Jill Tucker deserves a big thank you, as does Kristina Rizga, for making a statement on the unreliability of test scores in judging schools. (Making the grade," Jill tucker's review of Kristina Rizga's Mission High, Sunday Datebook, August 2-8, 2015)
Before my retirement last year, I taught and trained teachers on four continents and was at first surprised to see teachers cheating, prompting students during the administration of tests. Then I realized that they were being judged not by their performance but by their students' test scores. I was so glad that we didn't do that here.
In her review of Kristina Rizga's Mission High, Jill Tucker states correctly that test scores are more about demographics than teachers or quality of instruction. She tells parents they should visit schools to evaluate the instruction rather than depending on test scores, no one ever believes her.
I believe her, and I'm glad that Kristina Rizga did what Tucker advises--right at Mission High and not for a day but for four years!!
I also believe that Mission High, like Reign of Error and Teacher Wars, is a book everyone who cares about education should read.
"If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd choose San Francisco, and if I could work anywhere, I'd choose City College of San Francisco." That's what I said in 1994, marveling that my dreams had come true. Now, retired since 2014, I'm still in love with both San Francisco and CCSF.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Slow Down--They Live Here
On my way to a baby shower in the Tenderloin for a former student, I noticed more of the banners proclaiming, "Slow down! We live here." Now I see them in Arabic, Tagalog, Spanish, and Vietnamese. (I have them here in the first three language, but I failed to get the one in Vietnamese even though the mother-to-be, a former student, is from--and in--Vietnamese community.)
The "slow down" directive is in reference to traffic, I think, but it could be used to pertain to closing services too: Slow down and reflect before closing a service to the community.
I'm thinking of the very sudden closure of City College's Civic Center at 750 Eddy, close to the people in the Tenderloin, who weren't told until the first day of the semester, January 12, that they could no longer attend classes there and were sent off to other parts of the city.
I'm glad that on August 17, the students in the Tenderloin will have classes at 1170 Market, much closer to home.
But I do think it would be good to speed up community services and slow down before cutting them off for those who live there.
The "slow down" directive is in reference to traffic, I think, but it could be used to pertain to closing services too: Slow down and reflect before closing a service to the community.
I'm thinking of the very sudden closure of City College's Civic Center at 750 Eddy, close to the people in the Tenderloin, who weren't told until the first day of the semester, January 12, that they could no longer attend classes there and were sent off to other parts of the city.
I'm glad that on August 17, the students in the Tenderloin will have classes at 1170 Market, much closer to home.
But I do think it would be good to speed up community services and slow down before cutting them off for those who live there.
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