I am very glad that we didn't have school last week. The kids and employees needed to be safe. Kudos to IPS for getting the word out about the cancellations so early in the day as well. It made planning for people so much easier.
So how many things are going to have to be done without as a result of the expense involved from the ice. You know they are going to find any excuse they can to take money from the schools.
What planet did you fall to earth from? (Pardon me for ending my question in a preposition.) We are here to serve the children, and that includes working hard at clearing the lots. It includes your safety as well. So Mr/Ms glass is half empty - thank us custodians for doing the grunt work while you relaxed and thought of new digs to throw our way and the way of our bosses. Get off your high horse. I have a Masters in Science with a Bachelors degree in English, but that and a dollar will get you a small coffee at Speedway in this economy.
I was cut from the ranks of teaching because of my age (years of service), and decided to take what I could get until I could get what I deserve, and keep my retirement in one place. So now I serve the pathetic excuse for a teacher you pretend to be. I'm still in it for the children and those who educate our children - and I'm sorry to say, it doesn't seem to be you - you seem to be in this "job" for yourself. Shut up, quit complaining, and do your job, or get out(then I might possibly get back into the classroom and truly live my own dream). You make me ill.
Of course, I missed being out. It is a difficult thing to keep my students focused. My students need that consistency that my classroom provides. I really feel for my students when they are left to the climate in which they live. All of my students are free meals/textbooks, and many have no water/electricity when they go home. Our social workers can only do so much to provide them with the necessities they need. Of course, the parents of the students with the greatest needs are the ones calling us cussing us out for being in school when everyone else is out.
However, they are the same parents who call us complaing about being out because they had a place to be and had to cancel because they had to deal with the kids being around all the time when we are closed. Sadly, these are the same parents who have cell phones and long manicured nails and really great clothes and hairstyles while I go without to take care of their children.
OOPS - sorry to go on a rant - but our students get their structure and consistency from US - not their families (if you can truly call them families - DNA doesn't account for a family in my book!!)
I honestly wish our school was a boarding house for our students with their schooling built in, rather than only have them taken care of for the 7 hours they are in our building.
For those who gripe all the time about having to go above and beyond - your students don't need you any more than they need their own families. GROW THE ______ UP! Be what you signed up to be as a mentor, educator, and compassionate leader/friend. Our profession is so much more than focusing on moving from one grade to the next.
For those of you who see it differently - go to one of those Charter Schools (maybe I've said too much - especially since you wouldn't be protected by your "union" at a charter school).
What do you actually teach? You ended a question with a period.
I agree with the above poster who cleared our lots after being released from the classroom due to lack of time on the job - you need to get out. Give the classroom back to him/her.
Get over yourself. Do you go to work for you or for our students?
Hey to the teacher that thinks all IPS kids need to be separated from their families, you are exactly the kind of teacher that necessitates charter schools and vouchers. Would you send your kid to be taught by someone who felt the way you do about parents? How is that different than parents who think teachers are all incompetent and overpaid. You're using stereotypes to defend your own insecurities. You will never garner support from parents and students if you think you are superior to them. Just like you don't look at stuffy Carmel-types and try to figure out how to make them think better of you. You simply decide they don't matter, don't you? Think about that when you're dealing with parents and students?
The boarding school is not a bad idea. I bet there are hundreds of high school students who would jump at the chance to stay in a dorm all week. They could focus on studies without getting caught up in family and neighborhood drama. They could prepare for the dorm experience of college, with the option of going home on the weekend.
I don't think a boarding school option is necessarily a bad idea, but I do think the poster who originally suggested them above came off as extremely hostile and judgmental toward IPS families.
It is not a joke. He wears them. They look effete and our pretentious. That says much about Eugene and we should not forget it. Keep talking about the ruby red slippers. They are a symbol of the man who is in the superintendent's office.
