Education Department Launches “National Conversation” on Teacher Quality

By Michelle Hudgins and Tim Walker National Education Association leaders believe a new Department of Education proposal is a promising proposition toward improving the teaching profession. This week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan launched RESPECT (Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching), a proposal that challenges states and districts to work with teachers [...]

Van Roekel Announces Plan to Strengthen Teaching Profession

By Tim Walker National Education Association (NEA) President Dennis Van Roekel today laid out a new action agenda for the nation’s largest organization of educators that will help transform the teaching profession and accelerate student learning. Speaking at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C., Van Roekel detailed three major strategies that will guide the NEA’s [...]

“Mitchell 20″ Spotlights Educator-Led Transformation

By Will Potter As educators are facing attacks across the country – from budget cuts to bargaining rights – a new documentary spotlights a group of teachers in a low-income, high-needs school who are taking a stand. “Mitchell 20: Teacher Quality is the Answer” is the story of 20 teachers who pledge to earn National [...]

Grading Teacher Effectiveness Strategies

By Tim Walker As more state legislatures across the nation pass laws requiring teacher evaluations, the debate over what to actually do with the data is heating up. Many districts are using these evaluations – many based on narrow, value-added data – to label teachers “ineffective” and subsequently remove them from the classroom. Scrutiny of [...]

Reaching the Summit of Teaching is a Challenge

By John Rosales NEA President Dennis Van Roekel stressed the need to boost teacher recruitment and training, and to use multiple measures in evaluating teachers, during a panel discussion Monday held in conjunction with the second annual Education Nation Summit in New York City. At the week-long event which started Sunday, parents, educators and students [...]

Poll: Americans Give Public School Teachers High Marks

By Tim Walker The 2011 Phi Delta Kappa survey  has good news for the nation’s public school educators. More than 70 percent of Americans say they have “trust and confidence” in the men and women who are teaching. Furthermore, 69 percent give teachers in their specific community a letter grade of an A or B. [...]

Should Students Grade Their Teachers?

By Cindy Long Educators curious about what their students think of them can log on to RateMyTeachers.com where teachers are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 in the categories of Clarity, Helpfulness, Popularity, and (controversially) “Easiness.” They can also fill in a comments box, where remarks range from positive and constructive to downright [...]

How to Make Better Math and Science Teachers

By Mary Ellen Flannery There was one kid who never showed up to algebra class at his Washington State middle school. Then one day, he sidled in and his classmates showed him how to use the classroom’s new hand-held technology. “He’s been coming to class every since,” his teacher said. It’s hard to resist a [...]

Education Leaders to Meet for International Summit on Teaching

By Tim Walker Education leaders from around the world are gathering in New York City next month to shine a spotlight on the critical role teachers play in successful schools. The occasion is the first International Summit on the Teaching Profession and will convene on March 16-17. The National Education Association will be co-hosting the [...]

NEA Announces National, Independent Commission on Teacher Quality

By Michelle Hudgins Saying there is a fundamental need to shake up the nation’s thinking on quality teaching, the NEA this past week announced that it is creating a national, independent commission to study the teaching profession and make recommendations on maximizing teacher and teaching effectiveness. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel first spoke about plans [...]

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