Posted on 04/12/2010 3:34:32 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
I've been a public school teacher in Miama-Dade for 20 years -- the last 15 deep in the inner city. In 2001 I was my school's choice for social studies Teacher of the Year. See my about page. In fact folks hammering teachers on this thread ought to go see my about page in general because I guarantee you can't do the job that I do and survive. Let alone thrive.
>> The Florida legislature has passed a bill to get rid of TENURE
Good.
Time for these teachers to grow up and accept the benefits and consequences of the marketplace like most every other working adult.
Today, I'd have come to work if I was half dead with plague. My new principal this year has been wonderful to me in giving me time off so I could take my wife to chemotherapy and radiation for her breast cancer. HE deserves my loyalty. I hear some of the kids are going to stage a walkout during lunch. Good luck with that. Cops are already rolling in and security is posted at all exits.
Right to work state. Strikes are illegal. A whole lot of teachers called in "sick." Just one day. But I'm here in my classroom.
Hi ex-soldier. I wasn’t hammering on teachers. Just the opposite. I think in many cases teachers have an impossible job. They get hammered on all sides.
My comment was about how difficult it would be to find replacements because the inner city is not an easy place to teach. Good qualified teachers couldn’t be found quickly or easily.
You are right, I could not do your job. Most people couldn’t.
Congratulations on being chosen Teacher of the Year! Yes, I will go to your about page.
No Dentist Left Behind
My dentist is great! He sends me reminders so I don't forget Check-ups. He uses the latest techniques based on research. He never hurts me, and I've got all my teeth. When I ran into him the other day, I was eager to see if he'd heard about the new state program. I knew he'd think it was great.
"Did you hear about the new state program to measure effectiveness of dentists with their young patients?" I said. "No," he said. He didn't seem too thrilled. "How will they do that?" "It's quite simple," I said. "They will just count the number of cavities each patient has at age 10, 14, and 18 and average that to determine a dentist's rating. Dentists will be rated as excellent, good, average, below average, and unsatisfactory. That way parents will know which are the best dentists. The plan will also encourage the less effective dentists to get better," I said. "Poor dentists who don't improve could lose their licenses to practice."
"That's terrible," he said. "What? That's not a good attitude," I said. "Don't you think we should try to improve children's dental health in this state?" "Sure I do," he said, "but that's not a fair way to determine who is practicing good dentistry." "Why not? I said. "It makes perfect sense to me."
"Well, it's so obvious," he said. "Don't you see that dentists don't all work with the same clientele, and that much depends on things we can't control? For example, I work in a rural area with a high percentage of patients from deprived homes, while some of my colleagues work in upper middle- class neighborhoods. Many of the parents I work with don't bring their children to see me until there is some kind of problem, and I don't get to do much preventive work. Also, more educated parents who understand the relationship between sugar and decay. To top it all off, so many of my clients have well water, which is untreated and has no fluoride in it. Do you have any idea how much difference early use of fluoride can make?"
"It sounds like you're making excuses," I said. "I can't believe that you, my dentist, would be so defensive. After all, you do a great job, and you needn't fear a little accountability."
"I am not being defensive!" he said. "My best patients are as good as anyone's, my work is as good as anyone's, but my average cavity count is going to be higher than a lot of other dentists because I chose to work where I am needed most."
"Don't get touchy," I said. "Touchy?" he said. His face had turned red, and from the way he was clenching and unclenching his jaws, I was afraid he was going to damage his teeth. "Try furious! In a system like this, I will end up being rated average, below average, or worse. The few educated patients I have who see these ratings may believe this so-called rating is an actual measure of my ability and proficiency as a dentist. They may leave me, and I'll be left with only the most needy patients. And my cavity average score will get even worse. On top of that, how will I attract good dental hygienists and other excellent dentists to my practice if it is labeled below average?"