@I don't think a boarding school option is necessarily a bad idea,
For some of our IPS students, a boarding school would be the best thing that ever happened to them. They would be removed from all the needless emotional drama, the transient living conditions, the violence, the neighborhood thugs, guns, knives, and drugs. We're always talking about 'children first', well sometimes putting children first might involve a boarding school atmosphere. This should not be viewed as a punishment, but rather, as a ray of hope for some students who are trapped in home conditions that schools cannot change.
Well, you can't take kids against their will, and I don't think most parents or students WANT boarding schools. Most people, rich or poor, want to live with their children. And poor people often need older children to help out with younger children. We tie our own hands when we fixate on what we can't control, rather than putting our energy into the things we DO have control over.
The emphasis is on "some" IPS students...no, a boarding school is simply another option/choice, not a mandate, not a forced situation to go there (although, we DO force our students into our current IPS schools, don't we, without any choice at all)
My kids are in a magnet program, but it took me two years to get into one of the good ones (CFI or Montessori). I have several neighbors who are still on waiting lists. They are good schools and I highly recommend them, but it's simplistic to insinuate that all of our students have choices. A new neighbor of mine tried to enroll her children in six different nearby schools (two IPS magnets, two charter schools, and two township schools, and all turned her away because they were at max capacity). She put her name on waiting lists and is having another neighbor help home-school them until there is an opening at a decent school. There are choices, but they are very, very limited.
When a kindergartner pulls a knife on me and calls me a stupid b*&#$, then yes, I sometimes question what that child may be exposed to at home. Does that mean that all of our students need to be ripped from their families and kept in a militaristic facility? Absolutely not. But some of our children could benefit be being exposed to more than violence and hate.
See, your neighbor had a choice..home schooling. There are high school magnets now that have no waiting list. It may be different in the elementary grades.
To "when a kindergartener." Again, let's say it's even feasible, do you really think the kids that would most benefit would be the ones to choose a boarding school? Or are you just using the boarding school idea as a platform to bash and blame parents? It's not clear from your posts.
Maybe when folks speak about 'choice' and 'options' they mean choice and options that are not under the IPS umbrella. Even magnet schools are hampered from real growth and innovation because they're not autonomous and still must dance to the tune of an entrenched downtown Ed Center bureaucracy.
That's what's killing us, the Ed Center. Meaningful choice and options can only come from outside IPS and its archaic, deadening heavily-layed administrative bureaucracy which refuses to share its power with even an IPS-sponsored charter school.
@ CFI Waiting list I agree that CFI and Montessori are the best magnet options for our students, and I'm thrilled we will have a 3rd CFI location next year. This will help tremendously with allowing students from waiting list the opportunity to get that awesome experience! I think we should make 67 all Montessori rather than traditional & Montessori. The school 67 traditional students should get 1st opportunity for the magnet program if it fits their skills & personality, and those who want to stay in a traditional classroom could attend nearby 90.
Yes, they should be outstanding, but as long as the IPS Ed Center administration is managing/operating/messing around with them, they will never rise to their intended potential.
@above poster really? You must be a student playing around on our blog. Try to show dignity here, please.
@High School Magnets I'm sorry to shut down the theory of the Ed Center Admins throwing the fish back into their original pond. I work in a magnet High School, and the admins at our building can't handle the students. The are the ones pulling the old catch & release (sound familiar Mr. Gish? Mrs. Davis? OOPS - does the truth hurt big babies?)
@ after break - students I'm sorry you had a difficult day. I hope things get better!
I just so happen to be the poster above with the comment about your tired "joke". I stand corrected - you have explained that it wasn't actually a joke.
I am sick of the digs about personal appearances and personal choices. Why can't we focus on the true problem? The problem isn't with Dr. White's attire - no matter how ridiculous it may be, nor with the personal choices of the administrators and their lifestyles. The problem at hand is putting each "level" of educator against the other. Goodness knows there is enough of that without breaking the rest of us down in the process. Just do the right thing, and focus on your own classroom. Forget the details of the administrators. They aren't in the classroom, yet they must be sitting back laughing at us as we tear each other apart. By making digs at those downtown and at each other, we have no more credibility than those the posters tend to tear apart.
