Trustees Propose Super-acronym School Program

janoszd — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 21:53:09 +0000

A recent convening of the National Board of Governors of Education (NBGE) resulted in the adoption of a new interdisciplinary school program concept called TEAMSCHMEB-D.

The concept of TEAMSCHMEB-D is broad and all encompassing. It stands for Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics, Science, Computers, History, Music, English, Business, and Dance.

“We were getting a little tired of hearing from all these people about all their STEM and STEAM and such,” said James Wallace, chair of the NBGE ad-hoc committee that proposed the concept. “These folks have just served to devalue all of the other school subjects.”

Every school will now be required to incorporate an all-encompassing TEAMSCHMEB-D activity during TEAMSCHMEB-D Awareness Week. When asked if that would be enough time to cover everything, Larry Feinstein, Superintendent of Springfield Schools, said, “It’s a bit of a conundrum since that’s the same week we usually cover study skills, but we’ll be able to pack it in there. We always find creative ways to deal with unfunded mandates.”

Despite lobbying efforts, some school programs are still left feeling like they’re on the outside. “We can appreciate that kids love to do cool projects like make rockets and code new apps, but the fact that we’d do anything in school that’s doesn’t include sports is kind of ridiculous,” said Tom Butler, head of the Alliance for Sports in Schools. “I mean, would it be so hard to just slide another “S” into the acronym? It would still sound the same.”

Mr. Butler made suggestions for new projects that might make that connection. “Line a kid up in goal and shoot the rocket at him. That would be just tremendous.”

Ana Wallace, director of the Foreign Language Teachers Association said, “We really wracked our brains for hours in there, but we just couldn’t find a way to include Spanish, French, Korean, Latin, German, Japanese, Mandarin, and Swahili. We strive for cultural diversity, but it’s real tough to incorporate SFKLGJMS without having the advantage of at least a few other vowels.”

The president of the Home Economics Teachers Association could not be reached for comment.

Politician Proposes NFL Style Draft for New Teachers

janoszd — Sat, 10 May 2014 20:07:23 +0000

Image Credit: Sean Locke Photography/Shutterstock

A member of the Massachusetts General Assembly has introduced a measure that would allow for the state’s neediest school districts to draft the most talented new teachers using a format similar to the NFL Draft.

Tom Strassmore (5th District), the bill’s sponsor, believes that the legislation is necessary to force equality in our schools. “We have to ensure that students in schools that may not have the means to attract highly effective teachers have a fair chance to be in classrooms with the best teachers,” said Strassmore at a recent meeting of the state education boards where he announced the proposal.

If adopted, Assembly Resolution number 3874 (AR-3874) would also allow for the creation of neutral site combine events where district officials could preview, interview, and test prospective talent. While a special oversight committee will determine the final locations and format for these combines, several events are recommended in the proposed bill including “ScanTron speed grading,” “hall pass checking,” and “copier jam clearing.” Instead of the 40-yard dash, competing teachers would do the “40-yard dash down the hall to make it to their next class while hurdling backpacks on the floor.”

Statistics and data from student teaching might also be considered. A student English teacher’s average essay grading time or an elementary school teacher’s bulletin board changeover time might be the difference between a first round or third round selection.

Anne Romano, Superintendent of the Pinewood school district, is cautious about the proposal, but also believes that it has some merit. “If we could somehow determine that a teacher has a strong enough bladder to make it through four class periods in a row, it would give us a clue that they’d one day be able to reach at least partially effective status on student growth objectives,” she said.

What might the potential draft day look and be like? Some speculated that the State Education Chancelor might be booed by attending parents when they come onto the stage to announce the first pick in the draft. Expect school board members and administrators from each represented district in a “war room” like setting, reacting to previous picks and pouring over their selection criteria.

“If this goes into effect, we’ll certainly be in a high stakes environment,” said school trustee Len Giordano. “We had better take every opportunity to find the best and brightest.” Giordano also wondered if school districts would be able to use current staff to “trade up” for multiple picks in the draft.

As school officials consider the potential impact, young teachers who heard of the announcement also expressed some concerns. Brandon Wallace, a junior practicum student at Alexander State College, pondered the impact of the potential draft on his social media. He asked, “I’ll have to be extra conscious about what I tweet so I don’t negatively affect my pre-draft ranking.”

Whether some might opt to enter the draft early instead of picking up a Masters degree or special education certification will remain to be seen.

When asked if bill passage might be a precursor to allowing for big signing bonuses, Strassmore responded, “Perhaps, but we probably are some time away from that.”

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﻿Trustees Propose Super-acronym School Program

Politician Proposes NFL Style Draft for New Teachers

Trustees Propose Super-acronym School Program