Posted on ICE-mail, Aug. 24, 2007. The identity of the author is being kept secret due to the police state mentality that exists in the NYC school system.
Once again, school starts next week.
It's been a wonderful summer- catching up on my sleep, seeing family and friends, having good times at the beach and other summery activities.
I actually feel HUMAN again! The past two summers, I worked summer school, found it to be a terrible experience ( hot overcrowded classrooms, little supplies, administrators that did not give the students or teachers much support), so that's something I won't be doing again.
Now, about this year- Am I ACTUALLY looking forward to returning? I DEFINITELY have mixed feelings, given my DOE experience ( now going into my fifth year).
From what I've seen of the DOE, it is one bloated and unorganized bureaucracy. Never mind that Bloomberg and Klein seem to feel that they are doing a good job. Being in the trenches, I know they are NOT. How easy to deceive oneself, when the heads of the organization
are not doing the daily work that we as teachers do. Witness the grades that the Chancellor has received on the News 1 poll. Apparently, he and the Mayor are the ONLY ones that feel they are doing a good job. Is THIS any way to run an educational system??? I think not....
Will this be another year of NO textbooks, no supplies, poor or little direction from the administrators? Not to mention the endless paperwork that seems to be the norm with the DOE. Are there appropriate disciplinary procedures set in place for students that I will not be able to control in the classroom, for whatever reasons? Sure, I can set the structure and tone of the classroom, but, realistically there is just so much that I can do with classes that have thirty five students or more.... Each with their own unique personality and issues that they are bringing into the classroom from outside of the school walls.
In addition, in my time with the DOE, I have seen how teachers AND students alike are treated so poorly by the administrators ( myself included- I'm a Lafayette High survivor- 'nuff said). Aren't we supposed to be PROFESSIONALS? As I write this, I am thinking of the many stories I have heard from my colleagues that are now ATR's, can't get jobs through the Open Market System, are being harassed by their respective administrators, if they still have a position in
the school they are working in. How about those that I know that are in rubber rooms, not knowing WHY they are in there? So far, in spite of my travails, I still have managed to keep working. This is no cause for celebration- the other shoe could drop at any time!
My question to myself and others- WHY are we willing to put up with this harassment? I remember a day when Principals, teachers, students, and staff actually WERE working together, and school was a place for learning and activities ( admittedly, this is what I remember from growing up on Long Island, NOT the city). Still, shouldn't there be some sense of esprit d' corps in the schools? How did the situation in NYC schools degenerate to this US vs. THEM mentality? Sad for everyone, mostly for the students to have to live with these shenanigans.
Anyway, I'm just venting- In my case, I'm going to see how this year plays out. If it's just more of the same, my mind will be made up to leave the NYC/DOE system. It's not worth the constant aggravation. This is NOT why I wanted to be a teacher- to play CYA games with
administrators and my colleagues. I was hoping to be able to make a contribution to society, and give back by teaching.
Sadly, the reality of working for the DOE/NYC and the ideals are incongruous. What a pity for our society.
4 comments:
Hello Sally hope you are well and continuing your career as a teacher. Hang in there, two years and counting for the end of this BloomKlein Corporate Mob.
At a CL meeting I asked how UFT members would know if all positions, vacancies would be posted on the open market web site. I was assured at that time that the union would be a "watch dog" , and that schools that did not post positions would be in deep water. It becomes very apparent to me that no one "monitored" postings, and that "senior" teachers that were excessed into ATR's got the shaft big time. How can one apply for a job when there were no postings? Principals recruited Teach for America and Teaching Fellows to fill vacanies. I was lied to big time!! I better be good this year or I might be in the rubber room too. My heart goes out to all of those who have to scramble around due to no fault of their own! We should have paid better attention to what was really going on with the contract! When are they going to offer "senior" teachers a buy-out?
"two years and counting for the end of this BloomKlein Corporate Mob."
This looks like a post from a Unity flack. It follows the typical line that all we have to do is wait out these guys. We are not responsible for any of the things that have happened. We are helpless until then. Boo-hoo -- they are so hard to deal with. Sob- sob.
Of course, before we waited out Bloomberg, we had to wait out Giuliani. Given Spitzer, I'm now convinced that a Democrat will not necessarily be any better.
We really need an active union willing to do more than wait.
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