Additionally, I am rather tired of the petty calling out of Dr. White's lisp. In doing this, we are showing our students that if they have a lisp, they are doomed for failure or possibly a high position where his/her staff sit back and make lousy digs. What impression do you think you are putting upon the students with lisps?
Grow up. If we don't set the example, who do you think will do it for us?
There is one true focus in our battle - the students. If we succumb to the temptations of belittling those above us, we aren't truly the bigger person, and we therefore have lost the passion to mold and prepare our students for their future.
C'mon, any man who shows up in public in the Midwest wearing a pair of RED shoes must know he's gonna raise some eyebrows. How many men, short of those in show biz, wear red shoes as part of their professional business attire?
The lisp is beyond the man's control; his wearing red shoes is not.
@Besides, I can't even imagine the cost of a boarding school with around-the-clock employees.
The cost is easy to calculate... it's called prison... maybe if we spent the money we throw away on the so called "drug war" on education in this country we could maybe work on swapping our ranking on the world's "most citizens in prison" list with our ranking on the "most educated citizens" list... guess it's better to just keep them dumb and in jail... that's the American way.
The red shoes were pure pimpwear and he wore them school. That shows his lack of judgement. The embarrasing think is that IPS taxpayers give him thousands evey year for his clothing allowance and he shows up in red pimp shoes and suits that are much too small. Who pays for your clothing??
Everyone has their own diluted sense of style. You are probably the type to wear jeans and other casual wear to school to impress upon our students that they can get away with wearing stupid clothing in any profession. I have to impress upon our students that a good attire is very important when applying for a job, as well as wearing appropriate attire once you obtain a job. I have seen secretaries and custodians dress better than many fellow teachers. Until we do the right thing collectively, why should we harp on our own personal thoughts of a color of shoes worn by our superintendent? I wear purple shoes with several of my dresses. Why don't you pick a joke about that dear comrade?
I will be the first to admit IPS has some great elementary schools. As an IPS employee, I can also state there is no way in hell I would ever send my child to an IPS high school. The lack of rigor, student engagement, and student voice concerns me.
@I will be the first to admit IPS has some great elementary schools. As an IPS employee, I can also state there is no way in hell I would ever send my child to an IPS high school
I feel exactly the same way. The elementary schools are doing pretty well and some are doing great, but the IPS high schools are bad, bad beyond belief. I speak from experience as a classroom teacher at two different IPS high schools which I do not want to single out here.
As an IPS teacher and an IPS parent, I completely agree with the above two posts. My children are nearing high-school age, and I've been told by close coworkers to enroll them in a charter school and then lie to everyone else I work with and say they attend an IPS high school, lol.
@I feel exactly the same way. With your condescending attitude, I am certain that your students do not receive the education that they deserve. Do us all a favor and go teach at a charter school that you think is so wonderful.
??? "I feel exactly the same way" isn't the poster who mentioned the charter school. Three posters said basically the same thing and you are "certain" one of them isn't a good teacher because he/she dared to utter the C-word? That makes no sense at all.
I understand why veteran teachers don't like charter schools and teacher accountability reforms. I really do. But it's different for younger teachers. First of all, we've been raised on assessment and data our whole lives. We actually want the rubric for being a better teacher. Second, charter schools don't threaten our job security. They actually help us because they hire new grads, but they don't lay off the youngest teachers; they lay off the least effective. So I have way more control over my own job security than I do at IPS, which is the only other school in the area that regularly hires new grads. I'm not trying to lecture you or change your mind. But the fact is newer teachers (less than 10 years) don't see charter schools as the "enemy" the way veteran teachers do. Even those who work in IPS have friends and relatives who work in charter schools, they have neighbors and family who attend them, and "choice" is a given in their lives in a way that I'm sure is more foreign to you. But your reaction is exactly why we tell people like the teacher above to lie to you about where his/her kids go to high school.
Actually you need to so some research and study the data that you have been raised on your whole life. Charter schools fire very few teachers. The teachers quit. Low pay. Unrealistic expectations. Nepotism.
