McCarthyism in Public Education

Since when was naming names anything other than McCarthyism?

I can hardly think of a better way to drive people out of teaching than the LA Times’ cynical decision to post online the names and “ratings” of 6000 LA Unified elementary teachers. Can you imagine the panic that will ensue as parents all over Encino freak out when they read this. I found it all online and I’m not going to provide direct links.

Teachers are just the latest scapegoats (it’s usually the kids). And for what? Some strange belief that in destroying public education and the careers of many teachers that something better will come out of it?

What would that be?

The worst effect of naming names is to give interfering parents even more power to create havoc. Can you tell me how principals will be able to deal with parents insisting on some teachers and not others?

What we are really talking about here is not teacher evaluations. We are talking about:

1. whether our kids are getting the best teachers or just mediocre ones. 2. whether truly awful teachers can be pushed out.

There really is no solution to the first one beyond making life easier for teachers with better entry routes into the profession and better training and support. The solution is not McCarthyism. It’s the second issue that is really what’s at stake here. The local teachers unions have destroyed their credibility by resisting efforts to drive out poor teachers. My kids have been on the receiving end of several incompetent teachers. It was their vindictiveness - basically they tried to push kids out of their class by failing them early and they tormented the others. The principal seemed powerless to do anything about it.

Standardized testing and value-added methods can and should be part of the evaluation, but they are secondary because data is always misused and distorted. The best form of evaluation is by having experienced teachers, including one’s colleagues, visit the classroom to give their own assessment. Peer review. There should be a consensus arrived at and teacher ratings should remain confidential to schools so that remedial action can be taken. Unions should be sensible here. It works for doctors and other professionals and it’s better than the alternatives. Teaching is a really demanding occupation and teachers deserve no less respect. This Huffington Post article neatly explains more of what I’m getting at.

In the end though, it isn’t about those flailing desperate parents or their kids or the leadership of LA Unified and the administrators of its schools. It’s not even about venal politicians (why hasn’t Villaraigosa condemned this?). It’s about us, it’s about giving in to rage, it’s about a Race to the Bottom and the LA Times is leading the charge.

If I were a teacher in LA Unified I would boycott the LA Times (I realize the union is trying to organize one). If enough teachers and their families and friends cancel their subscriptions publicly, perhaps that will get their attention. If a newspaper wants to destroy its own circulation by practicing McCarthyism, then teachers should fight back. All for one, one for all.