Seeing teachers as technicians ignores what else they give students: confidence, moral support and inspiration | Get Schooled

Seeing teachers as technicians ignores what else they give students: confidence, moral support and inspiration | Get Schooled:

Seeing teachers as technicians ignores what else they give students: confidence, moral support and inspiration

by Maureen Downey

Spurred by federal policy, many states, including Georgia, are moving to teacher evaluations that consider student progress on tests. But a rising chorus is challenging the reliance on testing to define a good teacher. (AJC photo)

Frequent blog contributor Peter Smagorinsky is Distinguished Research Professor of English Education at the University of Georgia and recipient of the 2012 Sylvia Scribner Award from the American Educational Research Association for conducting scholarship that has influenced thinking and research of learning and instruction and that represents a significant advancement in the field’s understanding.
Here is a thoughtful piece he wrote on teacher evaluations.

By Peter Smagorinsky
When I was a kid growing up in Fairfax County, Va., my father became head of the school PTA at one point. Among his goals was to institute a merit pay system to reward the school’s best teachers.
Around the house, he’d say, “There’s no one more overpaid than a bad …