This Labor Day weekend is a time to think about your job? Why did you get into teaching? Is it what you thought it would be? If you could get another job would you?
I went into teaching many years ago thinking that I could make a difference in a child's life. Teaching children back in the good old days was much easier and less demanding then what is expected of teachers today. Children have changed for the worst over the years and teachers do not have the parental support or the support from the school district we work for. Teaching now is not what I would have ever imagined it to be..........it is a nightmare! If I could get another job with less stress and where my employer respects me and treats me like a human being I would gladly jump at the chance!
Yes, the children have changed, They are less respectful and more challenging. I am up to that challenge and can accept it. What is really is a bummer is having a superintendent who spends most of his time demeaning teachers, bullying teachers and school board members, and issuing daily threats.......his attitude is far worse that any of the most challenging students I have taught. I can't wait until the day he is gone.
The answer is the children, they continue to amaze and delight me. I teach a subject that involves creative response, and as they discover they have previously unknown talents they are delighted. I spent half my career teaching elemetary school and half in high school, the challenge of motivating kids in high school is huge.
In my room I had several "spice mice" that hung from the ceiling. They are little goofy key chain characters, dressed as rappers, that sing little rap songs when you sqeeze their bellies, and when even the biggest thugs in my school were in the room and whould squeeze those mice, for just a flickering instance you could still see the innocent child in that young adult.
I left my last school and have gone to a new grade level, and the letters I recieved from parents and students touched my heart.
At my new school I've had several previous students stop in to see me, and they ask me if I remember them, usually I do, and then they tell me that they still have this project or that project that they did with me.
Over all I can't imagine a more emotionally rewarding career.
Teaching is (especially since Dr. White arrived) has not been fun or rewarding anymore.
I use to look forward to each day seeing student progress and lights turning on. Now even with those things happening and students doing more. I feel like I am constantly looking over my shoulder. Administrators pulling tricks and routinely not following direction or statutes in their treatment of teachers.
I have at times looked to leave the district but after this many years it is hard to move. Unless I go to parochial or private schools that don't pay the money we get. So, economically I am trapped.
I have been offered jobs at the collegiate level and in office employment. That is not what I want for my life. So that is out of the question. I just don't want to work for IPS (Dr. White and his bully administration). Unfortunetly, I am trapped if I want equal communication.
The students are wonderful, challenging but wonderful, the building level administration and downtown administration are awful. I've seen several really good administrators but they are gone for the most part.
At my school the normal practice inolves blaming teachers for everything, and no administrative support. The school only rings a bell at the end of class periods and no bell to start class, when the teachers complained that passing period was stretching to 15+ minutes, the principal said "it is a reflection on your ability as a teacher that the students are tardy to your class". In the most recent faculty meeting when teachers questioned some policy the same administrator gave to contradictory and mutually exclusive directives on what to do, so no matter what the teacher does they are WRONG. They changed the bell schedule with out notifying anyone, and might tell us the new one on Tueday.
This school couldn't possibly be the one with the new, enlightened philosophy of students equal to staff, teenagers who brains aren't fully developed making responsible decisions regarding their education. That one, I don't even have to know because the bell issue was reported in the newspaper. I laughed then and I'm laughing now.
My school does not have bells and students soon learn to adapt and accept the responsiblity to change classes at the appropriate time. I like it. They are not Pavlov dogs who react when a bell rings.
Brandon it's nice to know you read the blog, and I'm sure that works with the cream of the crop, in a school with 500 kids and an adminstrator for every 100 kids. This has to be the highest administrative student ratio in the state.
Don't put Dr. White down, I am sure he will hire more unless adminstrators to beat the record of the highest sadministrative to student ratio in the State of Indiana. The Board Members just bob their heads to the clown with the red slippers.
The job is really tough, it would be far easier and the stress would be lower if the administration showed a little support, respect and appreciation. It is amazing what a thanks would do.
It is an attiutude that comes from above, treat your teachers like they are scum.
The environment is so punitive that I am sure that I will leave as soon as I can. Due to the number of years I ahve taught this will result in having to get a different degree and start in a new field.
Yes, children have changed, but so has the world! The job is stressful at times, but name me one job that is not! It took me a long time to decide to become a teacher, but I am glad I did. Perhaps I am naive, but Dr. White and his cronies don't rock my world. My joy of teaching is God-given and as the good book says, they didn't give it to me and they can't take it away.
I find my job very rewarding. Sure, there are people employed by the district that I wish were not employed by the district, and there are policies that I wish were not policies. But overall, I find teaching infinitely more enjoyable and rewarding than any other career I can imagine. The biggest drawback for me isn't administration or difficult kids, it's how overwhelmed I sometimes get with the tragic lives some of these kids lead. I'll go home and just sob. But I think maybe that makes the good days even better. And really, there are far more good days than bad days.
