It’s hard to believe, but today the TNTP Blog turns one. Happy birthday, Blog! And many thanks to all of you, for taking the time to read our posts, think about them and share them.
While we’re breaking out the cake and ice cream to celebrate, here are our top 10 posts from the first year, in case you missed any of them:
Tim Daly
We stand by New York’s education chief, who has refused to buckle under union pressure to retreat from new standards that would raise the bar for students and teachers.
2. They’re Teachers, Not Missionaries
Amanda Kocon
The assertion that teachers do not go into the profession “for the money,” assumes that they are not like other professionals. And it prevents us from creating the kind of profession that will attract and retain high performers.
3. Go Ahead, Work in Your Pajamas
Ariela Rozman
We’re virtual: One out of three TNTPers works at a district or school, and almost everyone else works from a home office. Being virtual helps us better understand our clients and keep talented staff over the long haul, and we’ve learned how to make it work well.
4. TNTP’s Favorite Thinkers Review of 2013
Tim Daly and Guest Bloggers
There’s a lot to say about 2013, so we asked a dozen of the most interesting people in education to reflect on the most important development of the year, and what they think is likely to happen next.
Tim Daly and Dan Weisberg
AFT president Randi Weingarten’s recent reversals on Common Core standards and value-added teacher evaluations are representative of a troubling pattern of policy flip-flopping that is putting politics ahead of school improvement and undermining progress.
Dan Weisberg
Data show that reform efforts are slowly but surely improving outcomes for kids. With anti-testing and anti-accountability rhetoric ringing loud and clear, it’s time to speak up about the need for sustained change.
7. The Tea Party Comes to New York
Tim Daly
In New York, teachers unions are taking a page from the Tea Party’s playbook to try to delay improvements to teacher evaluations and threaten the Common Core standards. Will these tactics work any better here than they did in Washington, D.C.?
8. Don’t Put the Brakes on Teacher Evaluation
Tim Daly
Tying teacher evaluations to the Common Core State Standards will require significant change. But we must not delay or derail national efforts to make student learning a bigger factor in teacher evaluations and ensure the new standards are taken seriously.
9. Union Leaders Put Common Core in the Cold
Tim Daly
The NEA has joined the AFT in threatening to withdraw support for the Common Core. Make no mistake: While change is never easy, this has nothing to do with supposed “botched” implementation—and everything to do with avoiding accountability.
Anashay Wright
Students of color are removed from class for behavior at a higher rate than their peers. New federal guidance on student discipline is a start, but teachers also need to be better trained to manage classrooms fairly and effectively.
