Peter Graffagnino is a resident of Bridgeville.
As an educator in public schools for over 35 years, as both a teacher and an administrator, I have read with dismay about the state’s political arm making decisions as to how to address student achievement in literacy. Shouldn’t these decisions be made at the local level, where teachers and administrators know their populations well? I have taught and been an administrator in both wealthy and poor districts in New York State. In each instance, the superintendent of schools in each district is the person responsible for establishing which educational avenues to take. He or she does so with advice from his or her districtwide educational leaders, including building-level administrators. To depend on outside consultants to make decisions on both teacher evaluations and student performance is not in the best interest of anybody who works “in the field of education.” Let me give you one personal example of what I mean in reference to “teacher” evaluations. It is an extreme example; however, it is an important one, to say the least.
At one point in my teaching career, I was asked to teach fifth grade students who had all been retained in prior grades. Some had been retained once, others twice. To say that they were struggling with the educational system is an understatement. Some of the boys had the beginning of facial hair in elementary school! These were children who were so far behind the norms for their ages that it was ludicrous to think they were ever going to meet the educational standards set for their age levels. Should I as their “teacher” be evaluated on their standardized test scores? Of course not! These were children, both boys and girls, who were not classified as “special education individuals” for a variety of reasons. I was asked to teach this group of children because I was known for thinking outside of the traditional educational box. Did I do wonders and get them on “grade level” by the end of the year? Once again, of course not! But I strove to make them successful, as their limitations allowed.
Not working in Delaware’s educational system puts me at a disadvantage. But, from where I sit, the state’s decision to have outside consultants be empowered to set the educational direction for its student population and its teachers is a grave mistake. For what it’s worth!
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
