Teachers, please describe your week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know the issue with subs? Are they just not paying enough? Is there a backup with HR screening potential employees?

Subs are mainly older people. They feel unsafe in the schools. It started because of Covid, but is now a violence issue for some. Getting knocked over because students are brawling is bad at 22-55, but you won’t break a hip. The average age of subs in our building was 68. A school that I subbed in had a 90 year old sub who wanted to work every day.

Younger people who don’t want to break into teaching usually don’t sub.

+1 Subs are generally individuals who are retired/close to retirement. It absolutely is unsafe for them in a secondary classroom today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent I'm really upset MCPS took away a professional day recently to have teachers watch a PD video that teachers have told me was useless. That resulted in them having less time to prepare class, grade and address concerns from and about students. I'd like to hear more specifics about what a teacher's work week looks like so that the community can advocate to help create a more realistic way for teachers to meet all the demands by their school admin while still being able to teach.
What is the main challenge this year that is taking time away from your own classroom needs? Needing to fill in as subs or taking on additional duties such as car or bus duty? Confusing curriculum mandates? Lack of supplies so you need to spend your time and money on this issue? Other PD training?

I’m interested in the safety and security incidents teachers experienced this week.

I didn’t feel personally unsafe this week other than about 40 seconds when girls in a bathroom were screaming and we didn’t know why. This was not “normal” preteen girl screaming in excitement. It was blood-curdling shrieks by at least three different girls. Security came too late to see what the problem was.

There have been other times when I’ve called security, but no one came. Fewer fights than last year so maybe they are busy de-escalating?

[Anonymous]

Please describe your week is different from what do you hate about MCPS which i..s what you are really asking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know the issue with subs? Are they just not paying enough? Is there a backup with HR screening potential employees?

Subs are mainly older people. They feel unsafe in the schools. It started because of Covid, but is now a violence issue for some. Getting knocked over because students are brawling is bad at 22-55, but you won’t break a hip. The average age of subs in our building was 68. A school that I subbed in had a 90 year old sub who wanted to work every day.

Younger people who don’t want to break into teaching usually don’t sub.

+1 Subs are generally individuals who are retired/close to retirement. It absolutely is unsafe for them in a secondary classroom today.

We need cameras in every classroom but covid is just one issue. Pay, stability, benefits, staff at the school and students are probably the primary issues. The behavior is really poor. Our principal is completely relaxed and flexible with rules so we can see why the kids behave like they do.

[Anonymous]

A kid assaulted a staff member this week. There were no consequences per our Directors demands- we are supposed to have a restorative justice circle. That is it. The teacher is refusing and is in the process of lawyering up. Welcome to mcps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A kid assaulted a staff member this week. There were no consequences per our Directors demands- we are supposed to have a restorative justice circle. That is it. The teacher is refusing and is in the process of lawyering up. Welcome to mcps.

Good. RJ won’t make this type of behavior go away. Just teaches there are no consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A kid assaulted a staff member this week. There were no consequences per our Directors demands- we are supposed to have a restorative justice circle. That is it. The teacher is refusing and is in the process of lawyering up. Welcome to mcps.

In the ark you are allowed to have one other person with you. Insist it is either a lawyer or a top union rep. That will shut down the RJ nonsense quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A kid assaulted a staff member this week. There were no consequences per our Directors demands- we are supposed to have a restorative justice circle. That is it. The teacher is refusing and is in the process of lawyering up. Welcome to mcps.

Some should call the Director to account. Restorative Justice does not mean no consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid assaulted a staff member this week. There were no consequences per our Directors demands- we are supposed to have a restorative justice circle. That is it. The teacher is refusing and is in the process of lawyering up. Welcome to mcps.

Some should call the Director to account. Restorative Justice does not mean no consequences.

DP. I’ve never seen any real consequences come out of a restorative justice circle. What I have seen is a bunch of high school students mocking them. They know that all they need to do is sit, play along, and walk away. I’ve also seen a student hiding in his car because he didn’t want to face his bully; he knew he would have to be the victim all over again and then accept a fake apology. It’s a joke.

[Anonymous]

As a high school science teacher, my week looks like this:

Weekend - I complete a "big push" planning session to get at least an overview of the week finished and to make sure all necessary items are posted to Canvas. I work at the same time as a teammate so that we can text each other and share the job, sending Canvas pages between the two of us.

Before school - I arrive by 7 AM so that I can set up my room. Sometimes I need to put lab equipment and chemicals out. I also need to check email for any last-minute items. I need to be prepared early in case students come in early for tutoring. Students may start to arrive around 7:15 or even earlier. If there are no students coming in early, I might run to the copier to make copies for a future day or complete some late work grading.

My Lunch Period - As a science teacher, I have students in my room every day. I spend my lunch period tutoring students. This is also when I give extended time accommodations to students as well as give reassessments.

Planning Periods -
50% of planning periods are going to various meetings (IEP/504, staff, etc) or contacting parents (attendance concerns, not attempting work concerns, cell phone distraction concerns, etc). All parent contacts must be documented in synergy.
25% of planning periods are working with my PLC doing various required tasks such as data chats and required documentation of our PLC work. Planning is focused more on the "big picture" of what we will do.
25% of planning periods are individual work time. This is most beneficial since I can do my "nuts and bolts" planning which directly impacts student instruction.

After school - I try to leave by 4:00. My time is spent cleaning up my room (lab equipment, proper disposal and storage of chemicals) as well as organizing papers received from students. I also double check my email for parent concerns. I make sure I have the work I need to take home. If needed, I finish my documentation of various tasks in synergy.

