Texas Education Service Centers (ESCs): Over Funded Education Agencies.
By Janice VanCleave
txcscopereview.com
Millions of unregulated dollars pour into the coffers of the ESCs yearly. More unregulated money comes from the sell of instructional products to Texas schools. In fact, the ESCs have an unfair market advantage over the sell of education instruction materials–isn’t this called a monopoly?
In January, 2013, Senator Patrick instructed the ESCs to void the User contract with Texas Teachers which forbid teachers to disclose the content of CSCOPE lessons used in classrooms. The ESCs didn’t want the incorrect, biased CSCOPE lessons viewed by parents.
Seems the ESC directors didn’t take Senator Patrick serious. On August 12, 2014 Jerry Maze described some of the newly implemented perks offered by the ESC. Maze is the Chair of the “Texas Curriculum Management Program Cooperative.”
Maze said,
“Teachers are no longer required to sign a user agreement. We trust teachers and want to make sure they are able to maximize the utility of the site.”
The ESCs are a bit slow in responding to Senator Patrick’s request. Or is it that the ESCs want the idea to be theirs instead of having to void the user agreement. Or maybe the ESCs just forgot like they have forgotten where the paper for millions of dollars of expenses are.
I am convinced that the ESCs are doing everything possible to rid Texas schools of veteran teachers. The ESCs want educators that are willing to do what they are told and not care if students are being educated or not. The Texas Education Service Centers are now making money training “PLC education coaches.” Pull away the smoke screen and you will find that these coaches are actually gestapo-like thought police, which stop teachers who have ideas other than what the coaches approve of.
The cartoon PLC coach in the diagram is sadly too close to the truth. Teachers are being halted from thinking outside the “box,” which is the approved scripted lesson plan. Any teacher not following the scripted lessons approved by the PLC coach is reported to “Thought Control Head Quarters” as not being a team-player.
The PLC program adds a more gestapo-type atmosphere to the classroom. At this time, this is not so much for the students, but teachers are every vigilant in what they say or do for fear the “Thought Police” are listening.
What are the Thought Police listening for?
One teacher was caught selecting a student to answer a question. Sounds like what all teachers do. But the Thought Police Coaches mandate that teachers use some kind of system so that students are selected at random. A system such as pulling names out of a hat, but the teacher is not allowed to make the choice.
Another teacher was warned because he had gotten ahead of the cloned script. So, if your children complain about having to do things over and over it is because the teacher is not allowed to progress even if students understand the material.
The reason all lessons must be the same is so that all students receive exactly the same information in the same way and on the same day.
The PLC “gestapo-coaches” closely monitors teachers so that teachers do not add any enrichment to their lessons.
Another thing the gestapo-coaches are looking for is a teachers that provides facts to students. Students are to do activities in groups and discover the facts on their own. This is erroneously called discovery learning. This constructivist type of education has many flaws. One being that students do not always make the correct conclusions, thus discovery learning is a way that students “teach themselves” incorrect information.
Even so, Discovery Learning is touted as being the “Best Learning Practice” for students. When something that is obviously wrong is being promoted, one should ask–“Who is making money by promoting Discovery Learning?”
The PLC program is promoting the idea that there should be no outstanding teachers because this indicates that some students receive better instruction. Any teacher caught enriching their lessons is reported to the administration as NOT BEING A TEAM PLAYER, which mean an uncooperative teacher. Principals with uncooperative teachers are reported to the “Thought Police” at Thought Police Head Quarters somewhere.
The answer to an instant improvement in Texas education is to link the salaries of all school superintendents with the scores of students in their school district. Low scores–low superintendent salaries. They would be begging veteran teachers to return.
