Submitted by Bill (not verified) on December 23, 2006 - 02:00.
I suspect that what I say will have been already. I am thankful the "winter break" has arrived. Let's see if I can say it a little differently. No promises. It's been a long week (year) and I am worn slap out.
I love my job. I like the kids. My co-workers are great to me. For the first time in forever, I have a principal who knows what he is doing. Perhaps it's cynical to say it, but that's a rarity anymore. My troubles stem from the sense that EVERYONE thinks they know our job better than we do, from parents to politicians to educrats (administrators WHO USED TO BE educators) to our own students, in some cases.
If we aren't being subjected to some "talking head," who is out to make a buck (usually with the assistance of a central office pencil pusher who has known them for ages) off of some "new" idea that looks disturbingly like an old one, repackaged and retooled, we are being scrutinized for our test scores and/or being threatened with some sort of sanction if some subgroup doesn't do as well as the others. Meantime, we struggle financially to make ends meet, know that we will, as educators, have to do without certain amenities in our lives and, worse yet, be viewed by some segments of society as second class citizens. "If you can't do, teach." As Rodney Dangerfield often said, we don't get any respect.
I do not mind working hard. Indeed, it gives me a sense of satisfaction to know that I have done my job well. It disturbs me greatly when I cannot or do not do that. Speaking as someone who spent 23 years in the military (active and reserve) and thus had some affiliation with the US government all of that time, I have a very low tolerance for "stupid" and for ineptitude, particularly when my clientel (students) get shortchanged or hurt because of it. Too many people moving into "leadership" positions these days do it because they either want more money (and there is nothing inherently evil about that in itself) or, they cannot cut it in the classroom or just want the power to direct others. That's blunt, but after over two decades of work in the classroom, it's what I see. Sorry if that offends, but it's the truth, as I have have come to know it.
I do not mind being "accountable." We are ALL accountable for what we do or don't do, whether we are a teacher or the captain of a cruise ship. But basing my "success" and that of my students on what happens in a few pressure packed testing days in the spring of the year is ludicrous, if not outright scandalous. We've always had standardized testing as far back as I can recall. We had it when I was in school. But there was none of the pressure and politics involved in it that we have now. The results of those tests were used to diagnose individual needs and were never used to beat up on teachers and administrators, decide who got monetary bonuses or who lost or kept their job.
If all of the "experts" would just let us do our jobs and stop trying to micromanage all we do or twist and shape things to fit their OWN needs, we could go a long way towards solving many of our problems.
I suspect that what I say
Submitted by Bill (not verified) on December 23, 2006 - 02:00.
I suspect that what I say will have been already. I am thankful the "winter break" has arrived. Let's see if I can say it a little differently. No promises. It's been a long week (year) and I am worn slap out.
I love my job. I like the kids. My co-workers are great to me. For the first time in forever, I have a principal who knows what he is doing. Perhaps it's cynical to say it, but that's a rarity anymore. My troubles stem from the sense that EVERYONE thinks they know our job better than we do, from parents to politicians to educrats (administrators WHO USED TO BE educators) to our own students, in some cases.
If we aren't being subjected to some "talking head," who is out to make a buck (usually with the assistance of a central office pencil pusher who has known them for ages) off of some "new" idea that looks disturbingly like an old one, repackaged and retooled, we are being scrutinized for our test scores and/or being threatened with some sort of sanction if some subgroup doesn't do as well as the others. Meantime, we struggle financially to make ends meet, know that we will, as educators, have to do without certain amenities in our lives and, worse yet, be viewed by some segments of society as second class citizens. "If you can't do, teach." As Rodney Dangerfield often said, we don't get any respect.
I do not mind working hard. Indeed, it gives me a sense of satisfaction to know that I have done my job well. It disturbs me greatly when I cannot or do not do that. Speaking as someone who spent 23 years in the military (active and reserve) and thus had some affiliation with the US government all of that time, I have a very low tolerance for "stupid" and for ineptitude, particularly when my clientel (students) get shortchanged or hurt because of it. Too many people moving into "leadership" positions these days do it because they either want more money (and there is nothing inherently evil about that in itself) or, they cannot cut it in the classroom or just want the power to direct others. That's blunt, but after over two decades of work in the classroom, it's what I see. Sorry if that offends, but it's the truth, as I have have come to know it.
I do not mind being "accountable." We are ALL accountable for what we do or don't do, whether we are a teacher or the captain of a cruise ship. But basing my "success" and that of my students on what happens in a few pressure packed testing days in the spring of the year is ludicrous, if not outright scandalous. We've always had standardized testing as far back as I can recall. We had it when I was in school. But there was none of the pressure and politics involved in it that we have now. The results of those tests were used to diagnose individual needs and were never used to beat up on teachers and administrators, decide who got monetary bonuses or who lost or kept their job.
If all of the "experts" would just let us do our jobs and stop trying to micromanage all we do or twist and shape things to fit their OWN needs, we could go a long way towards solving many of our problems.