There is a lot of sadness in teaching in IPS, paricularly if you love your kids, in the last two year I've had at least ten former students murdered. It started with a girl I had in elementary school who was shot when she sat down after moving into a new apartment with her children, I can remember turning the jumprope for her on the playground. The girl who was shot by her sisters abusive boyfriend, while in bed with a toddler, another boy murdered in an apartment with two other people. I have vivid memories of all of these sweet kids.
And on the other side, at least five of my former students are in prison for murder. When I heard one particular student had been killed while committing a crime I had to pull off the side of the road and sit for twenty minutes weeping, one of my fondest memories of teaching was this boy as a second grader embracing his friend and saying what a good year second grade had been.
The only way I can go on is by focusing on the wonderful young adults who I taught, they stop me when I'm shopping, when I fill my gas tank, at my doctor's office and their kindness and the honor I feel that they remember me is what keeps me going.
I know how you are feeling. I run into former students all of the time. They always remember my name and I do remember most of the time....they sometimes mention little things that I did that they remember. They frequently are little insignicant things that I had forgotten until they mention it. The amazing thing is that students that I thought I never really had any rapport with and struggled with all year will several years later seem to only remember the good times. I think it is true that some of our students come to school because that is the only bright spot in their lives.
"The students are wonderful, challenging but wonderful, the building level administration and downtown administration are awful. I've seen several really good administrators but they are gone for the most part.
At my school the normal practice inolves blaming teachers for everything, and no administrative support. The school only rings a bell at the end of class periods and no bell to start class, when the teachers complained that passing period was stretching to 15+ minutes, the principal said "it is a reflection on your ability as a teacher that the students are tardy to your class". In the most recent faculty meeting when teachers questioned some policy the same administrator gave to contradictory and mutually exclusive directives on what to do, so no matter what the teacher does they are WRONG. They changed the bell schedule with out notifying anyone, and might tell us the new one on Tueday.
It is very sad."
Whitney is that you? I'm telling on you. (Spell check young lady.)
I agree. Can't people discuss anything without guessing (probably incorrectly) who the anonymous posters are? Same thing with making personal attacks and comments on various administrators by name. It's just so tacky and catty and really reflects poorly on teachers and professionals. We can criticize policy without attacking people.
I really like teaching, because I can bitch and moan 24/7, play the martyr, and be really negative...all the while deceiving myself into believing that I don't carry this toxic attitude into my classroom, and that I am the most positive influence in the students' lives.
The sad thing is that I have heard student tell me that their teachers are angry/upset/hurt by administration. The only time I have ever shared any concern about adminstration with students is when it DIRECTLY affects them, or when I am working in support of administrative policy. I don't agree with the uniform policy, and I say to my students "even though I don't agree with this policy I have to enforce it and you have to follow it. This is the job I am paid to do, and I will do it. When you have a job you will be asked to do things you may not want to do, but you will have to do them anyway, or find a new job. If you want to change a policy you need to become politically involved, because things change when you are educated and vote."
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Ghandi
"It wasn't Whitney and it was very poor form for you to out her here, even though you are wrong. Don't you think administrators read this too?"
If you don't want them to retaliate do not post on the blog. If you think that you can just post something without any retribution you are fooling yourself. Just be prepared to deal with it when the time comes. They are well aware of who you are. We talk too much.
It is not Whitney, who ever that is, and if she is capable of standing up against things that are not in the best interest of teachers and students more power to her. And to the tyrants who would retaliate against her, I hope they rot in hell, at least there they won't be damaging children.
The kids are running the show; they arrive late every period and cite CPT, colored people’s time, as an excuse. We are teaching them the wrong values, and need to look at the big picture.
I visited a respected administrator once and they had a sign on their desk that said "Get the child ready for the road, not the road ready for the child". It is a disservice to do what we are doing, changing the school environment to accommodate the bad habits of children (and their families). We're setting them up for another generation of poverty.
And when you bring legitimate educational concerns to the school administration you get treated like you are the village idiot. You can't even get hall passes without permission from the grand poohba, are you a child? do you enjoy being treated like a child? Not me, so keep looking for my posts.
Has anyone seen the midget administrator Dexter at Arlington? I heard he never leaves his office and has no management style, that means connumication with staff? What happened to Kami Phelps?
I went into teaching many years ago thinking that I could make a difference in a child's life. Teaching children back in the good old days was much easier and less demanding then what is expected of teachers today. Children have changed for the worst over the years and teachers do not have the parental support or the support from the school district we work for. Teaching now is not what I would have ever imagined it to be..........it is a nightmare! If I could get another job with less stress and where my employer respects me and treats me like a human being I would gladly jump at the chance!
