Teachers, computers square off: Don't like computers being teachers, a fun read

WOODBURY — Connecticut's largest teachers union hopes to convince the state Board of Education that computers are meant to "supplement, not supplant" teachers at Nonnewaug High School's Student Technology Education Program (STEP).

It may be a long fight to stop the school's computer-based alternative high school, though. The state Department of Education already judged that having computers teach, correct and grade students does not violate state law.

"This is technology education gone haywire. These at-risk students are not getting the education they deserve," said Rosemary Coyle, president of the 2,500-member Connecticut Education Association.

CEA and its local affiliate, the Nonnewaug Teachers' Association, filed a petition Thursday alleging STEP "required the certified teacher to become a nominal ‘teacher of record' to sign off on a student's course of study taught by non-certified computer software." State law, however, says only that people hired to teach must be certified; it does not mention computer programs, said Tom Murphy of the state Department of Education. "The classroom is changing, and we need to find ways to improve instruction and student experience and reach everyone the best way we can," Murphy said. "If that means we are going to change things, then we should be open to it."

Teachers have opposed the project since Region 14 Superintendent David Pendleton first brought it up last November. High school teachers earned extra money tutoring at-risk students in after-school sessions, using computers and other materials to supplement classwork, according to Tim Cleary, a math teacher and president of the Nonnewaug Teachers' Association.

Attendance for the program was low, Pendleton said. "There was a program previously, and it was a travesty," he said. "It was not working for the students."

The school board unanimously approved STEP to replace the tutoring sessions on Jan. 22. Instead of structured classes led by teachers, students read material for each unit on a terminal, then take a quiz on the material. The software administers the test and grades it.

A paraprofessional, or teacher's aide, keeps order in the room while a certified teacher is supposed to review the students' work.

Cleary said he was the teacher of record for two STEP students who took a math course last spring. He said he and other teachers did not go through any orientation until April even though the program started in January. Cleary said he bumped into one of his students by chance in the computer room and never spoke with the other student.

"I saw no work that the student did. I saw no tests, no quizzes," Cleary said. "All I did was sign off on the computer grade."

Kathleen Sobolewski, head of Nonnewaug's science department and teacher of record for three students taking a STEP biology class last spring, said she was told during her orientation that one student had already finished the course. Sobolewski said she signed off on the student courses "under protest."

"It's very important that teachers oversee instruction, but oversight doesn't mean a teacher should be there every minute," Pendleton said. "There's no question (teachers) should be there. They should be there as much as students need them."

The Nonnewaug Teachers' Association filed two previous complaints about the alternative school: the union had no say in teachers' pay and duties in the program; and paraprofessionals had been used inappropriately.

The union met with Pendleton and the state labor board in January, but there was no resolution.

"E-learning is something that is apparently foreign to some of the staff and they are having trouble with it," Pendleton said.

Students are not forced to participate in the program and must be screened by school officials to qualify, Pendleton said. "They may be falling behind ... or they could be waiting to surge ahead. Many students feel slowed down by the traditional way of instruction," he said.

The state Board of Education has 60 days to respond to the petition of the two unions, either with a ruling or by setting a hearing date. The state must rule no later than 90 days after a hearing, if one is convened.

"We believe that this issue is about student learning as much as anything, and we need to be more thoughtful about the new-world uses of technology and the uses of distance learning," Murphy said.

"We want to avoid a legal battle, but we also want to make sure that it's a better program, and you get that from collaboration."

If talks and administrative hearings fall through, however, the unions said they would take the case to court, which may set a new precedent in judging a teacher's place in what Murphy calls "new-world" technology-based classrooms.

"This is completely contradictory to the standards the state has set for education. Students deserve a certified teacher," Coyle said. "We don't want this to be a solution for districts whenever there's a budget crunch."

Pendleton said the district is prepared to defend itself if the case goes to court. But, "I still think we can get this resolved and get (STEP) moving ahead with teachers' support."

I often wondered why we didn't do this. It seems to me that children spend all their spare time playing fast paced computer games or receiving fast paced information from TV then they go into a classroom where a teacher must teach to the slowest child. Why not syndicate and simulcast the best teachers in the nation and have children participate on computer in a self paced manner with onsite teachers to act as facilitators or "on the spot tutors". This would allow children to learn without peer pressure and create a tiered system of teaching professionals with sport star status and pay commensurate with their expertise. Say 30 minutes of instruction, 10 minutes of evaluation and 20 minutes of physical activity then the same cycle again. It would keep their day interesting and wear the little devils out.

"They run the very real danger of actually learning something useful, instead of a hodge-podge of liberal shibboleths and the standard left-wing catechism.

You think the CD-ROM curriculum will be anything OTHER THAN a hodge-podge of liberal shibboleths and the standard left-wing catechism?

Thats a very good point, because any CD-ROM curriculum would likely be hijacked by the NEA and the other usual suspects.

But in fact, since each child is learning individually, as long as the computerized classes allowed him to pass the standardized tests -- so everyone would study American History, Mathematics, and English Literature -- it should be up to the parent to decide which classes the child takes.

For example, if a Jewish family wanted their kid to take a Hebrew class as the foreign language requirement and take a Jewish history and theology class instead of the typical generic social studies class, there would be no First Amendment issues because the parents chose the program from a selection of different curriculums. No one would have a value system contrary to their family beliefs forced on them.

As long as the religious materials were donated to the school (so no tax dollars were spent on it), even the use of government supplied computersand classroom space wouldn't create a First Amendment issue.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.