Los Angeles County, CA | November 2, 1999 Election |
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Making teacher training revelantBy Marla WolkowitzCandidate for Board of Education Member; Culver City Unified School District |
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Currently, schools may take up to about 7 days for teacher training through the School Improvement Program. Parents, and some teachers question what takes place on these pupil free days and how is what is learned actually showing up in the classroom.Over (more than) the past fifteen years we have seen an expansion in pupil free days. Through the School Improvement Program, these days are designed to offer our teaching staff the opportunity of improving their performance, or, learn new teaching techniques, become better informed about new legislation and how changes must be implemented in the classroom.
Teachers need to have a lot of say as to what their needs are to be more effective. Does the elementary school teacher, who's test scores indicate that their students are performing at the 70th% really need to take a 1/2 day class on techniques? Or, does the teacher who's class scores in the 25th% benefit by this time? Wouldn't pupil free days be better spent zeroing in on how to more effectively teach out of the textbook that has been adopted and already in the hands of students? Shouldn't teachers who already do a superior job, based on the principals' recommendation or their mentors recommendation be allowed to attend seminars of choice off campus instead of sitting through a course they know they don't need? And, shouldn't parents and students be apprised of the outcome of the pupil free days and how they impact our children? |
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