I work at a charter school and have worked for IPS, and if you don't count the teachers who only sign on for 2-year commitments, then the turnover is better at the charter school. I make more than union scale. My base salary is lower, but I my bonus plan more than makes up for it. The environment is much more positive too. I found IPS depressing.
I'm a charter school teacher as well, but I'm an IPS parent. I agree with the poster above about newer teachers viewing things differently than older teachers. I have no loyalty! I'll work for whoever is going to give me the best deal, and I'll send my kids wherever I think they'll get the best education! As of right now, I agree with the others. I love my kids' school, but unless things change dramatically, I won't be keeping my kinds in IPS for high school. Similarly, I teach a high-need subject area, so my charter school pays me about 20% more than IPS would, plus merit incentives.
Yes and No. It was nice to have a break, but I'm ready to get back to work. Plus, none of us want to be in school in June!
ReplyDeleteIf Eugene White is still there, it will be the usual chaos.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone who worked feverishly to get us back to school. It must have been a huge endeavor.
ReplyDeleteI am very glad that we didn't have school last week. The kids and employees needed to be safe. Kudos to IPS for getting the word out about the cancellations so early in the day as well. It made planning for people so much easier.
ReplyDeleteBig Gene will still be in Dallas tomorrow. You can bet his wasn't one of the inferior seats.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes. Thanks to all the IPS staff and volunteers who chopped ice to keep everyone safe.
So how many things are going to have to be done without as a result of the expense involved from the ice. You know they are going to find any excuse they can to take money from the schools.
ReplyDelete@so how many things...
ReplyDeleteWhat planet did you fall to earth from? (Pardon me for ending my question in a preposition.) We are here to serve the children, and that includes working hard at clearing the lots. It includes your safety as well. So Mr/Ms glass is half empty - thank us custodians for doing the grunt work while you relaxed and thought of new digs to throw our way and the way of our bosses. Get off your high horse. I have a Masters in Science with a Bachelors degree in English, but that and a dollar will get you a small coffee at Speedway in this economy.
I was cut from the ranks of teaching because of my age (years of service), and decided to take what I could get until I could get what I deserve, and keep my retirement in one place. So now I serve the pathetic excuse for a teacher you pretend to be. I'm still in it for the children and those who educate our children - and I'm sorry to say, it doesn't seem to be you - you seem to be in this "job" for yourself. Shut up, quit complaining, and do your job, or get out(then I might possibly get back into the classroom and truly live my own dream). You make me ill.
Of course, I missed being out. It is a difficult thing to keep my students focused. My students need that consistency that my classroom provides. I really feel for my students when they are left to the climate in which they live. All of my students are free meals/textbooks, and many have no water/electricity when they go home. Our social workers can only do so much to provide them with the necessities they need. Of course, the parents of the students with the greatest needs are the ones calling us cussing us out for being in school when everyone else is out.
ReplyDeleteHowever, they are the same parents who call us complaing about being out because they had a place to be and had to cancel because they had to deal with the kids being around all the time when we are closed. Sadly, these are the same parents who have cell phones and long manicured nails and really great clothes and hairstyles while I go without to take care of their children.
OOPS - sorry to go on a rant - but our students get their structure and consistency from US - not their families (if you can truly call them families - DNA doesn't account for a family in my book!!)
I honestly wish our school was a boarding house for our students with their schooling built in, rather than only have them taken care of for the 7 hours they are in our building.
For those who gripe all the time about having to go above and beyond - your students don't need you any more than they need their own families. GROW THE ______ UP! Be what you signed up to be as a mentor, educator, and compassionate leader/friend. Our profession is so much more than focusing on moving from one grade to the next.
For those of you who see it differently - go to one of those Charter Schools (maybe I've said too much - especially since you wouldn't be protected by your "union" at a charter school).
@how many things...
ReplyDeleteWhat do you actually teach? You ended a question with a period.
I agree with the above poster who cleared our lots after being released from the classroom due to lack of time on the job - you need to get out. Give the classroom back to him/her.
Get over yourself. Do you go to work for you or for our students?
I wonder how Eugene's ruby red slippers did on the ice in Dallas.
