“I Just Want to Teach!” A Teacher’s Plea

[proud2BlibKansan]

The other day I posted a status on FB, “They are sucking the joy out of teaching!” You know who “they” are. I have taught for 27 years, and never have I felt this way. It’s not the new principal. It’s all the next “new” things that have been lobbed at me from one day to the next. After I duck one, or get hit, depending on what innovative thing they have come up with, something new is thrown at me.

I sat at our last meeting, completely overwhelmed, when our principal told us that she wanted us to use data to develop carousel workshops, every week, for reading and math. My first thought was, in order to gather this data to use every week, I would have to test the heck out of my kids. My second thought, when am I supposed to teach? Teach! Remember when we used to be able to do that? My third thought was, this is utterly ridiculous, and I cannot do this anymore! My mind is flailing as I try to stay afloat in a sea of acronyms! EQ, CSR, KUD, LM, NCLB, DCAS, some one throw me a life raft!

I have come to the belief that we have been pimped out for RTT (Race to the Top) money. The powers that be jumped at the chance to accept that money, and agreed to do anything that was asked to keep it. But in the end, who actually completes all the requirements?Teachers do! Who benefits from this money, the kids? I think not. The teachers? A resounding no! We have “coaches” running our schools. My principal has at least three different coaches telling her what to do and how to do it. And then, she tells us. An example, the coaches walk around with her, enter our classrooms for five minutes, and then leave us a feedback form with 5 questions we have to answer. (What happens if she doesn’t have 5 questions?) It’s called 5 X 5, isn’t that the cutest thing? How much are these coaches being paid and do any of them have a background in education?

I know some of the ideas have merit. As a matter of fact, I have used some of them. But when you are told how often you should use them, when you should use them, and penalized if you don’t, my gosh, doesn’t that defeat my purpose? Why bother to pay me if I can’t make any decisions, if my judgement cannot be trusted?

more . . . http://oldschoolteach.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/i-just-want-to-teach-a-teachers-plea/

[Starry Messenger]

1. k&r

[unkachuck]

2. K&R....n/t

[madfloridian]

3. Scripted teaching, scripted learning. No thinking skills.

Just do as we say, read from the script. Oh, Lordy that was starting when I retired. So glad I am out of there.

We had a lot of years where we could actually teach, develop our own individual lesson plans...instead of copying from a manuscript type.

We could use our own methods of classroom control. When the little ones tired, we did a poem or song and put our heads down for a minute or so. They got their smiles back, and learning was easier.

The classroom was a place to make kids happy not to threaten them.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

4. This was an excellent article. Repubs want everything run like a corporation. That's WRONG!

Recently, someone on here posted an article about Finland's excellent schools and what they do that makes them so excellent, and helps their students thrive above other schools in the world.

To begin with, they don't run their schools like corporations. They run their schools like schools. It's the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what we do here. What we do here to schools, teachers and students is counter-productive to schools and students. You cannot run a school like a corporation and expect kids to learn, teachers to teach adequately, and schools to succeed.

Here is that article:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. It's not just repubs. All of this has become much worse since Arne Duncan became Sec of Ed

This is definitely not a partisan issue anymore.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

15. You're right. GOPiggies started it, and Democrazies jumped on the bandwagon nt

[knitter4democracy]

5. Our county pays coaches $500/day. Nice gig if you can get it.

Subs get paid $70/day on average, slightly more in some districts or if they're long-term and doing more. Frackin' coaches make so much more that I'm considering doing what I can to become one.

[roody]

6. just got home from 2 and one half hours in my classroom

preparing for a sub for a required "training"

I noticed that all the new materials are very bland. For fifth graders there is a story about a small town reporter. She reports on the new leash law and the parade.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. We have a new edict. No more fiction.

We are to focus on nonfiction.

Guess why?

It starts with a T and ends with a T. :)

[roody]

11. We are too with the new language arts adoption: Excursions

May the nonfiction be less bland.

[southerncrone]

7. This is why I took an early retirement the end May. I WANTED to teach.

I need to find another job, but am still RECOVERING from the last 2.5 yrs in the classroom. Complete exhaustion.

We were one of the first 2 RTTT states. The pressure to be selected for RTTT, followed by the increased demands & pressures once we had it, were insane.
Politicians, administrators who had been out of the classrooms for decades, the culmination of NCLB in the students who were finally reaching us at the HS level (w/few skills & NO motivation), young teachers who could not "manage" their own lives...let alone a classroom full of HS students, increased class size, reams of paperwork to justify our jobs, cutesy "programs" w/catchy names (5x5) dreamed up in the ivory towers, parents who blame us for their shortcomings, and a multitude of other factors. All of the above snowball and fall on the teachers' laps.
Spineless administrators who kiss assssss to the politicians & promise the world at the expense of those who actually are tasked w/the production are a big part of the problem.

There is not time left to teach. We are full-fledged secretaries to the boards, substitute parents, mentors to new teachers, psychologists, janitors, nurses, and "whipping boys" when things don't turn out well.

The corporate model will not work in education. WE ARE NOT CRANKING OUT WIDGETS. WE ARE CREATING FUNCTIONING HUMANS. (Or trying to.)

And WHO is completely left out in the development of these crazy systems? The students.
It's completely off the rails. :crazy:

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. I just want to have school again.

I'm sick to death of the constant data collection and testing and one stupid special (expensive) program right after another. We've had 4 reading programs in 10 years. We have so many expensive computer programs the kids don't even have time to get through them. I don't teach. I manage kids moving from one activity to another. I'm sick of it. I just want to have school again.

[southerncrone]

13. One of my colleagues, who has taught for over 35 yrs,

made the statement last year that:

"We are just playing school; we're just pretending. As long as the 'outside world' thinks we're teaching...that's all that matters. That's all that administrators want now. It doesn't matter if the kids are learning or not, just as long as the scores are there. Cheating by teachers & administrators will become the norm."

We've already see his prophecy come to pass w/massive cheating by teachers in GA. I think there are other examples now, too.

I could no longer, consciously, be a party to this farce.
I might not have much, but I still have my integrity.
I wanted to help kids, but the current system will not allow it.

[roody]

12. +1

[madfloridian]

14. Amen to that. I am glad I retired.