Wednesday, August 12, 2009

No Guilt About Play Time


We go back to school September 8 and classes start September 9, yet we have no programs and no clue as to what we will be teaching.

Yes, it is common knowledge that this is against the contract. If we complain, Mr. AP will just make stuff up and then claim circumstances beyond his control made him change them. he's done this before and he can be vindictive. Besides, there have been more terms than I can count when we start with one set of classes and by October we are teaching something completely different.

No school prep for me. Play time continues for another few weeks.

9 comments:

12 more years said...

I'm in the same boat, although it is relatively easy for me to guess what my program is going to look like. However, I would like to know if I am going to be tortured by 2 ITT classes or one.

No prep time for me either. First week with the kids is only 3 days, I can deal. The summer is short and it's MINE.

Ms. Tsouris said...

I've said for years that NYC teachers assume a prisoner mentality; this is exacerbated by the "What do you want us to do, it's out of our hands" union and teachers, therefore, are easily controlled by the INCOMPETENT POWERS THAT BE. The latter count on that. You are not falling into that trap, obviously, and neither are many who read these blogs. I can see a larger picture and a conniving power structure. Many elementary teachers feel they have no choice and will be going in that week before, since September 8th will be Regurgitate-the-Same-Crap Day. They get inadequate class preparation time since the admin has to take time out to read memos to them. Enjoy and play....our salaries are so absurdly low at this point in our careers to go to work for free. The DOE would love that!!

Noel said...

Wow, okay, I understand a lot less than I thought I did about NYC schools. How can it be that you have no idea what you'll be teaching? Do they just hand you some top-secret book at the start of the year and say, "Here, teach this"? That's unreal.

Pissedoffteacher said...

You got it!

Ms. Tsouris said...

Noel, someone has to keep us on our toes.....

Noel said...

That's sad. You're a teacher. You know how to teach. It's just sad that bureaucrats think they can tell you how to do your job.

Pissedoffteacher said...

I do now I have my calculus classes but I don't know what else I will be teaching. (two unknown quantities)

VG said...

My very 1st semester teaching, I found out approximately 2 days before classes started that I was to teach an elective that I hadn't known existed, and for which there was no text, no syllabus, and no one in the school who'd taught it before. Yep, they keep us on our toes!

Margaret said...

It used to be way different where I have taught for the past 29 years, but is now turning into what you describe. It's not coming from our building admin, but our district. Very scary and frustrating.