I am loathe to respond to comments that are drafted simply to prompt a response...it only serves to encourage shallow, flatulent writing by certain commenters. However, this time I'll take the bait. Neither Voltaire, nor The Underground hates Morton Sherman. For all we know, he may be a fine human being, a caring grandfather and a loyal, loving husband. This is why every criticism about Sherman, has related to his role as ACPS Superintendent. This is also why the many comments that are loaded with personal attacks, threats and abusive language have been deleted. Again, we have no idea what sort of person Mort is.
However, he is a horrible superintendent. His actions as the head of our city schools constitute nothing short of educational negligence. Not a day passes that I do not see the institutionalized insanity, wrought by Sherman initiatives. Not a class period goes by that I do not see students suffering from teaching/scheduling models that Sherman endorses.
Never once have we underestimated Mort's ability to put his 'vision' into practice. He has a plan that is as comprehensive as it is secretive and self-perpetuating. If his plan were one that was open to scrutiny and debate, if it took stakeholder opinions into account, if it were based on best practices, then a dialogue with Sherman might be possible. This is not how this superintendent rolls, though!
At a recent meeting with an elementary staff, Sherman stood up to pitch his latest scheme...the extended school day/year. He touted the increased hires that his budget made possible. One brave teacher stood up and queried Sherman, asking "How can you boast about adding staff when you've placed nineteen paraprofessionals positions on the chopping block?" Sherman immediately denied that the woman was correct. When she cited a document that his office he commented that she had the particulars wrong. Only after producing the paper from Sherman's office did Sherman admit that, indeed, he had proposed eliminating the positions in question.
If anyone believes that Sherman's tour of schools is an open and honest dialogue intended to gauge teacher support, or if anyone thinks for a moment that the longer school day is an opportunity for teachers to prepare for instruction in ways that they believe are most effective...think again. The plan for the twenty-one hours is already in place. Call Mort's North Carolina consultant Brenda and ask her how the added time will be used...PLP is the answer, you'll hear. The dreaded and completely bogus Professional Learning Plans will now be a quarterly exercise in futility. The twenty-one hours will be consumed with PLP meetings and implementation. Nary a minute of the extra hours will be directed toward teacher centered planning. The real kicker is that the whole PLP expansion has been in the works for months and was the impetus for hiring Brenda many months ago, and long before Sherman's 'dialogue' on even adding the extra time was ever unveiled.
So, should Morton Sherman be hated? No, not personally. But we who know better have every right to revile, despise and, yes, even hate what he has done and continues to do to our schools. And we should certainly hate the way he goes about it!
"A witty saying proves nothing."
— Voltaire
It is unconscionable what one man has done to this system...true, there was failure in the schools before, but never on the scale or at the cost that it is now. Teachers, you are screwed for many years to come! Sherman has put his own people and programs in place in such an inextricable way that it will be a very long time before a modicum of sanity is restored. If Mort were fired today the damage would be felt long after his parting.
ReplyDeleteLet's put that theory to the test.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that consultant Brenda (Clark?) was consulting outside of John Adams. I was under the impression she was there at our new principal's request. She is listed as our new principal's third reference on his resume. That just makes me think they are a nepotistic package deal headhunted by Mort, and this conclusion just adds to my displeasure in our system's current philosophy of school reform. On top of that, another consultant on retainer at JA happens to be the wife of our new principal's first reference on his resume. Does that strike anyone else as a bit unethical, or is it just me?
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear personal attacks are deleted from this blog. I'm sure Catwoman, Dr. Hugo Strange, The Joker, Mr. Freeze, Number One, Lex Luthor, The Penguin, The Riddler, Scarface, and Poison Ivy (Mort and ACPS the School Board, as described by Voltaire) appreciate the practice as well.
ReplyDeleteMeow!!!
ReplyDeleteWord on King Street is that Peabody still isn't over the fact that he wasn't named Lex Luthor!
ReplyDeleteThe bungling buffoons that are our school board were not attacked personally. Even Voltaire's photo of them was their 'official' photo as the board. The commenter who thought the 'Wating for Batman' post was offensive, probably can't bear to watch "The Daily Show" either!
ReplyDeleteNot attacked personally, but they are bungling buffoons? Hmmm, I think the definition of personal attack must be open for debate too. Name calling is personal.
ReplyDeleteI love "The Daily Show", especially like knowing who is making me laugh. Can't imagine Jon hiding his wit.
ReplyDelete"We who know better...."??????
