in students, teachers, and school administrators alike. The higher the stakes, the greater the fear.
You describe the reform "consensus," but the consensus seems to exist mainly inside Beltway think tanks, corporate suites, foundation offices, editorial boards, and at the highest levels of government. Those who are not part of the consensus are ordinary classroom teachers, the very people who are supposed to implement the “reforms.”
from: Is Education on the Wrong Track? by Diane Ravitch
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