DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal of PS 154 in the Bronx has a hidden, well not hidden, rather a special talent that not too many know about.Apparently, it seems that DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal is not only an educator but a court reporter as well. Yes, you read that right, a court reporter.
It's not being implied that she moonlights as a court reporter, but rather she has the skills of a court reporter and these skills have come across in how she conducts (Or has conducted in the 2012-2013 school year) formal observations.
Back in 2012-2013 when DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal had pre-planned how many observations I was to have, as well as the diabolical plot that I would be found incompetent before the school year started, DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal had a very unique method of observing.
She would enter the classroom with her trusty laptop, sit her self down, and when you started teaching she did what she had to do. No, not taking copious hand written notes, but rather transcribing the entire 50 minute lesson onto her laptop.
How can this be done you ask? Yes, DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal is super duper smart and like James Bond knows it all. But did DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal, while earning her doctorate, also attend some of the finer schools in Manhattan for court stenography? Better yet, does she have the skills were court reporting?
A good court reporter must be able to type about 180-22- words per minute using what is known as a Stenograph (Take a look at this video) on a 22 key unmarked keyboard. Now remember, this is a hard job, even though most of the time there are mostly two people talking, or even one. Yes, there is a lot of interaction amongst judges, lawyers, witnesses, but not like having 25 kids and 1 teacher.
DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal was able to take these skills as a court reporter and transfer them to the classroom. Not only was she able to transcribe the entire 50 minute lesson, supposedly verbatim, but in the transcription have the name of every child who has spoken, the inflections of the voices, and the movements of all in the class. She was able to do all this while being able to concentrate on the lesson being taught as well.
Now, there were some mistakes made in the transcription handed back. Large chunks of the lesson were missing and comments, inflections, interactions that never happened in the lesson were on the transcript.
Now for the readers of this blog who say, "IMPOSSIBLE!", well, you must put away your cynical hat for just a moment. As my dad said, "Anything is possible, the question is, is it probable."
Hmm, let's put my dad's theory to use.
Can DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal actually type as fast as a court reporter? Anyone can, even a monkey, but type that fast with accuracy or DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal's idea of truthiness?
If DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal can type that fast, she would have to be spot on accurate with who said what to whom as well as the correct inflection used in each speaker's voice.
If DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal can type that fast and accurate surely it must take some amount of concentration, concentration that is not used to properly follow the lesson, no?
If DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal can type that fast and accurate along with the needed concentration wouldn't she not miss out on some of the small intricacies of the lesson? Perhaps even unspoken moments?
Can DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal truly type that fast and accurate and if not, dare it be said...? That she covertly recorded the lesson on her laptop only to transcribe it later and purposely omit exculpatory evidence to quality teaching?
If DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal was audio recording observations, does this then not explain why (To transcribe the audio) it took almost a month to get feedback, the rating, and the transcription of the observation back?
At anytime, if the observations were being recorded, had DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal informed or gotten permission from the teacher being observed for the lesson to be audio recorded?
In a previous 3020-a hearing, DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal when asked if she had audio recorded observations denied she had. Was this the truth or a fib?
In a controlled setting, would DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal be able to replicate such skills as she exhibited during formal observations?
These are all questions inquiring minds would like answered. If these observations were audio recorded it would be a serious breech of trust and of ethics on the part of DR Alison Coviello, Ed.D and Principal.
Read David Pakter's comment, the tenth one down, beneath the following post on Francesco Portelos' blog.
ReplyDeleteWithin his comment, Mr. Pakter stated:
I was well aware of the fact that I was a walking target from the first day I was assigned to a new school as an ATR. I therefore carried a high tech digital recorder in my suit pocket at all times which was always running continuously.
http://protectportelos.org/unsatisfactory-teacher-part-2-field-supervisor-edele-williams-takes-a-swing
§250.00(2) of the New York Penal Code states:
Eavesdropping; definitions of terms.
The following definitions are applicable to this article:
. . .
2. "Mechanical overhearing of a conversation" means the intentional overhearing or recording of a conversation or discussion, without the consent of at least one party thereto, by a person not present thereat, by means of any instrument, device or equipment.
§250.05 of the New York Penal Code states:
Eavesdropping.
A person is guilty of eavesdropping when he unlawfully engages in wiretapping, mechanical overhearing of a conversation, or intercepting or accessing of an electronic communication.
Eavesdropping is a class E felony.
http://ypdcrime.com/penal.law/article250.htm
For quality assurance purposes, I recommend that both the observer and the observed record pre-observation conferences, observed lessons, and post-observation conferences.
And why not record all lessons just in case a supervisor walks in unannounced or in case a student claims you said something when, in fact, you did not?
If Dr. Coviello's practice is to secretly record lessons, neither a breach of trust nor ethics takes place.
And such conduct is not illegal in New York provided that she was present in the room.
In other words, she did not bug the classroom by planting a hidden recorder that was running, and then leaving the room.
However, if she presented you with a transcript of what allegedly was said during the lesson, then, obviously, such transcript must be complete and accurate.
Good luck in your struggle for truth, justice, and the American way!
www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/comics.php?topic=articles/josh-grayson1