Two of my kids’ 3 teachers won’t be in tomorrow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look, it's clear at YOUR school the hybrid and departmentalization has not been managed well BY THE PRINCIPAL. It is poor leadership for him/her to allow teachers to continue teaching core subjects virtually to students while both are in person. At every APS school most specials are continuing to be taught virtually even if staff is present due to high levels of exposure. The exception at my school is PE and I'm honestly not sure why they decided PE could be in person but they did. At my school we did not departmentalize at all this year (when we usually do by ELA and Math/Content). It has been a learning experience for us teachers who are used to teaching only the two subjects to learn the curriculum for the other subjects while also learning how to teach virtually and concurrently, but we are hanging in there and some of us prefer not departmentalizing now that we've experienced it.

Anyhow, the vast majority of elementary students in APS are not being taught virtually while they are in person in the core academic subjects. So stop pushing that it is happening everywhere and start working to make changes at YOUR school by going up the chain, speaking at APS board meetings and naming your school, emailing Duran and DTL staff, etc. Complaining on an anonymous forum isn't going to change the scenario at your own school.

What makes you the concern police? I'm an APS parent with legitimate concerns. I'm not making it up. I've expressed my concerns via many avenues to APS to zero effect. APS admin and the school board either think in person teaching via iPad is fine or doesn't have the bandwidth to respond. I do think there is a broader issue with APS letting schools and principals make vastly different decisions with no oversight whatsoever. For all of APS's talk of equity, it is extremely inequitable. So no, I won't stop speaking up.

Why not be supportive and agree that you'd be upset if it was your kid? If you're sick of hearing it, then just scroll past.

I would be upset if it was my kid. But I wouldn't go on every thread of an anonymous forum and push it like it was happening everywhere. I would be working to make changes that would positively benefit my kid. I'd be speaking at board meetings, rallying other concerned parents (strength in numbers). What you are doing is not going to effect change. Concerns and complaints are not the same. Have you mentioned this on AEM? Naming the school?

+1 PP makes it seem like this is the norm in APS and it's not. I work in one school and have a child in another and it's nothing like they describe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here. I am in meetings for usually 5 hours on Mondays. I spend 2-3 hours with my language arts team planning and preparing the comi week’s (or the week after if we are ahead) lessons, assignments, and recordings. So, we aren’t continuously live that whole time. Then in the afternoon we meet as a grade level team and review the planned lessons each person did for the week with the team so we are all prepared to teach it as well as discuss assessments, scheduling for interventions, projects coming up. Then I also work preparing things on my own and working on IEPs or other paperwork (I’m a special Ed teacher for this grade level).

APS changed their plan for tomorrow just a few weeks ago, and some teachers, like MANY students, will still be traveling back and not able to hold synchronous classes tomorrow. You wouldn’t know if they had taken the day of asynchronous but it was likely already planned in advance. Sorry yea hers don’t get to take their earned leave in your view.

Mondays are still a complete waste of time. Notice no teaching actually happens. You can list your Monday plans all day. Kids are not learning on Monday. Full stop.

If kids are not learning, how is it a waste of time. Don’t log in. If any of you think it takes 40 hours of week to learn that is the problem. In a regular year, Kids are only actively being taught at most 3 hours per day anyway! And learning is even less time.

Geez so how much do teachers make per hour of actual teaching time if that’s the case? It’s got to be higher per hour than all other tax payer funded positions etc maybe the top positions in government with all the breaks, holidays, and the summers. I’m in the wrong profession.

You’re right. You are. Please quit and join us here in teaching where we make exorbitantly luxurious salaries and barely work. You’ll of course only get “credit” for the forward facing parts people see who believe somehow lessons just happen with no work done in the background, no resources created, and no other professional obligations that must be met. You can have advanced degrees and make like 70k, I can’t encourage it enough. Please leave your low paying low respect job and join teaching!’

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here. I am in meetings for usually 5 hours on Mondays. I spend 2-3 hours with my language arts team planning and preparing the comi week’s (or the week after if we are ahead) lessons, assignments, and recordings. So, we aren’t continuously live that whole time. Then in the afternoon we meet as a grade level team and review the planned lessons each person did for the week with the team so we are all prepared to teach it as well as discuss assessments, scheduling for interventions, projects coming up. Then I also work preparing things on my own and working on IEPs or other paperwork (I’m a special Ed teacher for this grade level).

APS changed their plan for tomorrow just a few weeks ago, and some teachers, like MANY students, will still be traveling back and not able to hold synchronous classes tomorrow. You wouldn’t know if they had taken the day of asynchronous but it was likely already planned in advance. Sorry yea hers don’t get to take their earned leave in your view.

Mondays are still a complete waste of time. Notice no teaching actually happens. You can list your Monday plans all day. Kids are not learning on Monday. Full stop.

If kids are not learning, how is it a waste of time. Don’t log in. If any of you think it takes 40 hours of week to learn that is the problem. In a regular year, Kids are only actively being taught at most 3 hours per day anyway! And learning is even less time.

Geez so how much do teachers make per hour of actual teaching time if that’s the case? It’s got to be higher per hour than all other tax payer funded positions etc maybe the top positions in government with all the breaks, holidays, and the summers. I’m in the wrong profession.

