Teachers way behind in teacher evaluation.

In a Journal report this morning, the topic of evaluating teachers is broached, link. The report quotes a local teachers union president.

Albuquerque Teachers Federation President Ellen Bernstein said the union would be willing to tie evaluations to student performance if the policy is carefully written and if teachers are involved in writing it.

Why haven't they written a fair and honest evaluation plan already?

Isn't at least part of the idea of any professional organization; to police your profession?

And since I have the floor; why not think of every possible measure of teacher performance, not just student performance? Why aren't student evaluations of their teachers on the table?

Right away I suppose, someone is going to write; you're an idiot. How could you tie a teacher's career to the opinions of a bunch of kids?

I am not suggesting it as the only measure. Again, I would suggest measuring in every way possible, reflecting on every measure, balancing them appropriately, and then coming to a conclusion.

If a majority of a teacher's students have any complaint about a teacher, someone should look at that complaint and do something about it, even if that means negating that complaint for some good and ethical reason.

The teachers union should have figured this one out long ago.

If they had, perhaps they would not be perceived, inaccurately imho, as "protecting bad teachers" from the consequences of their "badness".