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The ghost: New starting times, bigger class sizes, laying off of teachers—the disarray that IS PPS
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Written by The Ghost
Editor’s note: The Ghost is a new feature that allows any of our writers or readers to vent under the cloak of anonymity.
No one asked me, but…
-Remember when we were in middle school and some geniuses floated the idea of starting high school later in the day because in Pittsburgh, starting at 7:45 or so is just not doable. That idea almost gathered enough strength to become reality. Can you imagine starting at 10 and getting done sometime after 5?
I bring this up because this is the same district that will start high school at shortly after 7 next year. Somewhere along the line in the past few years, someone must have conducted a study that completely went in an opposite direction of the oter study a few years ago. Amazing. People are being paid for this type of work?
-Speaking of being paid, you probably are aware that 300-400 teachers are about to be fired thanks to Pennsylvania’s cuts to public education. This will mean HUGE class sizes beginning next year. Let’s put aside yet another PPS philosophy that preached smaller class sizes equating to better learning a few years ago to think about this issue. As students, we’ve all seen numerous non-teachers—”suits”–walking around the building during the last few years. Ask any teacher and they will tell you that there are almost as many administrators as there are teachers these days. Let’s put that straight: there are almost as many people in PPS not working in the classroom as there are teachers working with kids.
And let’s get this straighter: we’re not talking about firing the people who are NOT working with the students.
Um, but you want better test scores, right?
Does this situation–in which the district is going to fire teachers but keep administrators—seem fishy to anyone else?
–Let’s face it, we need to get out of Reizenstein. If the building isn’t cold, then it’s hot. If the roof isn’t leaking, then some pipe has burst and it smells weird. But let’s be clear: if you like to see the sky or landscape, or if you like the occasional open window for some fresh air, then kknow we aren’t going to a great new location. I’m all for renovating Peabody and moving, but I don’t have any delusions about “more of the same.” I expect it….and with 35 kids in a classroom.
I’m changing my idea for a major in college. I want to pursue educational research. I figure that I can make a lot of money, survive budget cuts that affect teachers and just revise my findings a few years later. Hey, and Bill Gates and his people will say they need more people like me. Sounds like an easy gig.
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May 7th, 2012 at 6:44 am
Educational research is know for its churns. To churn is bad. The weak get fooled too often. The weak get weaker.
To tear down one stadium and build another is churn. Poor citizens and students.
To tear down a T-stop and build another (Gateway Center) is churn. Poor bus riders.
To mess with schools, their grades, their start times, their afterschool opportunities, that’s sad.
I hope you’re future as an educational researcher and top policy wonk leaves you broken and without extra spending money because the logical ones prevailed, and started their schools at a decent hour.
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May 7th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
Oh, there’s no research showing early start times are good for high school students. They’ve just decided to do it anyway. It’s one of the few things that is actually solid research — not just done once, but shown to be true repeatedly.
There’s plenty of bad research, for sure, and it’s extremely difficult to do good education research (too many variables are different between schools), BUT this is the administration following a plan, not following the research or the needs of students.
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May 8th, 2012 at 10:42 pm
I have to love the fact that a student newspaper asks what Pittsburgh media doesn’t ask–about the firing of teachers but retention of administrators, You’re right. It makes zero sense.
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May 9th, 2012 at 5:00 pm
I absolutely love this article, <3
Good job, whoever wrote this & RIGHT ON MAN!
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May 10th, 2012 at 8:46 am
NO teacher should be fired. I can think of a great many administrators who could be let go, however.
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May 10th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
I want to thank you for putting it right. This is an outrage. A complete and utter outrage.
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May 11th, 2012 at 5:24 pm
We need admin too…
The office needs staff to get things done. There is a lot more to running a school than teachers. I agree with all of your points, but you are mad at the wrong people. It is not the districts fault that they have no money. If you want to rant rant at govenor corbet. His budget cuts have given money to jails instead of schools. That seems counter-productive to me…
A student
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May 11th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Unless I am mistaken, the writer was talking about central office administration. Any teacher and any student would tell you that in-school staff of all kinds should not be cut.
As for ranting about the wrong party, I disagree. The cuts are horrible and the governor is off base, but the idea of cutting within this district starts and ends with central administration. Tough choices must be made—but not at the expense of those working in the schools working with the kids.
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