I, too, am inspired when Ginger posts her thoughts and experiences with her students. I wish everyone posted more of these types of messages! I will say, in response to Laura's interaction with her Supt., that Superintendents are faced with the stark reality of test scores and reporting to the public. I believe (at least in my case/ my district) that Supt.'s would LOVE to not have that burden to deal with - but laws and bureaucracy make it so! Unfortunately communities are judging schools based on numbers --- test scores. I work in a district where one of our schools in judged in just this way through the media, school report card, and in all of our interactions with ISBE. It's unfair. This school is incredible and none of that is noted. It's like paddling upstream! Parents do come to our schools on a regular basis and they SEE the great things our teachers are doing with their children - it's the community at-large (state) that doesn't know or care about those things. There really has to be a balance between the time we devote to testing -and how we report to the community - and the time we spend nurturing professional development and the great work we do for kids. Laura - I DO believe administrators can do both! It might mean that we end up spending more late nights in our offices - but we can still be in classrooms to see that spark in the students' eyes when they've made a connection or just read a great book - and we can have meaningful conversations with teachers about how to make those events happen on a regular basis and not just "happy coincidences" as Ellin Keene puts it!! The thing is we might not get all of our paperwork done that day. Hopefully we're all lucky enough to have bosses who understand that balance. I just think it's totally unrealistic to say that Superintendents should not be overly concerned with test scores....they are a reality and they're here to stay! I hope you don't get out of administration because of it - it's the exact place we need to be if we are ever going to make systemic change.
Carrie _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
