Today coordinators received the following update from REED: "During the school year, when your counselors visit your school, you will be asked to show them the plan for your literature program, together with the backward planning, Unit Planners (or unit plans, if you are not using the official Unit Planners) and sample student work so that we can all be sure that the program is being implemented properly. Coordinators: You should also show your counselor your Coordinator File so she can help you be sure it is all in order (the Coordinator File will be updated in the coming days)." I would like to share my initial response, to this directive and to raise a few questions. - Has this directive been given to all coordinators or only those who come under the auspices of REED? - In the case of a class doing the log, it is clear to me why qualified personnel with established credentials should see samples of students' work and at a later stage the logs themselves. - Who has these credentials and what are they? The directive, it should be noted, assumes counselors have the right to carry out these inspections. - "so that we can all be sure that the program is being implemented properly." Who are "we all" ? - What authority or sanctions do the counselors have in cases where they are not satisfied with the implementation of the program? - The list of works to be studied will have been with the inspector from September 30th. Who gives anyone the right to inspect the planning materials, of qualified teachers? - Is there any other subject taught in Israeli high schools where teachers are directed to show such material? - Is there any doubt that there are teachers whose written plans make sense only to them, while doing an excellent job of teaching and evaluating the literature program? - Is there any doubt that there are teachers whose written plans and program planning may make a wonderful impression on the counselor, but whose work with the students is really not up to scratch? - Am I alone in thinking that this emphasis on untried and unnecessary bureaucratic procedure stands in stark contrast to the spirit of the excellent site created on the TLC site? - http://tlc.cet.ac.il/ - The slogan of TLC " Thinking Through Literature and Culture" makes so much sense. - Counselors with the time and tools to enrich our literature teaching program will be welcome in any school - Big brothers and sisters visiting our schools in the quest for correct procedure are unlikely to spur us on to greater things. However much I fear that teaching literature for a grade will result in adverse results I am disciplined enough to do my best to achieve as much as is possible. The courses and tools provided over the last few years go a long way in facilitating our success. At the same time teachers and their organizations have resisted attempts to ignore the needs of person behind the classroom door. The struggle over the initial Hots program left scars and suspicions on both sides. Perhaps I am being hypersensitive but my perception of the directive from Reed is a negative one. I am willing to be part of any conversation with a counselor that is aims at improvement. I am loathe for the only contact (we know counselors do not have time for multiple visits to schools), to be devoted to an inspection of soulless paperwork and plans of proper implementation. It would be interesting to know how other teachers and coordinators see this issue. Anonymous