Mr. AB is a former TFA-er still toiling in the trenches. He’s a fantastic blogger, too. Most recent: 8 tips for new teachers. Here’s one:
Spend your time on what will maximize student learning, not necessarily the same things as what will make you look or feel like the best teacher.
My personal rules are as follows: time for students (tutoring, intervention, etc.) is first, time for parents is next (home visits, phone calls home, etc.), time for planning is third (analyzing data, resequencing LTPs), and time for prep (posters, overheads, finding the perfect literature link) is last.
Right on.
Yet is there a single Ed School out there that teaches this? Does anyone rigorously analyze the non-classroom time of teachers? Does anyone know the R.O.I. (measured in student performance, gain over baseline) of, say, 5 discretionary hours per week of phoning parents versus lesson planning? If so, ping me at Michael.Goldstein@matchschool.org
K-12 needs a serious dose of Moneyball. Go Sox.
-Guestblogger Mike Goldstein