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we are teachers' blog
i must vent! i want to be a teacher again!
by C_FelixPublished Aug. 5, 2008
Here' the long and short of it.
I was a 5th grade teacher at Rand Road Elementary. I had a EOG pass rate of 96%.
We had a new princiapl installed, Rhonda Jones. Her first full year was the 2006-2007 school year. She didn't like me. =(
She and I had a meeting with a parent of a child who was highly unmotivated. This was documented will on his report cards for other grades.
She felt that since I couldn't motivate him, I might need a different grade level than what I had; one where they kids still had a strong intrinsic motivator.
Everyone at Rand thought this was laughable (especially when they found out who the child was!)
Then the reasons kept on changing. I kept on asking her "Which grade might I end up in so I could start 'studying up' for it?" Never got an answer. I kept on asking her why the reasons where chaning, never got an answer. She was also going to switch my year round track from 4 to 2. One that would give me NO summer with my family. (Wife worked in a traditional calendar school and the kids both went to traditional calendar schools. Track 2 works all summer long)
One day I told her that I know what she's up to, and everyone in the school knows what she's up to; she's just trying to make me miserable and upset my life/work balance in an attempt to get me out. I told her that since she wasn't making this decision based on what was good for the school, and that since she was making it in the name being vindictive, I was going to fight it through the proper channels.
MAGICALLY...the next day a parent complaint showed up. It was about something that happened about 3-4 weeks prior. Do I know what was in this complaint? NO..I was allowed to read it, I was only allowed to have portions of it read to me. I resigned over this. Mrs. Jones knew this complaint would get me out. It was an accepted fact at Rand that Mrs. Jones engineered this complaint agains me to get me out.
I want to be a teacher again! I can't find a job for the life of me! I'm 1/3rd done with my 3rd college degree, I have license in Elementary Ed, Middle School Math, SS, and Sci, and HS Science. I'm a $10 an hour rent-a-cop right now. I'm a few months away from foreclosure....
='(
I want to be a teacher again!
What's happened to Rand while she's been there? Scores have dropped faster than an analogy I can't think of! Scores went from the mid 90's before she got there to the mid 60's. I think Rand will be on academic probation next year.
I e-mailed superintendant Burns with all this information...all my concerns and more. I got a very disingenious "Thanks for your thoughts" in reply.
Thanks for reading.
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GOLO member since July 6, 2007
September 13, 2008 10:04 a.m.
September 5, 2008 10:43 p.m.
GOLO member since July 18, 2007
August 6, 2008 8:24 p.m.
When you made the comment to your administrator, as you indicated, "I know what you're up to"......that "wreaks" of paranoia. You may have an indication of what someone is up to, but in all situations, you have to remain calm and professional to handle circumstances appropriately. It can be challenging working in this system. I know......I have for almost 20 years.
GOLO member since October 6, 2007
August 6, 2008 1:38 p.m.
GOLO member since July 8, 2008
August 6, 2008 9:14 a.m.
You are hot still, as you type, I can tell.
Re-read your blog and correct it (the message was clear enough) just for professionalism reasons.
You must realize that even as you told your side, you didn't pass the "smell test" as someone said. I know you feel wronged, but I know you also didn't work well with the principal, and although you never know who is right or wrong, you always know who the boss is. I'd just delete the blog unless more teachers agree or there were undue transfer requests from Rand. Go where your old principal is now at, maybe. Call the drug companies and get a job as a sales rep. You will make twice that of teaching.
GOLO member since January 20, 2008
August 5, 2008 7:02 p.m.
GOLO member since June 9, 2008
August 5, 2008 5:52 p.m.
Act in haste, repent at leisure.
GOLO member since July 11, 2008
August 5, 2008 5:34 p.m.
---
A whole lot of that rant smells starting with the utter stupidity of resigning one's position in the face of one's due process rights.
That was compounded by the naivete of confronting a person in a position of power that the poster thought was abusing them. By all means, pursue your due process rights in a forum the principal can't control and let the chips fall where they may!
Also, the poster admits to knowing of the incident in question so the complaint wasn't a total surprise and I'm guessing there was a lot more to that situation than just some parent sounding off. Enough in fact to be a firing offence, perhaps?
Also, with that many certifications, one would expect that teacher to have at least three years in which is when tenure is traditionally extended, isn't it?
Yeah...this rant is not really passing the SMELL TEST.
August 5, 2008 3:09 p.m.
August is a bad time to look for a teaching job, but, then, you have licensure in the needed areas: science and math. Even substituting can open doors.
When interviewing, I hope that you haven't criticized your former school or administrators. That is an immediate red flag to the interviewing team. (been on many)
Were you a member of NCAE? This organization usually does a great job of going to bat for its members.
GOLO member since April 25, 2008
August 5, 2008 3:07 p.m.
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