"I think you are overreacting," I said. "'Complaining, excuse- making and stonewalling won't improve dental health'...I am quoting from a leading member of the DOC," I noted. "What's the DOC?" he asked. "It's the Dental Oversight Committee," I said, "a group made up of mostly lay persons to make sure dentistry in this state gets improved. "Spare me," he said, "I can't believe this. Reasonable people won't buy it," he said hopefully.
The program sounded reasonable to me, so I asked, "How else would you measure good dentistry?" "Come watch me work," he said. "Observe my processes." "That's too complicated, expensive and time- consuming," I said. "Cavities re the bottom line, and you can't argue with the bottom line. It's an absolute measure." "That's what I'm afraid my parents and prospective patients will think. This can't be happening," he said despairingly.
"Now, now," I said, "don't despair. The state will help you some." "How?" he asked. "If you receive a poor rating, they'll send a dentist who is rated excellent to help straighten you out," I said brightly. "You mean," he said, "they'll send a dentist with a wealthy clientele to show me how to work on severe juvenile dental problems with which I have probably had much more experience? BIG HELP!"
"There you go again," I said. "You aren't acting professionally at all." "You don't get it," he said. "Doing this would be like grading schools and teachers on an average score made on a test of children's progress with no regard to influences outside the school, the home, the community served and stuff like that. Why would they do something so unfair to dentists? No one would ever think of doing that to schools."
I just shook my head sadly, but he had brightened. "I'm going to write my representatives and senators," he said. "I'll use the school analogy. Surely they will see the point." He walked off with that look of hope mixed with fear and suppressed anger that I, a teacher, see in the mirror so often lately.
If you don't understand why educators resent the recent federal NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT, [and pay for performance] this may help. If you do understand, you'll enjoy this analogy, which was forwarded by John S. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools for the Lancaster County, PA, School District.
If this was the school district into which I paid my taxes, I would demand some respect for those of us who pay the salaries of the teachers in question. If they want the job, that's fine. If they don't, that's fine too. Just because these teachers don't seem to be interested in working under the conditions you describe doesn't mean that other people would not be interested.
I don't speak spanish, either. But even being fluent wouldn't completely alleviate the problem. In my school there are 30 different nationalities represented with dozens of different languages and dialects.
Interesting.
A good friend of mine teaches gym in a Miami-Dade school (he played in the NFL in a previous life).
He speaks not a word of Spanish, but has had some stress-inducing problems with Hispanic higher-ups.
JFK did admit in a speech that lowering tax rates (suprisingly)
led to an increase in total tax revenues.
Then he also (IIRC) signed an executive order allowing Federal
employees to be unionized.
Talk about contraditions embodied in one person!
Too bad more public officials/administrators won’t take the route of
Ronald Reagan (and even Detroit mayor Bing, and a Democrat at that)
and tell public employees that go on strike...
“YOU’RE FIRED!!!!!”
I suspect Donald Trump would love to deliver the message for
for the government.
Interested? Sure! Qualified? Not a chance. In 1995 when I first moved into the inner city at a high school, one of the brand new teachers was a retired pharmacist whose comment was "FIRST: I'm here for the kids and Second, ANYBODY can teach." He was a soft middle aged white guy from the suburbs and I knew they were going to eat his lunch. They did. He ran SCREAMING from the building inside of six weeks. He didn't even last an entire grading period.
That first day in my classroom, one of my little monster 9th graders popped up and brightly asked: "HEY TEACH! What would you do if I just popped you in da face?"
I laughed at him and replied thusly: Well, lessee, you'll be taking three little trips. The first trip is to the Emergency Room for various contusions and broken bones. The Second trip will be to jail where my buddies from the time I spent as a State Parole Officer will make sure you're nice and comfy! The third trip will be to civil court because I'll sue your parents and tie them up in court for at least three years. It'll cost them $20 grand a year in legal fees and they'll BEAT you every night.
