Torturing Children



I'm more than a little angry.

I was forced to administer the Field Test in Integrated Algebra to my kids this week.  This is a test that has zero benefits for them.  In fact, it has negative benefits as valuable class time has been taken up.  In addition to the wasted time, I watched my poor students stress over many problems that were way to difficult.  Just as I had them believing they could pass the regents, they were hit with this major roadblock and my little engine that could speech has, for many become a could not.  In addition, I had to enforce strict test conditions that were not conducive to education at all.  It broke my heart not to be able to answer their questions.

We are a test site because old Principal Suit volunteered us to be one.  As a school, we get nothing out of this.  Our students suffer because of it.  So, I wonder why he would do this?  Was he rewarded?  Was he promised a big payoff or a new job?  (No accusations, just questions.)  If every second of education counts, why are we wasting the little time we have left to teach testing questions for a company that makes big bucks preparing them? And, now that he is gone, why are we still doing this?

Seeing Red

My new red duffel is almost all packed. I'm ready to go!

No Mr. AP bashing me until next year, which is a good thing. I'm almost ready to ask him why, if I am so bad, has he never "U' rated me or even threatened to "U" rate me? He's never put a letter in my file or even written me a non file negative letter. If I am really so bad, he must be the worst AP in the city for letting me get away with being so bad for so many years.

I'd also like to ask him (and every other administrator around) why it is permissible for him to publicly put teachers down over and over again yet we must be careful about what we say about children, lest we say something wrong. He might make his comments about anonymous teachers, but we all know who he is targeting. Yesterdays rant was directed at me and everyone in the room knew that.

I Still Don't Understand This Data Hype

One of the problems with having a decent principal is that you don't want to make him look bad during the Quality Review. Things were so much easier with Suit around. I wanted everyone to see him for the fool he was.

So, on snowy Monday, I actually looked up the records and past report cards of all the students that were added to my rosters in February. (I already know all I need to know about he ones I've had since September.) Now, for the shock (not really, it was just what I expected), all but two of them received 50's or 55's in math last semester and all have a long record of repeated failure in math and other subjects.

What does all this data mean? There is nothing in the record that tells me how to help them. There are no clues as to how I can reach them. I just saw a bunch of numbers that mean nothing. Millions of dollars have been spent on a system that accomplishes nothing that I can see (unless I am seriously missing something.)

I broke down and looked at one IEP as well. I will never do that again. I've spent countless hours working with these kids and I know what they need. In fact, I am proud to say that all my resource room students are currently passing. They understand the work and are coming for extra help when they need it. They feel good about the subject, all without my looking at one of these documents.

Will these Quality Review people be able to tell me how to use this data that I now have?

Footnote: The Quality Review people observed me today. I will definitely post about that at some future time. All I'll say now is that it went surprisingly well. (I would never want them to see me if I was in charge, there are so many better teachers around.) One of the good things about Suit was that he steered them far away from me.

I Think He Needs Help

Another teacher in my department had a major problem with Mr. AP this week. While I don't condone, excuse or forgive his behavior, it has gotten me thinking. I'm not softening, I'm just starting to wonder.

Mr. AP and I were friends years ago. Well, not actually friends, but we were very friendly. When he was Mr. Teacher, we joked around all the time. He taught bilingual classes right next door to my pre-calculus classes and would often want to come in, as we taught many of the same kids. I always hated having another adult in the room and never let him in. This was a running joke between us.

Everyone was happy when Mr. Teacher became Mr. AP. We collected money (not an easy feat from my cheap department) and bought him a really nice desk chair. When Mr. AP left our school (for a short time) to go to another location, we wished him well. We warned him to be careful about his mouth. (He was difficult even then, but he could be talked to about his problems.) I even went to visit him at his new school. Unfortunately (for everyone), the new school did not work out and he returned. Many of us welcomed him back. He has always been hard nosed, but he listened. If he was rude to someone, I used to wait until he calmed down, point out his behavior and he apologized to the offended party. He used to speak to me as both a friend and a colleague and ask for advice (unofficially, of course.) He sometimes listened and when he did not listen, he had a good reason for not doing so. There were always people he picked on, but not the way he does now.

I realized, after speaking to my colleague , that he is really in serious trouble. He must be having some sort of breakdown. His behavior now is totally irrational and out of control. To know him now is to despise him. I even wonder if the abuse he received from Suit has scarred him irrevocably. I've gone from being angry at him to worrying about him. I even spent 10 minutes defending him to a student today.

Being a person in a position of power is not a good job for him. He has let power go to his head and he has abused it royally. Running a department with terror is not a good idea. He needs a major intervention, something to help him see what he is doing. He needs to suffer some repercussions for the things he has been doing. He also needs help, which I hope he gets.