ReplyDeleteYes, the children have changed, They are less respectful and more challenging. I am up to that challenge and can accept it. What is really is a bummer is having a superintendent who spends most of his time demeaning teachers, bullying teachers and school board members, and issuing daily threats.......his attitude is far worse that any of the most challenging students I have taught. I can't wait until the day he is gone.
ReplyDeleteThe answer is the children, they continue to amaze and delight me. I teach a subject that involves creative response, and as they discover they have previously unknown talents they are delighted. I spent half my career teaching elemetary school and half in high school, the challenge of motivating kids in high school is huge.
ReplyDeleteIn my room I had several "spice mice" that hung from the ceiling. They are little goofy key chain characters, dressed as rappers, that sing little rap songs when you sqeeze their bellies, and when even the biggest thugs in my school were in the room and whould squeeze those mice, for just a flickering instance you could still see the innocent child in that young adult.
I left my last school and have gone to a new grade level, and the letters I recieved from parents and students touched my heart.
At my new school I've had several previous students stop in to see me, and they ask me if I remember them, usually I do, and then they tell me that they still have this project or that project that they did with me.
Over all I can't imagine a more emotionally rewarding career.
Teaching is (especially since Dr. White arrived) has not been fun or rewarding anymore.
ReplyDeleteI use to look forward to each day seeing student progress and lights turning on. Now even with those things happening and students doing more. I feel like I am constantly looking over my shoulder. Administrators pulling tricks and routinely not following direction or statutes in their treatment of teachers.
I have at times looked to leave the district but after this many years it is hard to move. Unless I go to parochial or private schools that don't pay the money we get. So, economically I am trapped.
I have been offered jobs at the collegiate level and in office employment. That is not what I want for my life. So that is out of the question. I just don't want to work for IPS (Dr. White and his bully administration). Unfortunetly, I am trapped if I want equal communication.
The students are wonderful, challenging but wonderful, the building level administration and downtown administration are awful. I've seen several really good administrators but they are gone for the most part.
ReplyDeleteAt my school the normal practice inolves blaming teachers for everything, and no administrative support. The school only rings a bell at the end of class periods and no bell to start class, when the teachers complained that passing period was stretching to 15+ minutes, the principal said "it is a reflection on your ability as a teacher that the students are tardy to your class". In the most recent faculty meeting when teachers questioned some policy the same administrator gave to contradictory and mutually exclusive directives on what to do, so no matter what the teacher does they are WRONG. They changed the bell schedule with out notifying anyone, and might tell us the new one on Tueday.
It is very sad.
This school couldn't possibly be the one with the new, enlightened philosophy of students equal to staff, teenagers who brains aren't fully developed making responsible decisions regarding their education. That one, I don't even have to know because the bell issue was reported in the newspaper. I laughed then and I'm laughing now.
ReplyDeleteMy school does not have bells and students soon learn to adapt and accept the responsiblity to change classes at the appropriate time. I like it. They are not Pavlov dogs who react when a bell rings.
ReplyDeleteBrandon it's nice to know you read the blog, and I'm sure that works with the cream of the crop, in a school with 500 kids and an adminstrator for every 100 kids. This has to be the highest administrative student ratio in the state.
ReplyDeleteDon't put Dr. White down, I am sure he will hire more unless adminstrators to beat the record of the highest sadministrative to student ratio in the State of Indiana. The Board Members just bob their heads to the clown with the red slippers.
ReplyDeleteThe job is really tough, it would be far easier and the stress would be lower if the administration showed a little support, respect and appreciation. It is amazing what a thanks would do.
ReplyDeleteIt is an attiutude that comes from above, treat your teachers like they are scum.
The environment is so punitive that I am sure that I will leave as soon as I can. Due to the number of years I ahve taught this will result in having to get a different degree and start in a new field.
ReplyDeleteYes, children have changed, but so has the world! The job is stressful at times, but name me one job that is not! It took me a long time to decide to become a teacher, but I am glad I did. Perhaps I am naive, but Dr. White and his cronies don't rock my world. My joy of teaching is God-given and as the good book says, they didn't give it to me and they can't take it away.
ReplyDeleteBrandon who??
ReplyDeleteI find my job very rewarding. Sure, there are people employed by the district that I wish were not employed by the district, and there are policies that I wish were not policies. But overall, I find teaching infinitely more enjoyable and rewarding than any other career I can imagine. The biggest drawback for me isn't administration or difficult kids, it's how overwhelmed I sometimes get with the tragic lives some of these kids lead. I'll go home and just sob. But I think maybe that makes the good days even better. And really, there are far more good days than bad days.
