Confessions of a Blogaholic

Here, I've taken excerpts from Gov. Strickland's State of the State speech and added my own reactions...

1) "we will also add new topics including global awareness and life skills to the curriculum"----Absolutely. Global awareness and life skills are the way of the future. Access to better technologies will aid in this endeavor.

2) "Under my plan, the Ohio Department of Education will set standards for Ohio schools requiring innovative teaching formats. Interdisciplinary methods, project-based learning, real world lessons, and service learning will be the norm."----Complete agreement. What a progressive plan. One I would stand behind 100%, and even be willing to lead the charge as a teacher leader. However, please ensure that adequate training and time during the school day will be made available to implement these projects.

3) "Over a ten-year period we will add 20 instructional days to the school calendar bringing Ohio's learning year up to the international average of 200 days."---You lose me here. What is the rationale for this? I would support it if I knew there would be funding to keep struggling school buildings and districts open for an extra month each year. Currently, my building has to shut off the heat at 4pm and over the weekends. Show me the money, and I'll show you support.

4) "We will create community engagement teams in our schools."---I am entertaining the idea of this. Community engagement seems lacking in much of rural Ohio, but how do we get parents and community members who don't value education to see the importance in it? How do we get parents with lackadaisical attitudes to engage in the schools?

5) "And for the first time the state will provide dedicated resources for instructional materials and enrichment activities" ---From....?

6) "We will celebrate learning with new academic achievement competitions and awards that make learning as publicly praised as athletics. With the creation of the Ohio Academic Olympics, students will compete in science, in math, in writing, in debate, in the arts, and in technology."---Coming from a school currently cutting extra- and co-curricular activities, can you promise that interested students from any interested school will have the ability to participate in these activities? How will you ensure that my kids will have the same access to these competitions as the kids in the suburban districts (with more money)?

7) "Third, under my plan, we will improve educator quality."----uh-oh. Now you're on slippery territory.

8) "we will revolutionize teacher preparation and development in Ohio with a residency program. Just as future doctors begin their careers under the watchful eye of an experienced colleague, we will give our new teachers the benefit of thoughtful guidance from an accomplished senior teacher. After a four-year residency, successful candidates will earn their professional teaching license."----Pros: The experience gained, possibility of doing away with subs and using in-house residents, having an "aide" in the classroom. The pros are extensive, and I think it is a wonderful idea, but let us not forget....If we are going to compare teachers to doctors (as you do in your speech, Governor), if we are going to expect teachers to have an educational background comparable to a doctor, then we need to pay them accordingly. For the amount of education and training teachers must already have, they are incredibly underpaid, but they do it for the love of the job. If we are going to treat them like doctors, they should be paid as such (and no, I don't mean teachers should get a 6-figure salary, but there should definitely be more equality in teacher pay across this state).

9) "Let me say that not everyone is cut out to be a teacher. And the residency program will identify them. But even for teachers already in the field, we must have the ability to remove them from the classroom if their students are not learning. Right now, it's harder to dismiss a teacher than any other public employee. Under my plan, we will give administrators the power to dismiss teachers for good cause, the same standard applied to other public employees."---Define good cause.

10) "my plan creates a research and development function within the Department of Education"---What career path do I need to take to be a part of this in the future?

11) "We will make our assessments both relevant and rigorous by replacing the Ohio Graduation Test with the ACT and three additional measures."----Amen

12) "Students will also take statewide 'end of course' exams"---scratch my response to #11 if we're just moving from one standardized test to another.

13) "Fifth, under my plan, we will establish an unprecedented level of school district accountability and transparency."---Where is parent accountability? Will schools be compared to each other or is this to replace AYP?

14) "Under my plan, school districts that choose this option will not have to go to the ballot year after year just to stay even with inflation."-----Amen again. And teachers will not have to worry year after year about having a job!!

I BELIEVE in Ohio education, and I BELIEVE in the education of my students. I will perform at my best 110% of the time, and I will do everything you (the government, school, parents, and community) ask of me, so long as you give me the resources and time to do this job. I don't need money to feel fulfilled, but I want to be respected as a devoted, caring professional.