ReplyDeleteLet's be clear. It was Dr. Sherman and the School Board who made teachers the enemy by relegating us to the bottom of the heap in an ever-thickening caste system. Teachers are being crushed under a heap of self-appointed experts and layers of administrators who demand that we use our precious time to make them look good. Let us please make schools about teaching and learning again. Let us not delude ourselves into thinking that those things most easily measured are also those things most worth measuring.
ReplyDelete"Call Mort's North Carolina consultant Brenda and ask her how the added time will be used...PLP is the answer, you'll hear."
ReplyDeleteActually, a committee of TEACHERS has been meeting to draft language that will dictate how the extra time should be used. The document they are creating stipulates LOCAL control of the time by agreement between teachers and principals. If Voltaire had bothered to take an active part in that process instead of taking potshots from shadows and spreading rumors, he/she/they could have done something productive to help ensure that everyone's worst fears don't come true. Instead, he/she/they will hurl rocks, hide hands, and then later on stroke themseleves here as the vigilant voice from the shadows that keeps everyone honest and informed.
Any comment on the article in Friday's Post about Teacher evaluations in DC?
ReplyDeleteThings which are dictated do not allow for autonomous control, that is the very definition of dictated. The exact use of the extra hours of our teachers' time has already been determined. This committee rubbish is just that, a sham perpetrated upon our teachers and community. Committees are designed to generate ideas and present them to be turned into policy, not the other way around. Sherman creates policies and then uses the pseudo committee scheme to sell the ideas to sheepish teachers and ignorant community members.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 6:50 could not be more on the mark...all of this was put in place long before the 'vision' was ever put before the teachers. You are deluding yourselves if you think it is/was otherwise. Anyone who does not, by now, see how this administration operates is either complicit or ignorant.
ReplyDeleteWhen asked for my input on how the extra 21 hours should be spent, I commented that many English and Math teachers were already tuturing in the Writing and Math Center after school, and that this should count in the 21 hours. I was told that "Yes, that does fit within the parameters of how the time can be spent." I'd bet anything they'll continue to expect free tutoring from teachers after school, and that the extra time will be wasted in horrible data chats or PLP meetings. Upon which, we should all reconsider whether we really want to give up the time we already volunteer. Fair is fair. If you waste my time in one activity, don't expect all the freebies you currently get...
ReplyDeleteI'm taking Mort at his word. At our school, he told us that he didn't believe in cookie cutter approaches to instruction, and that we should do whatever we believe is effective. So several of us have ditched all the crap that we thought was mandatory...FREEDOM!!!
ReplyDeleteI spent 6 hours today trying to make my instruction fit the cookie cutter, and somehow still be authentic for my students. When push comes to shove, unfortunately, the cookie cutter wins. I can't lose my job. How do I get a piece of that freedom?
ReplyDeleteYeah...I was being facetious. Mort did say we should do what we believed was effective, but we're all back to the cookie cutter, too.
ReplyDeleteEmbarrassed and whimpy
In a blog which solicits yea's and nay's such as this, verbal killing of the messenger (as represented by Voltaire) is to be expected.
ReplyDeleteCheap attempt to throw off from the real topic at hand, a modus operandi in and of itself, and may I say, a method often used by Mort himself.
Keep your spirits up, Teachers and keep the petal to the metal. You're being heard.
In my mind and sometimes aloud, the 'name-calling' does feel good. Sometimes, it is the only way to release the stress brought on by the seemingly illogical and insensitive. I am actually insulted by the 'cookie-cutter' approach to staff development and teacher professional development. I have multiple degrees, read professional journals, attend conference, confer with colleagues, etc., and yet I constantly made to feel unworthy in terms of my education, training, and experience by the powers that be in ACPS. Why is it always the assumption that there is a problem with the teachers?
ReplyDeleteBecause that is the only variable they can control, and control they will. Regardless of effectiveness or rationale.
ReplyDelete@3:28: Here's a nice piece from Linda Darling-Hammond (who should be our Sec. of Education) that seems to echo exactly what you're saying.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/darling-hammond-us-vs-highest-achieving-nations-in-education/2011/03/22/ABkNeaCB_blog.html
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
ReplyDelete— Martin Luther King Jr.
@8:13, the article you cite, includes several references to professional development, including the National Writers Project. Is this superior to the Columbia Writing Project, that the Sup has instituted in ACPS? Linda Darling-Hammond seems to be advocating professional development similar to what is being opposed here. Please elaborate why her suggested methods are different and better?
ReplyDelete