Evening - I finish grading the day's assignments. Sometimes I can't get the grading done, but getting it started helps me to know if I need to change my warm-up question for the next day to clarify a misconception or insert some extra practice questions.

 I hope this helps to clarify what high school science teachers do. To be honest, what teachers need in order to be effectively do their jobs can differ greatly from elementary to high school as well as through the different subjects. I think it would be hard to pick just one or two items as an advocacy focus. I do appreciate the original poster asking for our feedback. Thank you for the post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for asking this. I can't speak for anyone except myself, but I actually just went on leave because I had such a severe panic attack at school I can't go back right now. For starters, I ended up buying my own curriculum (I teach an elective no one else does) to save myself time (one was not provided by MCPS). A very sweet teacher offered me their slides from the previous year, but that was it. I am buying all of my curriculum supplies to make it as engaging of a class I can (even buying rewards) because I have so many students I have that need extra support (IEPs, 504s, ELLs, ect). I have packed classes with students who cannot sit, stay off their phone, stop talking, some even steal my personal items. There was a fight during lunch a bit ago and my students came into class all hyped up. I could not get them to calm down, even with security staff coming in. I am not a spring chicken (mid-career) and I don't know how much more I can take. In addition, my own child was assaulted at his high school and they told me 'they can't ID the kid.' I filed a police report, but we are at an impasse (please don't ask for any details). So now on top of my very stressful job, I also am helping my child manage the trauma and fear he now has. I worked so hard for my teaching license but if I walk away, I could lose it. I don't know. I'm overwhelmed. I'm taking some time off to see if I can stay in this profession.

walk away now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent I'm really upset MCPS took away a professional day recently to have teachers watch a PD video that teachers have told me was useless. That resulted in them having less time to prepare class, grade and address concerns from and about students. I'd like to hear more specifics about what a teacher's work week looks like so that the community can advocate to help create a more realistic way for teachers to meet all the demands by their school admin while still being able to teach.
What is the main challenge this year that is taking time away from your own classroom needs? Needing to fill in as subs or taking on additional duties such as car or bus duty? Confusing curriculum mandates? Lack of supplies so you need to spend your time and money on this issue? Other PD training?

You are only a parent. Don’t get confused and think you are an important stakeholder.

Stay in your lane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent I'm really upset MCPS took away a professional day recently to have teachers watch a PD video that teachers have told me was useless. That resulted in them having less time to prepare class, grade and address concerns from and about students. I'd like to hear more specifics about what a teacher's work week looks like so that the community can advocate to help create a more realistic way for teachers to meet all the demands by their school admin while still being able to teach.
What is the main challenge this year that is taking time away from your own classroom needs? Needing to fill in as subs or taking on additional duties such as car or bus duty? Confusing curriculum mandates? Lack of supplies so you need to spend your time and money on this issue? Other PD training?

You are only a parent. Don’t get confused and think you are an important stakeholder.

Stay in your lane.

Parents are important stakeholders. Who the hell are you? Someone from district office? Sounds like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent I'm really upset MCPS took away a professional day recently to have teachers watch a PD video that teachers have told me was useless. That resulted in them having less time to prepare class, grade and address concerns from and about students. I'd like to hear more specifics about what a teacher's work week looks like so that the community can advocate to help create a more realistic way for teachers to meet all the demands by their school admin while still being able to teach.
What is the main challenge this year that is taking time away from your own classroom needs? Needing to fill in as subs or taking on additional duties such as car or bus duty? Confusing curriculum mandates? Lack of supplies so you need to spend your time and money on this issue? Other PD training?

You are only a parent. Don’t get confused and think you are an important stakeholder.

Stay in your lane.

Parents are important stakeholders. Who the hell are you? Someone from district office? Sounds like it.

Uh…I think the above poster was being ironic.

[Anonymous]

I have posted this before. I have 45 minutes of individual planning time a day. In that 45 minutes, I need to:
- plan lessons - I have three different classes, so I have to plan 15 different lessons per week. We have a new schedule this year, so everything needs to be adjusted
- analyze curriculum that the county is asking me to teach to see if there is any bias/racism in it and if there is I need to figure out how to address that
- can't use the lessons from last year, because school has a new initiative with a new focus, so need to adjust the lessons, sometimes have to just completely start over
- set up Canvas pages (I have three preps, so three Canvas pages)
- grade papers and provide feedback (if I don't get this, DCUM will call me lazy)
- complete IEP/504 paperwork (I teach 20+ kids with IEPs, that means 20+ quarterly reports that I have to fill out, so the week that those are due, means pretty much no planning/grading is happening because, well those are legally mandated)
- contact parents of students who are failing, if parent answers the phone, this could take up the entire 45 minutes
- contact parents of students who did not turn in their assignment
- respond to parent emails (again if I don't respond quickly enough, I am lazy)
- respond to admin because a parent emails them to complain that teachers are marking student late, when student tell parent they are always on time.
- send out reminders to student who didn't turn in assignments
- respond to student emails (a lot of them are 'I turned in this assignment yesterday, why haven't you graded it')
- respond to staff emails
- document parent contacts in Synergy
- hopefully there is time to use the bathroom
- try to find students who have turned in their major writing assignment
- talk to counselor of needs of students
- talk to IEP case managers
- sync grades to Synergy and hope that they actually sync
- collect data/lesson that is needed for a team meeting/department meeting