ReplyDeleteI imagine his shoes are holding up better than the joke about them. Do you not possess what it takes to be original? Time to find something new folks.
ReplyDeleteHey to the teacher that thinks all IPS kids need to be separated from their families, you are exactly the kind of teacher that necessitates charter schools and vouchers. Would you send your kid to be taught by someone who felt the way you do about parents? How is that different than parents who think teachers are all incompetent and overpaid. You're using stereotypes to defend your own insecurities. You will never garner support from parents and students if you think you are superior to them. Just like you don't look at stuffy Carmel-types and try to figure out how to make them think better of you. You simply decide they don't matter, don't you? Think about that when you're dealing with parents and students?
ReplyDeleteThe boarding school is not a bad idea. I bet there are hundreds of high school students who would jump at the chance to stay in a dorm all week. They could focus on studies without getting caught up in family and neighborhood drama. They could prepare for the dorm experience of college, with the option of going home on the weekend.
ReplyDeleteI don't think a boarding school option is necessarily a bad idea, but I do think the poster who originally suggested them above came off as extremely hostile and judgmental toward IPS families.
ReplyDeleteIt is not a joke. He wears them. They look effete and our pretentious. That says much about Eugene and we should not forget it. Keep talking about the ruby red slippers. They are a symbol of the man who is in the superintendent's office.
ReplyDeleteare pretentious...sorry!
ReplyDelete@I don't think a boarding school option is necessarily a bad idea,
ReplyDeleteFor some of our IPS students, a boarding school would be the best thing that ever happened to them. They would be removed from all the needless emotional drama, the transient living conditions, the violence, the neighborhood thugs, guns, knives, and drugs. We're always talking about 'children first', well sometimes putting children first might involve a boarding school atmosphere. This should not be viewed as a punishment, but rather, as a ray of hope for some students who are trapped in home conditions that schools cannot change.
Well, you can't take kids against their will, and I don't think most parents or students WANT boarding schools. Most people, rich or poor, want to live with their children. And poor people often need older children to help out with younger children. We tie our own hands when we fixate on what we can't control, rather than putting our energy into the things we DO have control over.
ReplyDeleteBesides, I can't even imagine the cost of a boarding school with around-the-clock employees.
ReplyDelete@For some of our IPS students
ReplyDeleteThe emphasis is on "some" IPS students...no, a boarding school is simply another option/choice, not a mandate, not a forced situation to go there (although, we DO force our students into our current IPS schools, don't we, without any choice at all)
Students currently have a choice of many special programs and magnet programs. Our students do have a choice.
ReplyDeleteMy kids are in a magnet program, but it took me two years to get into one of the good ones (CFI or Montessori). I have several neighbors who are still on waiting lists. They are good schools and I highly recommend them, but it's simplistic to insinuate that all of our students have choices. A new neighbor of mine tried to enroll her children in six different nearby schools (two IPS magnets, two charter schools, and two township schools, and all turned her away because they were at max capacity). She put her name on waiting lists and is having another neighbor help home-school them until there is an opening at a decent school. There are choices, but they are very, very limited.
ReplyDeleteWhen a kindergartner pulls a knife on me and calls me a stupid b*&#$, then yes, I sometimes question what that child may be exposed to at home.
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean that all of our students need to be ripped from their families and kept in a militaristic facility? Absolutely not. But some of our children could benefit be being exposed to more than violence and hate.
In the last sentence, be = by.
ReplyDeleteSorry grammar police!
See, your neighbor had a choice..home schooling. There are high school magnets now that have no waiting list. It may be different in the elementary grades.
ReplyDeleteThat's because the high school magnets suck ass! lol
ReplyDeleteTo "when a kindergartener." Again, let's say it's even feasible, do you really think the kids that would most benefit would be the ones to choose a boarding school? Or are you just using the boarding school idea as a platform to bash and blame parents? It's not clear from your posts.
