After a relatively calm week, school ended on a sour note Friday. Next week is Homecoming and we are preparing for a big week. Here is a sampling of the fun scheduled for Mcintosh County Academy:
Monday: Pajama Day (There is no way I am wearing pajamas to school. I may don slippers, but that is it)
Tuesday: Halloween: I am going to be Bob Marley, or Barbara Marley
Wednesday: Dress to impress (I guess you dress up)
Thursday: I can't remember
Friday: Spirit Day
Well, our apathetic kids were rarin' to go and decorate so the school was in chaos. My day began with the assistant principal handing me a stack full of write-up's from the previous day. I had been out at training and my sub tried to take over my class. Well, my kids revolted and told her that she "was not their teacher," and "Ms. Taylor told them what to do so they did not need her help."
This sub is notoriously pushy. The assistant principal handed me the write-up's and said "take care of them."
I had just finished "The Monkey's Paw" and so I had the kids rewrite the ending of the story and describe how the son who comes back from the dead looked. They loved it! and approached it enthusiastically, so I let two boys who had done an exceptional job, go to the gym when there was ten minutes left in class. A few minutes after the boys left, the asst. principal came into my room and said, from the door, "Ms. Taylor, do not let your kids out of the room again." She turned and left and I felt scolded and embarrassed in front of my kids.
At lunch, the other English teacher came into my room furious. he said that Ms. Hunter, the asst. principal had come into the media center and asked him what he was doing in the library? She then told him too many kids were in the lab and he had to leave. Once again, she did this in front of his kids and embarrassed him.
Later in the day, with my prisoners-in-training seventh period class, we were working in collaborative pairs, which they want us to do, rewriting the ending of the story. These kids are always loud, but Friday they were loud but doing the work, when Ms. Hunter walks in and tells me, "Ms. Taylor, this class is too loud. Be quiet!" Once again, I was furious, but just said "OK."
Shortly after this, she comes back in and says, "All the other classes are quiet, but this class and I don't like it!" I apologized and told my kids to be quiet, but inside I was ready to cry. each time she came in, I was mediating the class and helping them do their work, but I feel it is totally inappropriate of them to reprimand the teachers in front of their students. I believe they have lost control of the school and may be trying to regain it, but at the expense of alienating the teachers. Many of the other teachers who have taught elsewhere say they have never seen a school so poorly run. Three veteran teachers have already left and more are threatening to go. I guess I do not know enough to know how bad it is there.
I do know, however, that I have written up one boy four times, me and others, and he has not spent one day in ISS. I am very discouraged today, but I am going to start the History of the English Language on Tuesday and I am going to have them try and read a little Chaucer aloud. Should be fun. I may have to bring Kirsten in as a guest reader, or maybe I could ring her up on Google chat and have her give an over the phone reading.
I am sad and lonely for all of you and can't wait for Thanksgiving break so I can come see you!
8 comments:
Alicia,
I am thinking about you. I don't know what else to say, but I have so much admiration for you. I don't know if things will get better, but I know that they could not have hired a better teacher.
Jon
You're a fab teacher and the kids (who are the ones that matter) agree. You're making differences in their lives, so don't listen to the idiot asst. (or as I like to say, ass.) principal.
As far as the Chaucer reading, just ring me up on google and I would be happy to provide you with a dramatic interpretation. A knickt thar waaaass....
I love you and you're in my prayers.
Sorry! I wrote the last comment, but accidentally published as Jonathan! (Although, Jon does love you too!)
kirsten
Wow, when teachers start leaving before Christmas, things must be pretty bad. I think, when things calm down, that you should have a discussion with the asst. principal. The people in that particular position are NOTORIOUS for being jerks. The asst. principal at the school where I subbed would walk through the classrooms randomly and check the waist to butt ratio of the kids' pants, just in case they were hanging too far down..... I had kids throwing chairs at each other and no one came, but God forbid someone's pants be too low or their shirt not tucked in.... I'm thinking about you and sending you good vibes!
Christy's right. Plus, the asst. principal is probably up for the job of principal in that school or somewhere else and is trying to look tough.
I can't begin to tell you how many times this happened to me. It drove me absolutely bonkers and the worst part is that they're never around when the good things happen. And that's the most frustrating, especially since deep down we know that it's not important that others see what a good job we do, but we always seek validation in this world. I know I do.
But it became such a stress on me. That's eventually why I quit teaching. I'm not suggesting you do that and I'm SO proud of what you're doing but I want you to know that I completely understand what you're going through. I just wish I had words of encouragement. All I can say is that Spirit week is crazy, no matter what school you're in. Plus, they keep shoving this "working on the work" crap in our faces (or have they moved onto a new educational trend) and want cross-curricular, engaging activities, but what they fail to understand is that it's these kinds of activities that are often noisy. But like I said before, just 'cause it's noisy don't mean no learnin's taking place. The whole lot of them make me so mad. I understand their position as the enforcers of control, but if some of these asst. principals would spend less time patrolling corriders and more time listening to teachers and helping students, everyone would have a much better time.
Reading back through that I realize how angry I sound. And that's how I felt the whole time I was teaching. It wasn't the kids that drove me crazy, it was the administration. No support and constant judgement. In fact, I rather liked most of the kids. There are a few for whom I can safely say I'd rather not see again, but on the whole, they were a good bunch.
Who cares about the ass. pricipal.
Cathy Cox was impressed and she's more important.
You have much to be proud of.
Hey, did you hear about the principal in Montana (I think) who was suspended for giving a student a wedgie? I swear I'm not making this up . . .
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