You’re right. You are. Please quit and join us here in teaching where we make exorbitantly luxurious salaries and barely work. You’ll of course only get “credit” for the forward facing parts people see who believe somehow lessons just happen with no work done in the background, no resources created, and no other professional obligations that must be met. You can have advanced degrees and make like 70k, I can’t encourage it enough. Please leave your low paying low respect job and join teaching!’

DP Genuinely curious - how much time do you spend working in the background during breaks, particularly during summer break?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here. I am in meetings for usually 5 hours on Mondays. I spend 2-3 hours with my language arts team planning and preparing the comi week’s (or the week after if we are ahead) lessons, assignments, and recordings. So, we aren’t continuously live that whole time. Then in the afternoon we meet as a grade level team and review the planned lessons each person did for the week with the team so we are all prepared to teach it as well as discuss assessments, scheduling for interventions, projects coming up. Then I also work preparing things on my own and working on IEPs or other paperwork (I’m a special Ed teacher for this grade level).

APS changed their plan for tomorrow just a few weeks ago, and some teachers, like MANY students, will still be traveling back and not able to hold synchronous classes tomorrow. You wouldn’t know if they had taken the day of asynchronous but it was likely already planned in advance. Sorry yea hers don’t get to take their earned leave in your view.

Mondays are still a complete waste of time. Notice no teaching actually happens. You can list your Monday plans all day. Kids are not learning on Monday. Full stop.

If kids are not learning, how is it a waste of time. Don’t log in. If any of you think it takes 40 hours of week to learn that is the problem. In a regular year, Kids are only actively being taught at most 3 hours per day anyway! And learning is even less time.

Geez so how much do teachers make per hour of actual teaching time if that’s the case? It’s got to be higher per hour than all other tax payer funded positions etc maybe the top positions in government with all the breaks, holidays, and the summers. I’m in the wrong profession.

You’re right. You are. Please quit and join us here in teaching where we make exorbitantly luxurious salaries and barely work. You’ll of course only get “credit” for the forward facing parts people see who believe somehow lessons just happen with no work done in the background, no resources created, and no other professional obligations that must be met. You can have advanced degrees and make like 70k, I can’t encourage it enough. Please leave your low paying low respect job and join teaching!’

DP Genuinely curious - how much time do you spend working in the background during breaks, particularly during summer break?

It’s not done during breaks. It’s done during planning time, or, more usually, on the weekend. You don’t think we just roll into each week with materials handed to us right? You don’t think someone else does that grading? We teach all but one block a day. In that time, we have to create lessons and materials, assess it, differentiate it , build scaffolds for students , and don’t get me started on the million other tasks we have to do from admin. It ALL has to get done and *you never see any of it* because like a lot of things, there’s tons of unglamorous background work that goes into making the final product look easy and effortless. I can’t do that on summer break/ it has to be done AS we teach all year long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here. I am in meetings for usually 5 hours on Mondays. I spend 2-3 hours with my language arts team planning and preparing the comi week’s (or the week after if we are ahead) lessons, assignments, and recordings. So, we aren’t continuously live that whole time. Then in the afternoon we meet as a grade level team and review the planned lessons each person did for the week with the team so we are all prepared to teach it as well as discuss assessments, scheduling for interventions, projects coming up. Then I also work preparing things on my own and working on IEPs or other paperwork (I’m a special Ed teacher for this grade level).

APS changed their plan for tomorrow just a few weeks ago, and some teachers, like MANY students, will still be traveling back and not able to hold synchronous classes tomorrow. You wouldn’t know if they had taken the day of asynchronous but it was likely already planned in advance. Sorry yea hers don’t get to take their earned leave in your view.

Mondays are still a complete waste of time. Notice no teaching actually happens. You can list your Monday plans all day. Kids are not learning on Monday. Full stop.

If kids are not learning, how is it a waste of time. Don’t log in. If any of you think it takes 40 hours of week to learn that is the problem. In a regular year, Kids are only actively being taught at most 3 hours per day anyway! And learning is even less time.

Geez so how much do teachers make per hour of actual teaching time if that’s the case? It’s got to be higher per hour than all other tax payer funded positions etc maybe the top positions in government with all the breaks, holidays, and the summers. I’m in the wrong profession.

You’re right. You are. Please quit and join us here in teaching where we make exorbitantly luxurious salaries and barely work. You’ll of course only get “credit” for the forward facing parts people see who believe somehow lessons just happen with no work done in the background, no resources created, and no other professional obligations that must be met. You can have advanced degrees and make like 70k, I can’t encourage it enough. Please leave your low paying low respect job and join teaching!’

DP Genuinely curious - how much time do you spend working in the background during breaks, particularly during summer break?

It’s not done during breaks. It’s done during planning time, or, more usually, on the weekend. You don’t think we just roll into each week with materials handed to us right? You don’t think someone else does that grading? We teach all but one block a day. In that time, we have to create lessons and materials, assess it, differentiate it , build scaffolds for students , and don’t get me started on the million other tasks we have to do from admin. It ALL has to get done and *you never see any of it* because like a lot of things, there’s tons of unglamorous background work that goes into making the final product look easy and effortless. I can’t do that on summer break/ it has to be done AS we teach all year long.

DP. I agree with all of the above, but I would add that I do a lot of it on winter and spring break too.