ReplyDeleteMaybe when folks speak about 'choice' and 'options' they mean choice and options that are not under the IPS umbrella. Even magnet schools are hampered from real growth and innovation because they're not autonomous and still must dance to the tune of an entrenched downtown Ed Center bureaucracy.
ReplyDeleteThat's what's killing us, the Ed Center. Meaningful choice and options can only come from outside IPS and its archaic, deadening heavily-layed administrative bureaucracy which refuses to share its power with even an IPS-sponsored charter school.
@ CFI Waiting list
ReplyDeleteI agree that CFI and Montessori are the best magnet options for our students, and I'm thrilled we will have a 3rd CFI location next year. This will help tremendously with allowing students from waiting list the opportunity to get that awesome experience! I think we should make 67 all Montessori rather than traditional & Montessori. The school 67 traditional students should get 1st opportunity for the magnet program if it fits their skills & personality, and those who want to stay in a traditional classroom could attend nearby 90.
The high school magnets should be outstanding. They dump enough students back into the non magnet schools.
ReplyDelete@The high school magnets should be outstanding.
ReplyDeleteYes, they should be outstanding, but as long as the IPS Ed Center administration is managing/operating/messing around with them, they will never rise to their intended potential.
I really thought that after a long break the kids would be semi ready to learn. I guess not. Today the behavior was horrible.
ReplyDeleteI really thought that after a long break the above poster would be ready to teach. I guess not. Today the above poster was horrible at teaching.
ReplyDelete@above poster
ReplyDeletereally? You must be a student playing around on our blog. Try to show dignity here, please.
@High School Magnets
I'm sorry to shut down the theory of the Ed Center Admins throwing the fish back into their original pond. I work in a magnet High School, and the admins at our building can't handle the students. The are the ones pulling the old catch & release (sound familiar Mr. Gish? Mrs. Davis? OOPS - does the truth hurt big babies?)
@ after break - students
I'm sorry you had a difficult day. I hope things get better!
Really. The "horrible at teaching" joke offended you but all the red shoes and lisp jokes never bug you enough to say something?
ReplyDelete@horrible teaching
ReplyDeleteI just so happen to be the poster above with the comment about your tired "joke". I stand corrected - you have explained that it wasn't actually a joke.
I am sick of the digs about personal appearances and personal choices. Why can't we focus on the true problem? The problem isn't with Dr. White's attire - no matter how ridiculous it may be, nor with the personal choices of the administrators and their lifestyles. The problem at hand is putting each "level" of educator against the other. Goodness knows there is enough of that without breaking the rest of us down in the process. Just do the right thing, and focus on your own classroom. Forget the details of the administrators. They aren't in the classroom, yet they must be sitting back laughing at us as we tear each other apart. By making digs at those downtown and at each other, we have no more credibility than those the posters tend to tear apart.
@ offended
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I am rather tired of the petty calling out of Dr. White's lisp. In doing this, we are showing our students that if they have a lisp, they are doomed for failure or possibly a high position where his/her staff sit back and make lousy digs. What impression do you think you are putting upon the students with lisps?
Grow up. If we don't set the example, who do you think will do it for us?
There is one true focus in our battle - the students. If we succumb to the temptations of belittling those above us, we aren't truly the bigger person, and we therefore have lost the passion to mold and prepare our students for their future.
C'mon, any man who shows up in public in the Midwest wearing a pair of RED shoes must know he's gonna raise some eyebrows. How many men, short of those in show biz, wear red shoes as part of their professional business attire?
ReplyDeleteThe lisp is beyond the man's control; his wearing red shoes is not.
@Besides, I can't even imagine the cost of a boarding school with around-the-clock employees.
ReplyDeleteThe cost is easy to calculate... it's called prison... maybe if we spent the money we throw away on the so called "drug war" on education in this country we could maybe work on swapping our ranking on the world's "most citizens in prison" list with our ranking on the "most educated citizens" list... guess it's better to just keep them dumb and in jail... that's the American way.
The red shoes were pure pimpwear and he wore them school. That shows his lack of judgement. The embarrasing think is that IPS taxpayers give him thousands evey year for his clothing allowance and he shows up in red pimp shoes and suits that are much too small. Who pays for your clothing??
