Comments on: Three Oakland teachers earn national distinction

By: John

John — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 05:33:54 +0000

John says ‘Teacher Says’ it SO WELL there’s nothing left to say. I hate it when that happens!

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:08:59 +0000

I remember Ms. Jones. She taught my older son when he was at Montera a couple of years ago. She didn’t seem the least bit phased by having a student with autism, and he did so well with math that year. His math teachers at Skyline don’t seem nearly as invested, and he’s struggling more now.

I wish we had more teachers like Ms. Jones. I don’t know all the criteria for credentialing or for the awards, but I think she’s one teacher who deserves any and all recognition she receives.

By: teacher

teacher — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:48:54 +0000

For some of us, the intricate bureaucratic and academic hoops of credentialing (3.5 year process), advancing on the pay scale (by taking grad courses, etc.), and receiving national board certification are incredibly challenging in terms of money and time.

And while it can’t hurt to study and reflect on best practices, I think there is no *guarantee* that being good at going to school and navigating bureacracy are going to translate into good teaching.

Here’s one formula for making good teachers: Training + experience + continuing to care after the initial enthusiasm wears off + intelligence + an ability to listen + organizational skills + energy + joy + patience + administrative support + rigorous standards + mental and emotional toughness + a general appreciation for other humans and their differences + ??.

No problem!

By: district employee

district employee — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 05:57:32 +0000

interesting. i found one of the worst teachers i’ve ever seen (sends students to the office for raising their hands at the “wrong time”, most lessons involve copying from an old science text, leaves campus mid-day without a substitute) is in this database. and so are a number of people who are no longer classroom teachers, though they’ve moved on to do other excellent things in the district (content coaching, principal, etc.).