Bostonist: Boston Public Schools Says No To Unqualified, Inexperienced Teachers

aticannah

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 11:05:02 -0500

Boston Public Schools did NOT say no to Teach For America. The Boston Teachers Unions did. According to the union's president Richard Stutman his "objections to Teach for America were purely budget driven." Get your facts right.

joeinboston

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:25:09 -0500

I'd rather have my child taught by a motivated teacher than by a tenured union hack any day. Seems to me that the unions are threatened. Beware of anyone who thinks Merit Pay is a bad idea...

Lucas

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:36:51 -0500

My work study job when I first got to college was to help in Boston Public School math classes. The teachers I worked with had been teaching for decades, were all certified, and were some of the absolute worst teachers I've ever seen. They were teaching the slope of a line, a mathematical concept that's only slightly harder than addition. They were teaching it directly from a book, and they were still getting it wrong. Straight up incorrect information on the blackboard, and they had no idea. I don't know much about Teach For America, but I know that certification and time don't automatically equal ability.