ReplyDeleteThe embarrasing think is
ReplyDeleteYOU!
Everyone has their own diluted sense of style. You are probably the type to wear jeans and other casual wear to school to impress upon our students that they can get away with wearing stupid clothing in any profession. I have to impress upon our students that a good attire is very important when applying for a job, as well as wearing appropriate attire once you obtain a job. I have seen secretaries and custodians dress better than many fellow teachers. Until we do the right thing collectively, why should we harp on our own personal thoughts of a color of shoes worn by our superintendent? I wear purple shoes with several of my dresses. Why don't you pick a joke about that dear comrade?
@ I wear purple shoes with several of my dresses. Why don't you pick a joke about that dear comrade?
ReplyDeleteOK, here goes...All I have to say is I hope you're not a man. LOL
I dont wear ruby red slippers to school and my clothes fit....AND I pay for all of my clothes out of my salary which is much smaller than Eugene.
ReplyDeleteI will be the first to admit IPS has some great elementary schools. As an IPS employee, I can also state there is no way in hell I would ever send my child to an IPS high school. The lack of rigor, student engagement, and student voice concerns me.
ReplyDelete@I will be the first to admit IPS has some great elementary schools. As an IPS employee, I can also state there is no way in hell I would ever send my child to an IPS high school
ReplyDeleteI feel exactly the same way. The elementary schools are doing pretty well and some are doing great, but the IPS high schools are bad, bad beyond belief. I speak from experience as a classroom teacher at two different IPS high schools which I do not want to single out here.
As an IPS teacher and an IPS parent, I completely agree with the above two posts. My children are nearing high-school age, and I've been told by close coworkers to enroll them in a charter school and then lie to everyone else I work with and say they attend an IPS high school, lol.
ReplyDelete@I feel exactly the same way. With your condescending attitude, I am certain that your students do not receive the education that they deserve. Do us all a favor and go teach at a charter school that you think is so wonderful.
ReplyDelete??? "I feel exactly the same way" isn't the poster who mentioned the charter school. Three posters said basically the same thing and you are "certain" one of them isn't a good teacher because he/she dared to utter the C-word? That makes no sense at all.
ReplyDeleteI understand why veteran teachers don't like charter schools and teacher accountability reforms. I really do. But it's different for younger teachers. First of all, we've been raised on assessment and data our whole lives. We actually want the rubric for being a better teacher. Second, charter schools don't threaten our job security. They actually help us because they hire new grads, but they don't lay off the youngest teachers; they lay off the least effective. So I have way more control over my own job security than I do at IPS, which is the only other school in the area that regularly hires new grads. I'm not trying to lecture you or change your mind. But the fact is newer teachers (less than 10 years) don't see charter schools as the "enemy" the way veteran teachers do. Even those who work in IPS have friends and relatives who work in charter schools, they have neighbors and family who attend them, and "choice" is a given in their lives in a way that I'm sure is more foreign to you. But your reaction is exactly why we tell people like the teacher above to lie to you about where his/her kids go to high school.
ReplyDeleteActually you need to so some research and study the data that you have been raised on your whole life. Charter schools fire very few teachers. The teachers quit. Low pay. Unrealistic expectations. Nepotism.
ReplyDeleteI work at a charter school and have worked for IPS, and if you don't count the teachers who only sign on for 2-year commitments, then the turnover is better at the charter school. I make more than union scale. My base salary is lower, but I my bonus plan more than makes up for it. The environment is much more positive too. I found IPS depressing.
ReplyDeleteI'm a charter school teacher as well, but I'm an IPS parent. I agree with the poster above about newer teachers viewing things differently than older teachers. I have no loyalty! I'll work for whoever is going to give me the best deal, and I'll send my kids wherever I think they'll get the best education! As of right now, I agree with the others. I love my kids' school, but unless things change dramatically, I won't be keeping my kinds in IPS for high school. Similarly, I teach a high-need subject area, so my charter school pays me about 20% more than IPS would, plus merit incentives.
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