ReplyDeleteI love my job! I can't picture myself doing anything else!
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of sadness in teaching in IPS, paricularly if you love your kids, in the last two year I've had at least ten former students murdered. It started with a girl I had in elementary school who was shot when she sat down after moving into a new apartment with her children, I can remember turning the jumprope for her on the playground. The girl who was shot by her sisters abusive boyfriend, while in bed with a toddler, another boy murdered in an apartment with two other people.
ReplyDeleteI have vivid memories of all of these sweet kids.
And on the other side, at least five of my former students are in prison for murder. When I heard one particular student had been killed while committing a crime I had to pull off the side of the road and sit for twenty minutes weeping, one of my fondest memories of teaching was this boy as a second grader embracing his friend and saying what a good year second grade had been.
The only way I can go on is by focusing on the wonderful young adults who I taught, they stop me when I'm shopping, when I fill my gas tank, at my doctor's office and their kindness and the honor I feel that they remember me is what keeps me going.
I know how you are feeling. I run into former students all of the time. They always remember my name and I do remember most of the time....they sometimes mention little things that I did that they remember. They frequently are little insignicant things that I had forgotten until they mention it. The amazing thing is that students that I thought I never really had any rapport with and struggled with all year will several years later seem to only remember the good times. I think it is true that some of our students come to school because that is the only bright spot in their lives.
ReplyDelete"The students are wonderful, challenging but wonderful, the building level administration and downtown administration are awful. I've seen several really good administrators but they are gone for the most part.
ReplyDeleteAt my school the normal practice inolves blaming teachers for everything, and no administrative support. The school only rings a bell at the end of class periods and no bell to start class, when the teachers complained that passing period was stretching to 15+ minutes, the principal said "it is a reflection on your ability as a teacher that the students are tardy to your class". In the most recent faculty meeting when teachers questioned some policy the same administrator gave to contradictory and mutually exclusive directives on what to do, so no matter what the teacher does they are WRONG. They changed the bell schedule with out notifying anyone, and might tell us the new one on Tueday.
It is very sad."
Whitney is that you? I'm telling on you. (Spell check young lady.)
It wasn't Whitney and it was very poor form for you to out her here, even though you are wrong. Don't you think administrators read this too?
ReplyDeleteI agree. Can't people discuss anything without guessing (probably incorrectly) who the anonymous posters are? Same thing with making personal attacks and comments on various administrators by name. It's just so tacky and catty and really reflects poorly on teachers and professionals. We can criticize policy without attacking people.
ReplyDeleteI really like teaching, because I can bitch and moan 24/7, play the martyr, and be really negative...all the while deceiving myself into believing that I don't carry this toxic attitude into my classroom, and that I am the most positive influence in the students' lives.
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is that I have heard student tell me that their teachers are angry/upset/hurt by administration. The only time I have ever shared any concern about adminstration with students is when it DIRECTLY affects them, or when I am working in support of administrative policy. I don't agree with the uniform policy, and I say to my students "even though I don't agree with this policy I have to enforce it and you have to follow it. This is the job I am paid to do, and I will do it. When you have a job you will be asked to do things you may not want to do, but you will have to do them anyway, or find a new job. If you want to change a policy you need to become politically involved, because things change when you are educated and vote."
ReplyDelete“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Ghandi
"It wasn't Whitney and it was very poor form for you to out her here, even though you are wrong. Don't you think administrators read this too?"
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want them to retaliate do not post on the blog. If you think that you can just post something without any retribution you are fooling yourself. Just be prepared to deal with it when the time comes. They are well aware of who you are. We talk too much.
Looks like Jane Kendrick is on here again!!
ReplyDeleteIt is not Whitney, who ever that is, and if she is capable of standing up against things that are not in the best interest of teachers and students more power to her. And to the tyrants who would retaliate against her, I hope they rot in hell, at least there they won't be damaging children.
ReplyDeleteThe kids are running the show; they arrive late every period and cite CPT, colored people’s time, as an excuse. We are teaching them the wrong values, and need to look at the big picture.
I visited a respected administrator once and they had a sign on their desk that said "Get the child ready for the road, not the road ready for the child". It is a disservice to do what we are doing, changing the school environment to accommodate the bad habits of children (and their families). We're setting them up for another generation of poverty.
And when you bring legitimate educational concerns to the school administration you get treated like you are the village idiot. You can't even get hall passes without permission from the grand poohba, are you a child? do you enjoy being treated like a child? Not me, so keep looking for my posts.
Has anyone seen the midget administrator Dexter at Arlington? I heard he never leaves his office and has no management style, that means connumication with staff? What happened to Kami Phelps?
ReplyDelete