April 25, 2010 05:01 PM UTC

Colo. teacher bill ignites firestorm of support, opposition

• 0 Comments
• by: Libertad

All find this bill at the top of the list in terms of impact. Some say its positive, others destructive.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_1…

High school English teacher Ben Jackson isn’t afraid of a proposed state law that would tie his job status to how well his students do on tests. It’s a teacher’s job, Jackson said, to instill students with a “desire to succeed,” to make them care about state exams – even ones that don’t affect their grades. The legislation would ensure schools keep teachers “not because they grow older, but because they get better,” Jackson said.

But to Jason Nurton, who teaches reading at a Fort Collins middle school, it is unfair to “judge a teacher’s effectiveness on one test, on one day, when the student has absolutely no buy-in.”

Nurton concedes Colorado should reform its teacher evaluation system, but not with Senate Bill 191 – the year’s largest education reform proposal, which has pitted teachers against each other, teachers against superintendents, and the state teachers union against Capitol reformers.

Tears, rallies, ad blitzes. Admonitions, outrage and praise filled the Old Supreme Court Chambers in the Capitol last week as the Senate Education Committee heard testimony about the bill.

As always I find it interesting to see what tact’s have been taken in pursuit of “the money”, its always about the money.

So if “learning is more then a test score” then isn’t paying taxes more then making a payment?