tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320064253271992861.post2188359251835366150..comments2023-06-07T12:22:24.806-04:00Comments on Untamed Teacher: The Ironing Board TestMoriah Untamedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08256637291823077134noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320064253271992861.post-33922700329895907232008-05-21T00:08:00.000-04:002008-05-21T00:08:00.000-04:00Chaz,Thanks. I've been seriously considering reti...Chaz,<BR/><BR/>Thanks. I've been seriously considering retirement. I could finally write anything I want any time I want. I wouldn't be so tired all the time.<BR/><BR/>Lots of teachers have opted to get out of a system that has become abusive to them. Who can blame them?<BR/><BR/>But there are a lot of people who are hanging in, and doing as you say, fighting all the way through the process. They are gumming up the works, slowing things down, and proving that this is not the corporate world. It's almost like one big huge sit-in. Passive resistence.<BR/><BR/>For now, I 'm going to try to stick it out.Moriah Untamedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08256637291823077134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320064253271992861.post-91000625636788036082008-05-20T16:50:00.000-04:002008-05-20T16:50:00.000-04:00Moriah:Don't let them defeat you. So what they se...Moriah:<BR/><BR/>Don't let them defeat you. So what they send you to the "rubber room"? You will have at least a full year of no lesson plans, student stress, and administrative nonsense, at full pay.<BR/><BR/>Even if they file 3020-a charges, the arbitrators know what's going on and it is highly unlikely you will be terminated. Maybe a fine or a suspension for the second year. Nothing worse then if you took a sabbatical at 70% pay. <BR/><BR/>The DOE wants you to retire, don't do it. Fight them all the way through the process.Chazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09964739497720364749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320064253271992861.post-53087500777161574392008-05-19T23:04:00.000-04:002008-05-19T23:04:00.000-04:00Thanks for your comments and advice. Unfortunatel...Thanks for your comments and advice. Unfortunately transferring to another school is not an option because I am at top salary and because I already have a U-rating.<BR/><BR/>Retirement might be the only other option.Moriah Untamedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08256637291823077134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320064253271992861.post-42990472689634768472008-05-19T21:30:00.000-04:002008-05-19T21:30:00.000-04:00First, I would like to say that I have read your b...First, I would like to say that I have read your blogging about your fight with interest and firmly believe that you are being railroaded by a hostile administration intent on finding grounds to remove you from the classroom. And I have no doubt that you are a highly qualified and dedicated science teacher. But, I am not surprised that a group of young teens misheard or misinterpreted your statements. They are very sensitive to perceived insults, as you should also remember about your 13 year old self. Whenever I engage in that type of language with my class, I always allow time to have them air out their feeelings and to clarify exactly what I did and did not say. I am surprised however, that the ELA teacher indulged them and allowed them to committ their misinterpretations to paper thus re-enforcing them. When I have students come to me about another teacher, I always have the teacher's back (even when I believe it likely that the student is telling the truth). I remind them of the severity of their accusations and encourage them to speak directly to the teacher outside the classroom. And I remind them that we often mishear each other. Basically, I make them think long and hard before doing things like making written statements or even spreading gossip. And if the teacher has been named to me, I always give him or her a heads up without naming the particular student who is making the accusation. From reading your blog for sometime, I believe that if you are in a siutation where the students are against you, you should think about transferring schools. Once you are considered by them to be racist or biased, the label sticks, no matter what the truth might be. Unless you have an equally vocal and influencial group of students backing you up, you are in trouble. And with colleagues like the ELA teacher, you are in more trouble. And this may be why the administration is clearly trying to find grounds to justify your dismissal. Negative feedback from students and/or parents will give them continual rationale to get you out. I have known others in similar situations who have successfully found other positions, and had threatened U ratings reversed to allow it. They are now very content in their new school where they came in with a clean slate and have made a success for themselves. Why not consider going somewhere that you will be valued by everyone in the school? I admire your desire to fight and see justice done. But the deck is stacked against the individual teacher like you. And then there is the old adage about there being no true victors in a war.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com