I have not read the entirety of this thread (& don't usually respond to these threads because I have
very strong feelings). I stopped about pg. 3 at the Dr. Phil/SWTXBelle disagreement. But, I am going to add a few things.
It's hard to really understand the plight of a teacher
if you aren't one. During my professional career, I have never gotten a raise. In fact, I've seen the responsibilities on my desk build while my pay has actually gone down.
Keep in mind while you read the below that I teach high school resource Algebra I.
I am an email teacher. It is a quick and easy way to contact a parent AND there's a written record of what conspired. That being said, I wish I could call parents. Can I call them? Yes, of course. The problem starts when parents want to talk to me for 45min (true story) about everything else going on that has hindered Little Johnny's completion of assignments. As a relatively new teacher, it has been hard to me to find a way to tell a parent who won't stop talking that "I'm sorry, but I need to go." In this day and age, it is routine for that parent to call the superintendent and tell him that I was rude to her for ending the conversation and don't care about Little Johnny. So, I've been at work since 6:30am and needed to leave at 4:30pm for a another commitment, but decided it was a good idea to quikly call Mrs. Jones to tell her that Johnny hasn't been completing assignments and before I can get off the phone, it's almost 5:30pm. There are two things I always want to say to Mrs. Jones: 1) I know Johnny is your only (or one of a few) little angel, but he's not my only little angel, so I've got work to do. 2) I do not disintegrate when the bell rings and I have responsibilities in the evenings.
The other issue is (and I think it's been mentioned) is that parents
will lie. There is no record of a phone conversation except what I write down on my contact log (which is not written in stone). For example, last year, I was called into guidance because of a student in my class. I wasn't told any details of the parent's previous behavior. What I was told is: If the mom calls, put her on hold and get another teacher to come sit in the room while you talk to her. If this mom shows up on parent teacher conference day, ask her to wait while you go get another teacher. The message here: Never meet with this parent alone. Luckily, the child was never a problem for me and I worked very hard with her, so I was never on the mom's bad side.
There is a cartoon . The left side depicts education 30 years ago. The kid has an "F" on an assignment and the parent is shaking their finger at the student. The right side depicts present day education. The kid has an "F" on an assignment and the parent is shaking their finger at the teacher. (I wish I could find it)
There is very little personal accountability going on. In my mind, if you don't do the assignments you get zeros and your grade will go down. Natural consequence. Next time, you'll do your assignments. That is not seen as a valid argument for teachers. It will automatically (and has, even in my short career) become my fault that Little Suzie has 8 zeros. I have resorted to providing time for Little Suzie (and everyone else) to complete her assignments
even if they were in school that day, but opted not to complete them the first time. And, I do this all for CYA, so that if mom is mad at me that Little Suzie failed, I can say: "I devoted x day and b day to make-up work entirely and she chose again not to complete it." (And, this is all backed up by the assignment schedule that is updated on my website daily.)
Little Suzie, Little Johnny, and all their Little Friends are going to be the college kids taking their professors notes from mommy on why the take home final isn't done. And, please tell me, how are they going to survive corporate america (or any country where they will be held responsible for tasks not completed.)
I love my job, but some days.....I just wonder.
ETA: I needed to quote/respond this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by scrapcat
BTW: I'm a Special Ed teacher. Oh the stories I could tell!
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DITTO! DITTO! DITTO!