Because math teachers are the only ones that really do any tutoring during C-6 assignments, we all rebelled last year. To appease us, Principal Suit agreed that math teachers would be working with a buddy and doing a 3/2 split. My AP told us to work out our tutoring schedule by ourselves. This has been working for everyone. Today, one of my colleagues got yelled at for working out a fair schedule--she would work Mondays and Wednesdays and alternate Fridays with her tutoring buddy. This is the same schedule I have worked out and it has been working well. He yelled because he needed a schedule to present to the parents and he couldn't present one with alternate Fridays.
My colleague, not wanting to fight with him, agreed to change and work every Friday. This might work now, but since our school is not on a 100% annualization, it might not work in the spring term. He doesn't seem to care. He only cares about what looks good on paper.
My colleague, not wanting to fight with him, agreed to change and work every Friday. This might work now, but since our school is not on a 100% annualization, it might not work in the spring term. He doesn't seem to care. He only cares about what looks good on paper.
My blog buddy, Justice, Not Just Us is looking for a school where he can really teach, where children will be first. I don't think we work for a system that will ever allow a school like that to exist. Administrators and politicians are too busy looking at what looks good on paper. The good of the students never comes into play. This little concession to teachers makes us more willing to work the c-6 assignment and as a result, we are more enthusiastic and do a better job of tutoring. But, what do I know, I am only a teacher.
6 comments:
I keep hope alive!! Someday I will be in a real school teaching children. I need to hope.
Ugh! It's all about appearances.
I'm personally LOVING (yes, that's sarcasm) the Orwellian-sounding "Inquiry teams" thing. Charming!
Justice, ditto. If any Queens residents out there can pick up the Chronicle (it's free), look at the letters to the editor page. There are 2 letters from parents who are QUITE DISPLEASED with what is going on in the DOE. Not everyone is a blind sheep--those letters offered me some hope that things might get better because there are people who aren't as stupid as Bloomberg and Klein think everyone is.
btw, you're right. we do impart universal truths.
ohhmmmmm ...
I am on the inquiry team and I don't even have a computer or a printer at school! Inquiry Team in name , but I don't know how they expect me to put it into action without the most basic of needs-- a computer to see the data! Talk about appearances! I have been running around trying to hang huge standards posters around in classroom, yet when I ask the kids what the posters are all about they haven't a clue.Many teachers have the twenty five book chart posted in their rooms, but when I whispered into the students ears ,and asked them what books they had read thus far to work toward meeting the standard no kid could show me the entries in a reading log. Other students told me they had already read six books, but again when I wanted to see where they had logged in the books some pupils replied that they had left the journal"BOOK LOG" at home. This is where the "accountabily" piece shows up. If you say you are doing something in your class there should be evidence of said practices. All the posters and all the bulletin boards won't put humpdy dumpty back together again.I have been spending endless hours on the computer doing work at home- work I should be doing at school on their time and with their ink! I guess i'd better insist on a computer at work because this is getting absurd!After all ,they said ARIS will be available 24/7 and I don't doubt that they expect us to work around the clock!
Appearances are not only the most important thing to admins, they are the only thing.
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