Lately, the news media has been on a crusade about "bad teachers", especially the ATRs. Be it Charkbeat, Daily News, Post,Times, or the Wall Street Journal, the one-sided articles blasting teachers appears all the rage. All of a sudden the old Klein era Tweedies have articles that blast teachers. Be it the insufferable Eric Nadeelstern, The lying Daniel Weisberg, or the sleazy Marc Sternberg. Let's not forget about clueless patents like Nicole Thomas also.
Maybe if it was just confined to the education deformer groups and brainwashed parents, I could accept it. However, Our own Chancellor, Carmen Farina, tells new teachers to stay away from the teacher lounge and don't listen to those veteran teachers and she admits she visits schools to ferret out bad teachers and pushes principals to start a paper trail to terminate them. Even Governor Andrew Cuomo revamped the teacher evaluation system so that more teachers can be rated "ineffective" and the burden of proof was shifted to the teacher at their 3020-a hearing.
Instead of appreciating their veteran teachers, the education deformers, and their media and political allies rather continue the narrative of the bad teacher when the truth is the continued demonizing of teachers and their profession will simply hasten the day when we experience a teacher shortage as few college students will choose education, due to low morale, high teacher turnover, inferior pay, and lack of respect. The result is a lower student academic achievement and a continue3d achievement gap between different cohorts.
20 comments:
There are so many vacancies in NYC Public schools. Even in some of the "Better" Schools. As an ATR this Year I am covering a number of classes that does not have a Teacher. The DOE has created this monstrosity. I feel bad for the kids. They will be pulling people off the streets soon to Teach.....Keep Bashing Good Senior Teachers, forcing them out, as they micromanage and stress the crap out of the newbies, most of them will burn out in a couple of years....Nobody will want to Teach anymore. The system will soon come to a breaking point...it is inevitable.
I really think "The Bad Teacher Narrative" will be history very soon. Teacher shortage is upon us. Towns and cities are going to be begging to get warm bodies in front of a classroom. The economy is getting better and municipalities are not hurting as much for cash such as during the recession which was the pinnacle of "The Bad Teacher Narrative". Put all that together and the press will soon have another sacred cow to slaughter. (In fact, the NY Post has been bashing on police officers and their salaries and pensions lately)
Amen. So far so good this year. New SO replacing a horrible, ineffective, and corrupt one. I also have less than two years to go. Yes, I'm being groomed to retire. The system is broken. I'm going to have fun. 29 years w several close calls has taught me stay out of trouble. Stay in my room, turn in basic paperwork, and look forward to to good things in life. Hopefully my battles are over. Anti depressants every day - check
Huge and growing TDA - check
Great future fire my children-
check. No more devil AP- check
To all new teachers. I'm here for your assistance. Be creative and learn to adapt. Stand your ground and teach your heart out. Don't let your hair down. Have a big bag of tricks. Show the kids you have an interest in them. No BS. See you in vacationland.
30% of the NYC teachers are above 50 yrs old . Couple that with high teacher turnover . 5 yrs there's a major teacher shortage in every subject.
I don't see any teacher shortage here in NYC. It's just a bullshit narrative that the UFT is using as a scare tactic for COPE funds.'We must fight to bring education back into popularity as a college major.' Why? Would you recommend teaching, as it is now, to your worst enemy? Fortunately for the UFT and DOE every kid in the US that wants to teach, wants to come to NYC and live in Manhattan or Brooklyn. The reality of course is very different from the dream. Many of these kids are enthusiastic, smart and likable. The DOE just hired thousands of them by the way. Very few will last more than a few years - some will be gone by Christmas with PTSD, but there's always a new crop every fall. May God bless them one and all - and I'm serious.
NYC DOE deserves a teacher shortage and let it be a big one.
This is my 30th year teaching. I am retiring in June. I would love to stay and keep teaching. However, I can't handle the paperwork the crowded classroom, the bulletin boards, mastery connect with data tracking etc.... Now they want me to take photos of the students' work to "capture evidence" while teaching. Boring PD every Tuesday. I can't teach anymore, I am jack of all trades and a master teacher of NONE!!!
