Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

This story comes courtesy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in the Lone Star State. Surprised?

When classes start Aug. 25 in the tiny Harrold school district, there will be one distinct difference from years prior: Some of the teachers may have guns.

To me, it seems much more likely that one of these gun-toting teachers will accidentally or intentionally shoot someone rather than prevent an armed assault on the school. Not so, says the school district superintendent. He blames the supposed rise in school shootings on the federal government's policy to restrict guns in American schools.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that’s when all of these shootings started," Thweatt said. "Why would you put it out there that a group of people can’t defend themselves? That’s like saying 'sic ’em’ to a dog."

So, Mr. Superintendent, is there performance pay available for teachers who hit any available targets?

UPDATE: Enjoy a much wittier post than mine on this same topic -- which I discovered just after completing my post -- from the one and the only Kevin "Red Dawn" Carey.

Teacher Pay Down Under

The Australian teachers union is calling on the government to fund a voluntary system of performance pay that would be based on national teaching standards and would pay the most accomplished teachers $100,000 annually.

According to an article in The Australian:

Federal president Angelo Gavrielatos said a new career structure was required to move away from the current system under which teachers are forced to leave the classroom and undertake administrative positions to achieve further pay rises.

"This is a two-step process in giving professional pay for teachers," he said. "First we need to ensure as a country that we have a competitive professional salary to attract teachers in the numbers required to ensure a qualified teacher in front of every single classroom, no matter where it is in the country.

"Beyond that, I restate our preparedness to negotiate a framework that further recognises and rewards demonstrated teaching skills, knowledge and practice."

This seems to me to endorse something akin to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards but which would be built upon recognized national teaching standards and funded consistently across the country. More info here and here.

Kudos to the Strategic Management of Human Capital project for bringing this issue to my attention.

Musical Elective of the Week

The Musical Elective of the Week is Kasey Chambers.

Chambers, a 32-year-old Australian singer/songwriter, grew up in the bush and spent time as a youngster performing in The Dead Ringer Band, formed by her dad and mom, Bill and Diane Chambers.

Chambers' music is a mix of folk and country. To date, she has released four studio albums, beginning with The Captain in 1999 in her native Australia and in the U.S. in 2000. It was followed by Barricades & Brickwalls in 2001, Wayward Angel in 2004, and Carnival in 2006. 2008 brought a collaboration with husband and musician Shane Nicholson and produced the album Rattlin' Bones. (It will be released in the U.S. on September 16, 2008.)

Chambers is a huge star Down Under with all but her debut album having reached #1 on Australian music charts. In addition, she has received numerous Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards, including Best Female Artist, Best Country Album, Single of the Year, and Album of the Year.

For an introduction to Chambers' music, I'd recommend starting with her Barricades & Brickwalls album. It includes the title track as well as "Not Pretty Enough," "A Little Bit Lonesome" and "This Mountain."

Check out more at Kasey's website.

When I got home I got a honktonk song
I played it til my eyes went red
I grabbed a glass I said "kiss my ass"
I'm gonna drink you out of my head

-"A Little Bit Lonesome," from Barricades & Brickwalls (2002)

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Extra Credit--Past Musical Electives of the Week:

Lucinda Williams
Great Big Sea
Griffin House
Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer
Neil Finn
Ray LaMontagne
Stuart Stotts
Dan Wilson
Kathleen Edwards

I'm Excited About: Mama PhD

It's a book, a blog, and a t shirt. I realize, sadly, that I'm quite late to the party here-- but hey, at least I finally realized there was a party!

Mama(s) PhD are a group of women who seem pretty much like me and my friends, working hard to make it all happen. Their writings reflect a sense of the realness of life. Life, is oh so real. Like today, when I'm working hard with my colleague Doug Harris on our new survey instrument (while sipping lattes at Starbucks b/c their new free wifi is tres cool) and I get a text message from my nanny informing me that my son has pooped 4 times -- and it's only 10:30 am!

Ok...so... what am I to do about that? Respond to said, scary, text? Keep arguing with Doug about how best to measure "work centrality"? (Here's a measure--How about, if your toddler was pooping a lot but you were at work, would you stay at work?)

I dunno. Me, I texted back-- checked in-- and kept going. Conor seems to have survived the day.

Now, who wants to get me one of those hot t-shirts??

A Generational Divide Over Teacher Pay

Interesting story in today's Washington Post about the continuing saga over D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee's teacher compensation proposal.... Based on anecdotal evidence, the article suggests that support and opposition to Rhee's plan is breaking down along generational lines, with younger teachers generally supportive of the Chancellor's plan to base salaries, in part, on student performance and older teachers opposed.

I've always thought that union opposition to moving away from the traditional steps-and-lanes teacher salary schedule would lessen over time as a new generation of takes over leadership of national, state and local union chapters. That day hasn't quite arrived in most places. But the debate in D.C. certainly exposes the generational rift within the teaching profession and within union membership. And the ranks of younger teachers are swelling as the Baby Boomers retire.

I have to wonder how many potential teaching candidates we lose by our failure to recognize performance (based on student achievement or anything else) at any point in most of our teacher compensation systems. How many forsake the teaching profession entirely because of the design of the compensation system? The steps-and-lanes approach to paying teachers (based on years of experiences, advanced degree and PD credits) certainly doesn't warm the cockles of the younger generations' hearts. Have districts like Denver with differentiated compensation systems attracted individuals to teaching that might otherwise gone to another field? Perhaps it's too soon to tell, but I think this is an area that warrants further research.

Come Work with Me!

In an exciting development, my department of Educational Policy Studies at UW-Madison has just approved a search for an assistant professor of Sociology of Education!

Both recent or soon-to-be grads and advanced assistants are welcome to apply. For more details, please see the position vacancy listing.

Despite the low pay, I love my job. I say that all the time, and it's true. Come join me!

Moving Beyond Access

While the proportion of high school graduates going on to college has risen dramatically, the percent of entering college students finishing a bachelor’s degree has not. In 1972, just over half (53%) of all high school graduates went on to college and 39% of those students finished a BA within 8.5 years of leaving high school. Twenty years later, 81% of high school graduates attended college, but only 42% completed a bachelor’s degree. As a result, the proportion of the population attaining college access—and therefore “some college”—has increased much faster than the proportion of the population succeeding in earning college degrees.

What can we do about this? For some thoughts, see my new paper, A Federal Agenda for Promoting Student Success and Degree Completion, published today by the DC-based Center for American Progress.