When Administration Punishes The Teacher





Teacher and Principal argue.

Principal punishes Teacher by giving him a late session program consisting of most difficult kids in the building and puts the class in the trailer, where there is no security.  (500+ students and their teachers .don't warrant the same security as the rest of the school )

Teacher sees a Boy with his head down, wearing a hoodie and ear buds.  He tells Boy to wake up, remove hoodie and music and see him after class.  Boy, who after 3 years has no credits, punches teacher in face and then steps on his throat.  Other students run to building for security.  Teacher is doing better, but could not speak for several days and has yet to return to school.

Teacher will probably press charges and sue the school.  The school has been told for years about problems outside and the school has done nothing about it.  The school has kept its A rating.  Incidents have been kept quiet.  Many years ago a young man who was assaulted did not pursue as they were illegals and the school told them they would get in trouble if they followed through with a complaint.  It is a shame Teacher got hurt, but hopefully, his pain won't be for nothing.  Hopefully his pain will make others safe.

 

Living Without Pain

For the first time in over a year, I was back in the trailer, albeit temporarily. I was covering a class for my friend who will return on Monday.

I used to love being in the trailer, in spite of all the problems. It was nice to get a breath of fresh air, even in the rain and it was even nicer to get away from the noise and the prying eyes of the building. When Suit took the trailer away, I was unhappy with my undeserved punishment (the only way he could get me to stop complaining about security was to remove me from the situation.) It didn't take me long to adjust to the building comforts. It is nice not to have to carry my coat all day long and when I need something from the office, the office is right next door.

Day one in the trailer and I am with the pounding drums of the JROTC marching band and the balls banging against the walls of the handball court. Day two I am hit with rain and no coat or umbrella. Being away for so long made me forget I needed to be prepared. While the trailer bathrooms are working, the water fountains are not. Day three I notice the security booth I fought for is still empty and there is not a safety officer or a dean to be seen either before or after the class.

Being in the trailers for so long reminded me of the fibroid tumor I lived with for many years. The pain and the discomfort was something I grew used to and tolerated. It wasn't until the tumor was removed that I realized how bad I was feeling for years. Suit, in his attempt to punish actually rewarded me. Knowing he did something good for me would probably make him ill. Too bad he doesn't read this blog.

Unaccountable Education Mayor

(This bear has better living conditions than some NYC students have learning conditions--thank you Mr. Education Mayor.)

What happened the the education Mayor's promise to get rid of all trailer classrooms?

Shouldn't he be accountable for these deplorable conditions?

Evil Moskowitz's charter schools students don't have to learn in these conditions, why do NYC kids?

Accountability should start at the top!

Saw This And Thought Of You

Dedicated to NYC Educator

Bar on 23rd St and 8th Ave

My Kingdom For A Trash Can

Mr. M is still a trailer teacher. He complained last year, but not nearly as much as I did. He is a mellow kind of guy and, no matter how bad things get, he keeps going. A few years ago, he had to teach with an open umbrella because his roof leaked when the snow melted.

Mr. M doesn't ask for much. Right now, a garbage can in his classroom is all he needs to make him happy. He's been requesting one for over a year. He's continually told that none are available in the building. He has tried using empty cartons, but the custodians just remove them whenever they clean (which is not all that often) so he does manage to have a trash receptacle sometimes.

No garbage can means the papers on the floor and in
the bathroom build up. The place is a pig sty. Maybe Suit's greatest achievement was getting trash cans under the water fountains in the halls, but a greater one might be getting trash cans in every classroom.

Build A School Here

No air conditioning in this trailer. And now, no fresh air.The SO is collecting money to build a school in Kenya. It would be nice if Bloomberg spent some money on the schools right here in NYC.

Update

The railing leading up the ramp to my trailer. The wood is rotting and it is hanging on by a few screws.
The step under the adjoining trailer. It is rotting away and wobbles when it is in use.No trailer post is complete without a puddle picture. It is becoming a trash receptacle.
The broken gate that used to lock the trailers when they were not in use. It finally got fixed after the Monday morning surprise. The whole process took less than ten minutes.

At the moment, I am winning the war. I don't want to print the last e-mail, but, it was not pretty. I printed a copy and gave it to the union and Principal Suit. Even if Suit is behind the viciousness, I don't think even he would put in writing what my AP sent in an e-mail. Over the years this guy has bullied many teachers. He cannot bully or scare me.

Yesterday I felt I had won the first round as Mr. AP would not speak to me. He's a grudge holder and his holding back meant he was really angry and he would only be really angry if Suit had spoken to him about the e-mail. Today Mr. AP passed me in the hall and went out of his way to be nice. I explained a math concept that he did not know and he wished me a pleasant vacation. In the past, a few teachers have stood up to him and he always backed down. I hope that is what he will do with me.

