Comments

1. Tripp Jeffers says:
   February 20th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
   MASE-TURN facebook and twitter

   This has been an amazing Forum! Please follow the conversation and access links via our Facebook and Twitter feeds:

   FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=57037533523

   TWITTER: http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23MASETURN

   All the info, including several good pictures have been posted in both places.

   TRIPP JEFFERS, President, Forsyth County Assn of Educators

   NCUEA Executive Committee, Eastern US Regional Director

2. Rick Baumgartner says:
   February 21st, 2011 at 4:25 am
   MASE TURN
   Local leaders who attended represented 50,000 NEA members and 4,000 AFT members. All attending believed in  "owning our profession."  Many echoed the sentiment that it was the best meeting they'd  ever attended. Clearly the outcome was for local teacher organizations to create and implement action plans that would lead to collaboration with their school districts. Our common ground is the improvement of teaching and learning.  
3. Melissa Rasberry says:
   February 23rd, 2011 at 9:29 pm
   MASE TURN
   It was a pleasure to be part of these conversations in Durham. The teachers and union leaders represented diverse contexts and brought to the discussion excellent ideas and strategies for improving the teaching profession. All of us at the Center for Teaching Quality look forward to continuing to partner with the efforts of MASE TURN in the future. In the meantime, I'm recommending some additional readings on teacher effectiveness and working conditions for you to consider.
4. Jo Anderson says:
   February 23rd, 2011 at 9:46 pm
   My impressions of MASE TURN
   I was impressed with the increased attendance at this MASE TURN meeting of major locals representing close to 50,000 teachers. I was further impressed with the serious commitment of the leaders in the room to make school reform a central part of their locals’ work and with their commitment to more effectively communicate with and engage their members in this work.  ~Jo
5. Kitty Boitnott says:
   February 23rd, 2011 at 11:55 pm
   My impressions of MASE TURN
   It was a pleasure and a privilege to be allowed to participate in the important conversation that went on in Durham this weekend. The diverse panel brought several points of view into the room for consideration, and the exchange of ideas among all of the participants was encouraging and uplifting.
6. Elena Silva says:
   February 24th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
   My impressions of MASE TURN
   At a time when teachers are feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated, I found it very encouraging to be in a room full of teachers and union leaders who were willing to grapple with some very difficult reform ideas, evaluation in particular. Everyone seemed to recognize that, although it is not easy work, unions are essential not only for protecting teachers as workers but also as agents of reform. Thank you for the opportunity to participate. Education Sector will continue to examine the role of unions in school and teacher-related reforms, and we look forward to staying in close touch! Elena
7. Steven Greenburg says:
   February 24th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
   My impressions of MASE TURN
   I found it interesting to hear the perspectives of individuals from different states who deal with different bargaining rules.  Their approaches to labor-mangement issues helped me better formulate strategy for my own local, and the model of a successfully implemented working conditions survey will be beneficial to me as we negotiate a new one with administration in our district next year.
8. Tori Mazur says:
   February 25th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
   It's time to TURN direction

   Chatham County's attendance was very last-minute and I didn't know what to expect.  The national discourse is centered on reform and it's time that educators are heard and advocate to be a part of the solution rather than the scapegoat for the problems. 

   Listening to the perspectives of our Mid-Atlantic SouthEast family members affirmed my decision to come to North Carolina to teach.  We have programs and policies already in place that seem to me to be leading the way.  The McRel teacher evaluation instrument and the Teacher Working Conditions survey are valuable tools that are worth replicating and/or modifying to suit the needs of our neighbors.  That said, as I shared with Brad, I think we need to share our perspectives locally with what can be done after we evaluation.  Looking at the McRel as an assets-based evaluation rather than deficit-model is one direction that I am going to suggest to my administrator at the school level and with my Association Representatives as the county association level.  

   Discussions were very helpful in expanding a framework for change.  While I see the Social Justice framework as Utopian, we can certainly move into the Teacher Quality framework.  

9. Michael Hairston says:
   February 25th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
   MASE-TURN Durham meeting

   This meeting provided a wonderful opportunity to assemble with leaders to share ideas and talk about the issues surrounding the profession. The discussions were very helpful and offered insights and perspective on politics, organizing, teacher evaluation, working conditions surveys, quality schools, education funding and colaboration. 

   I was particularily interested in the working conditions survey and the Keys Program. We have used the Working Conditions Survey in Fairfax County in partnership with the school system. I plan to explore how the survey can be used more effectively in addressing the workload issues facing our members. The Keys Survey was of particular interest because of the support staff component.

   The big takeaway from the meeting was the fact that we need to do business differently. Collaboration is the word of the day. The practitioners must be at the table in planning, designing and implementation of initiatives, programs, teacher evaluation instruments, etc. When we are included in the process, reform yields better results.

10. Larry Nilles says:
    March 15th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
    MASE-TURN Winter 2011

    The winter 2011 meeting of MASE-TURN couldn't have happened on a better weekend.  With the protests in Madison just getting under way, the way forward was made perfectly clear: unless educators become actively involved in the process of remaking our public schools, we will be the main target of "reform." 

    For right or wrong, the conversations we had that weekend--about teacher evaluation, alternative pay, high-stakes testing--are the essential conversations of our time.  It is our job, as experts in our field, to take control of the national dialogue about the future of public education.  If we can bring local decision makers to the table with us, we can really get things done this summer.

    In the meantime, I’d like to learn more about: the outreach programs run by ODE; the work it took to bring AFT & NEA together in Fairfax County, VA; and the bridge-building between FCAE and the Forsyth BOE and Administration.

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