I am not respected by my administrations or the newbies, even though my class was the only group that made progress on the ELA a 6% growth from the year before. Is it June yet?
A "teacher shortage" narrative will be manipulated in the interests of the so-called reformers; it will provide an opening to even further degrade the professional qualifications of teachers - think quickie certification, a la charter schools - and take us further down the road toward teaching as temp work.
The two best things about teaching for the DOE
are
July and August :)
They are targeting veteran teachers. It is age discrimination.
hey chaz I love how you and your readers stand on your soapboxes and make yourselves out to be expert on the pathetic education system that IS the nyshitty school system then vilify the inadequate buyout and how anyone in they're right mind would take it. make up your little minds! why wouldn't you take the buyout rather than be subjected to the worst system in the country. just pick a side already.
Anon 5:37
I did take side and chose not to take the buyout! Read my blog.
Can administration inform the staff, that all homework must be typed and approved by them. We must submit all homework by 2:20 p.m. on Friday. We were informed that it is part of our teaching responsibility. Is this true.
Forgive this unrelated question, Chaz...perhaps you can do a separate post. (tier IV) I've read the TRS retiree companion handbook. I've read all of your posts on pension and retirement but still have a question re: FAS. I uderstand pension is based on the last 3 years. I understand the 10% rule for the 2 years prior. But...Do they base the work year as September through August while looking at money earned during the last 3 years and 2 years prior? And what about teachers who retire before end of school in June? I find your pension/retirement info more helpful than anything provided by the UFT.
To anon 749pm -
The answer is yes, they can. And here's why - admin can require teachers to do anything, unless the contract says they cannot. Some examples.... the contract states the teacher work day is 6 and 20, therefore the admin cannot make you stay later. The contract states you are allowed 10 sick days per year, therefore admin cannot discipline you for taking off 10 days.
HOWEVER, the contract DOES NOT state anything about design of the classroom. Meaning, if an admin directs you to put your desks in groups of four, YOU MUST do it. The contract DOES NOT state anything about class exams. Meaning, if admin direct you to give 6 class exams per marking period, YOU MUST do it.
The same goes for your post regarding typing and handing in hw assignments. Since the contract DOES NOT state admins are not allowed to request hw assignments, then the admins are allowed to request your typed hw assignments!! This is the loophole horrible admins use to torture their staff. And it is completely legal.
Anon 5:37
Based on your comments and grammar...or rather lack of...including your lack of attention to syntax...it is not very difficult to guess your likely age and experience in this field. Why are you on this site reading a bunch of texts by a group of veteran educators? Drink some DOE Kool-Aid and go back to believing the narrative put forth by the education reformers; the hypocrisy is that neither you nor others with your mindset would want the same for your own kids.
To 6:31, yes, that is the secret. I also learned early on to keep my head down, smile, say yes to every stupid order and focus on helping the kids. Newbies come in and have the fake 'freedom writer's' mentality. They are soon burnt out or forced out.
8:28 mentions there is not really a teacher shortage. I also agree. We get inundated with new resumes every year, and we are a renewal school. NYC, as correctly pointed out, attracts all these young, white savior types who want to save black and brown people by day and go clubbing by night.
The DOE needs to stop targeting veteran teachers. It is just becoming irresponsible.
TO 9:37 - when I retired I had 35 years service. That year there was also an incentive so I got two years extra credit. I retired July first. That way I started to get the pension July first and was also eligible for the two months summer pay.
Once retired I received estimated payments from TRS for July and August. Here is the kicker - when I received the TRS printout explaining exactly how my pension was calculated I found that instead of getting two extra years pension credit I received one year, nine months and 7 days credit. Why? A little thing called Anniversary Date - the date I started working for the B of E; in my case early September.
Pension is complicated, technical stuff. Once again I tell people to go to the free pension clinics. They usually are very informative and you pay for it through your dues.
Remember that the pension is your money. If you look for a mortgage you ask questions and shop around. There are teachers out there who are clueless.
Stop listening to the guy in the lunchroom who has a friend who said blah, blah, blah. I believe the UFT has pension speakers who will come to the school. Ask your chapter leader.
It annoys me as an ATR, I know I can do a great, better job than a lot of these younger teachers. It's embarrassing, to be fair.
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