In other news, another trailer was trashed. The teachers were livid. One of them went screaming to Terence about the need for real security outside. She complained about the "do nothing" safety officers (something I have not, and will not do.) He gave her some stupid excuse and accused her of leaving the door open when she left the trailer. (She is not the last teacher in the room and always waits for the next teacher to arrive before leaving.) Today I actually saw a dean standing right by the trailers during a change of periods.

We aren't there yet, but we are making progress. While I don't take credit for the progress, I know my voice made some difference. Maybe now, with others behind me, something will be done.

The E-Mails Keep Coming and Going

I keep e-mailing him, every time he e-mails me:

Me: Just to let you know--I did not say anything bad about security. I said there is no security, which Terence admits is true.

I too, try to maintain a good relationship with security.

AP: I know you did not. But he [Suit] blamed you for it to the security. You should know him by now.

Have a good evening.

Me: I said nothing bad about the security staff and I want them to know it. I will speak to them.

AP: But the net effect of your complaints was that they got into trouble.

In Chinese, there is a saying: "When doing calligraphy, do not attempt to do the same stroke more than once. If you do, you will make it worse." I would just leave it alone if I were you. It will look like you got them into trouble and now you try to talk your way out of it.


Me: I spoke to Sergeant []. I did nothing wrong and told him so. He agreed with me. He did not even know that I started the thing. I don't care what anyone else thinks. I have a right to my opinions and to speak my mind and I will keep speaking out against injustices. My words got the trailer door and the gate fixed.

Hopefully the e-mails will now end. I will not let his be the last one. Fighting for what is right is not complaining.

I now know that Suit has been behind all of this. I suspected this from the beginning. He never liked my letters and had my AP ask me to stop. I won't stop. My letters are not abusive and they are not threatening. I have a right to say whatever I want. Suit is stuck with me. I think I will hang around a few more years to get on his nerves.

Monday Morning Greeting

These pictures greeted my class this morning. The teacher mentioned shares the trailer with me.

I called the dean's office when I saw the pictures. No one was in yet. I called the APO. She came out and was visibly upset. She brought back paper to cover the offensive drawings and then had the custodians come out to remove them. I told her that I took pictures, as did one of the kids in the class. I just e-mailed them to her.

Later in the day, we had a departmental meeting. My AP is furious that I have been complaining about security. He said he was "friends" with the security and now they were mad at him because of my complaints. He said he would solve the problem by not letting me teach in the trailer anymore. He would put a man out there who can handle things better. Tomorrow I am going to file an EEO complaint about that comment.

I am not going to let this issue of security rest. It is too important. I will not be made a scapegoat for the school's problems. If I decide to leave, I will leave kicking and screaming and exposing as many of the problems as I can. If I go, this blog will no longer be anonymous. It will name the school and all its participants.

I'M MAD AS HELL AND I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!

Letter Update

Principal Suit stopped me in the hall tonight and thanked me for my letter. He told me it was just what he needed and that it was right on the money. He said a guard would be posted outside the trailers.

I'll believe this when I see it, but at least it is a step in the right direction.

Update on Yesterday's Event

The following is the letter I left about yesterday's incident. I don't understand why other teachers refuse to speak out. I spoke to our Parent Coordinator today also. She said she would discuss security with the PTA.

April 1, 2008

Dear Mr. Terence,

I am writing again regarding the lack of trailer security. This afternoon, a boy was struck in the face while leaving his trailer and coming into mine. He was covered in blood and his nose was broken. There was no security around. Luckily, a teacher walking by took him to the nurse’s office.

While teaching period 9, a boy tried to walk into my trailer to hand his friend French fries. This time I was able to stop him, but he did disrupt the class for a few minutes. If he was looking to cause trouble, I could not have stopped him.

Last year, a strange man walked into the trailer to use the bathroom. Nothing has been done to stop this from occurring in the future.

There are eight trailer classes with an average of 30 children per class. When periods end, there are almost 500 children walking between the building and the trailers. Yet, there is nothing being done to protect them or their teachers.

At this point, I am ready to send a copy of this letter to the parents association and to all the local newspapers. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE TO PROTECT THE STUDENTS WHO GO TO THIS SCHOOL AND THE TEACHERS WHO WORK HERE. Cameras might catch the perpetrators but they are not protecting us. This is not the best school in Queens if it is not safe to be here.


Extremely Pissed Off Teacher

Cc: Principal Suit
Chapter Leader

The guilty kid has been caught and the victim was convinced by the dean in charge not to press charges. I guess, what does it matter if an immigrant kid is hurt. What rights should he have? The victim was back in school. The nose was not broken but a tooth was chipped. Physically he is going to be fine, emotionally, I am not so sure.