And just to be sure you understand, it’s not that teachers don’t want to teach.
It’s not that there aren’t enough teachers certified to teach.
It’s that teachers don’t wish to teach among the horrible conditions that exist in the public
school system in the United States…READ MORE
I have watched videos, read letters, and listened to testimonies from educators who have quit. Media outlets relentlessly lament the fact that teachers are quitting in droves.
I understand the “why” of quitting, except for the “no chance for advancement” part, as if being a classroom teacher is the bottom of the barrel and you have to work your way up from there. But let’s leave that to another post, shall we?
There was a post on Twitter about a mother who sent her kid to school knowing they had tested positive for COVID.
As I am wont to do, I dived into the comments.
A constant stream ran through the thread, noone should be upset with the adult. Instead we should blame society, the school, etc…., anyone but this adult who made the choice to send a kid to school with COVID.
Have we gone too far with expecting very little, or nothing at all, from our students and parents?
Would I die for my students?
Probably.
Teachers have placed themselves in harm’s way for their students countless times.
But, not like this.
Not in a situation where decisions could be made that would keep our students and educators safe.
A 61 year old educator in Arizonza was infected with COVID19, along with two other educators who were working in the same classroom. She died.They still don’t know if she got it from her family, and bought it into the classroom, or if she contracted it from another teacher. READ MORE…
Originally published on “Diary of a Public School Teacher” (Blogger)
This was a FB post and I had to share it.
After being attacked online by some troll who thinks I only work 8-3, and always have 3 paid months off, and who thinks I request school supplies for myself and not for my students, I had to write this rant. I’m getting so sick and tired of how teachers are viewed and treated.
Teachers in all fifty states should stop using their own money in their classrooms. Just stop. If the children don’t have supplies, go hungry, if the room and supplies get broken down and dirty, whatever, let it happen. Then people can truly understand how much work and money teachers put in behind the scenes. If you paid for any of those decorations, books, science lab supplies, furniture, lamps, pillows, remove them from the classroom; let parents see how bare bones a classroom is without a teacher’s input. READ MORE…
Originally posted on “Diary of a Public School Teacher!”(Blogger)
One of my best friends and I were sitting around talking and the conversation turned to IEPs. Let me put this in perspective. My friend is a Spec.Ed supervisor and I am a 5th grade teacher. I was discussing how overwhelming IEPs are and the work Spec Ed teachers have, not only writing them, but following through on them, etc…
Category: Things that expire.
One of the concerns brought up at the NEA RA, ( National Education Association Representative Assembly), this year, was the reprehensible treatment of veteran educators. All over the United States, it seems veteran educators are under attack.
ll NEVER carry a weapon, concealed or otherwise, in my classroom.I will NEVER keep it locked in a safe.
I say this with the utmost certainty.
There is a huge debate going on about whether teachers should be armed in order to protect their students.
As usual, teachers’ voices are muted by the roar of non-educators who believe they know better. READ MORE…
FLL Robotics Competition
I have worked in schools that have been defined by a number of labels. High poverty, large percentage of free and reduced lunch, low income, those types of labels.
When those labels are used, although they shouldn’t, they tend to define a school, their students, and the parents.
Generalizations are made.
Well, you know, because the school is high poverty, the free and reduced lunch percentage is high, and there are many low income families
Those generalizations lead to beliefs.
Beliefs that lead to an excessive amount of reading and math instruction.
More intervention.
More worksheets.
More computers, just so we make sure these kids don’t miss out on all the adaptive programs that are available to them.
But many of them do miss out.
They miss out on STEAM programs, global collaboration, plays, passion projects, student ownership, being allowed to think!
This year, thanks to a friend of mine and her connections, (Shout out to Michelle!),I was able to obtain a grant for a LEGO Robotics kit. With the Robotics kit came the responsibility of getting a group of kids ready to compete in a FIRST LEGO League Robotics competition. I never doubted they could do it.
These kids.
I looked at the LEGO kit when it arrived, and wanted to cry.
They looked at the LEGO kit and began to build.
They built Mission models, a robot, and programmed it.(Shout out to Home Depot for building and donating their practice table)
They studied their Core Values and completed their Animal Allies research project. (Shout out to Jillian from +Sharks4Kids!).
Our, the other coach and I, faith never wavered. We believed in them.
These kids from this “high poverty, large percentage of free and reduced lunch, low income” school went to the competition and did their thing.
They went, worked as a team, behaved respectfully, and showed what they are capable of.
They got points on the board for getting their robot to complete 3 missions! (Shout out to to Mr.Bill from Caravel Academy!)
They won the award for the Research category. YES!
I’m still grinning.:)
Let’s give our kids, no matter where they attend school, a chance to be exposed. A chance to experience all that life has to offer. Give them a chance to shine!
Zip code. Does not. = ability.
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER 