Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday reminded 80 of the state's teacher educators today that they have a vital role to play in improving success for Kentucky students.
Professor Doug Griggs introduced Holliday to the Kentucky Association of Teacher Educators, meeting at Georgetown College, by referring to this morning's story about state testing in the Courier Journal, and reminding Holliday of his quote:
"Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday called the results 'abysmal' and said the state's schools must do more to get students ready for postsecondary education and the workplace."Abysmal kinda slipped out, Holliday quipped.
But Holiday provided a peek at the future for teacher educators.
"Who teaches the kids whose performance is abysmal? Who teaches the teachers who teach the kids whose performance is abysmal? We all have a dog in this fight. ...Eventually ...[student results] will be tracked back to your program...We would like to put you guys out of business as far as developmental courses are concerned,"
The commissioner shared KDE's new vision: Every child proficient and prepared for success.
This is very nearly perfect. By that I mean it's a lot like our mission statement back at Cassidy School: "Every child a proficient learner and good citizen." Glad to see the state is catching up. : )
3 comments:
I see absolutely no leadership here.
As the Commissioner of Education, Dr. Holliday offers few concrete ways to improve education in Kentucky beyond the obligatory and time-worn phrases like "We need more school days for learning to succeed" and "Teachers need to work harder" and "Maybe we need to take a real look at charter schools."
What Dr. Holliday should be saying is that kids will do better when 1) class sizes are smaller 2) parents are held accountable for making sure their students do their homework 3) students in Kentucky receive daily physical education rather than being forced to remain in their desks the entire day at the middle school and high school levels.
I think it difficult to lead when you don't inspire. A true reformer would make his presence felt in the schools.
When "Kentucky Teacher" arrives, I can no longer read it. It goes straight into the recycling bin.
Holliday supported charter schools and many more efforts than cited here....not just a couple of things.
I can understand someone not liking the direction the state is going, but it seems very clear to me from his leadership what direction the state is headed.
Holliday has communicated more broadly and more effectively than any commissioner before him. Some of that is due to new technological possibilities, but he has used them all pretty effectively.
He deserves a little more credit in my mind.
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