The class roared with laughter. I knew I had them. The punk sat down and shut up for the whole year. He failed but he was very well behaved. I usually start the year off showing my military and law enforcement photo albums. Plus I keep a series of pix on my computer showing me participating in IDPA matches each month. I'm generally not "tried." But once I was. Had a kid swing on me. Funny, I originally got into Aikido for the exercise. It sure served me WELL that day. I put him on his back. Hard. He was arrested. He was expelled. I had no charges and was found not culpable defending myself under the contract and state law. When I was recruited to move even deeper into the 'Hood, my students called all their buddies at the new school (where I am now) and they said: You've got an AWESOME social studies teacher coming in. He is great. Ex Army officer. Just don't mess with him, 'cuz he'll kill you dead. For the record, I have never harmed a student, but perception means a lot.
For example, everybody knows I hate 9th graders. Well, not really. I really can't stand teaching 9th grade world history. I'm all about AMERICAN HISTORY and AMERICAN GOVERNMENT (seniors). Each year the red cross shows up for blood drives. One of those years, I told the red cross lady to come to my first period class. She asks me if they're seniors and I said No, they're 9th graders. And so she protests she can't take their blood without parental permission and I replied: You don't understand. Come to my 1st period. Bring a bucket and a sharp knife and I'll give you all the blood you want. That was the last year I taught the 9th grade. Been teaching seniors ever since.
You also do not sound like the type of teacher who would take part in a sick-out. Perhaps if there were more people like you teaching, and less of the ones who are sicking out, our inner city youth might have a chance.
Win-win for the GOP. If Crist doesn’t veto, then it gets passed and the teachers’ union is diminished. If he does, then he’s finished in Republican politics forever.
Plus, the spectacle of teachers striking is never good for them.
I disagree. This veto may jump start his faltering campaign and he may well draw the Dems and independents over to him. OR if what you say is correct, he may pull a Lieberman and run as an independent and that may well give him the seat. Charlie is a flip flopper and a RINO, but he has been VERY VERY good to gun owners since he's been the governor. I wouldn't be very uncomfortable with him in the Senate. Remember something else, there are a whole lot of good Republican Teachers whom this bill will hurt. That might make the difference in a close primary with Rubio.
Sorry Chaerlie.
Like Congress, they got a clause in their current contract that they can't be fired for inconmpetence or non-performance...
And we know how the courts view contracts...
Thanks for what you do. I’ve gotta believe, though, that having teachers evaluated is a good thing.
Heard Jeb! on the Bill Bennett show last week, he said this new bill provides more $$ for teachers in “underserved” areas, math, science, AND that a teacher can DOUBLE their salary in 4 years—but they have to be able to TEACH.
From your comments, I have no doubt you’re an outstanding teacher.
I disagree. This veto may jump start his faltering campaign and he may well draw the Dems and independents over to him.
No. Crist’s support has always been a mile wide and an inch deep. He’s also burned too many bridges. And he will find himself to be a Specter if he were to join the Democrats.
I hate to tell you but schoolteachers are not popular, especially on the right. Tenure and working 9 months out of the year does not win many friends.
Yes, I know there is a justification for each, but the politics in the classroom, the stranglehold of unions and the flight of parents to homeschooling is not showing a lot of affinity for the public school system.
Personally, I think you should have to choose: the union or tenure.
I know the value tenure has, for one it keeps costs down. The benefits of not being fired except for cause is worth a little less pay.
But the original meaning of tenure was to protect scholars against punishment for unpopular research. Universities have a very painful system for obtaining it and it is quite easy to be turned down for tenure.
And academia has gone very far afield without much supervision. I think that’s the major problem that people are reacting against. There is no quality control.
I’d like to think that Republican public school teachers are a force, but I just don’t see it.
If this legislation becomes law, there will be damn few who want to work in Florida. And a lot of damn good teachers will leave the state. Hell, I might. And I'm a damn good teacher.
Thats the good thing about Texas, no contracts for teachers.
“Charlie Crist, aka Obama Huggin’ Weasel, may veto the bill. “
Drudge has a headline up that reads: Rubio 57%, Crist 28%.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.