The title is a question posted on this blog...
Here is my answer (to the best of my abilities since I am not one of them and know only what I have seen and heard from reliable sources)....
Some of the TOSAs (Teachers On Special Assignment) are "literacy coaches" who train their peers in effective reading strategies for them to use with their students.... some actually work with students as well.
Some are "peer coaches" who are supposed to watch their peers and give feedback to them.
Some are math specialists who work district wide training teachers in good math strategies.
Some work on different district programs creating staff development presentations or other trainings.
All of them are teachers who had good reputations in the classroom.
The problem is that, apparently, the trainings and staff development are a "scatter shoot" approach that many teachers resent and therefore do not benefit from them.
Also, the class size issue begs the question...yet again.... which would truly help our students more?
From what I have heard from teachers all the way from Kindergarten to the High School, there are more people who wonder what these TOSAs are doing, than those who know and value it...
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1 comment:
Those who do not value the TOSAs are those that do not take advantage of them. I would rather have a classroom teacher choosing and presenting staff development rather than an anonymous company. Also, those not taking advantage of the coaching staff are losing out. All teachers could use improvement and those not looking for it are poor teachers, regardless of what awards or such they may have won. Any person who does not look to improve is a failure in my opinion. Curriculum development specialist help where in-class teachers cannot. It takes a great deal of time to research curricula and techniques. Time that in-class teachers do not have. I do not want to give up these people and what they do. If class size is an issue, the community can step up and fund more. Corvallis has a special levy as do other districts. We could pass one here if the community feels the need for more personnel.
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