If teachers are leaving left and right, is it the principal's fault?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I would love is a teacher who is brave enough to write an expose of FCPS. Maybe someone who is planning to quit anyway. I really don't think the general public has any clue what it's actually like these days in the "responsive classroom."

I've been expose-ing fcps on this board since I quit 10 years ago. It's pointless. The system is so broken there. Parents have no idea, and the county likes it that way. If you read through these forums you'll see many many teachers posting the same things I have been saying. It's not a secret. But it's so bureaucratic that nothing can be changed. The whole top-down structure where all the decisions are made by people who are basically politicians and haven't been in a classroom in 30 years, and teachers are powerless.

Not sure why you are targeting RC though - it's just one of a million programs that gets adopted for a while and then replaced with something new a few years later. It's one of the better programs FCPS has, actually.

I'm targeting RC because it's a trendy program that simply doesn't work. Kids with behavioral issues continue to disrupt the class because they know there are no consequences. Kids who really want to learn continue being ignored while the teacher deals with the troublemakers. Rinse and repeat. RC does no one any favors. Troublemakers should be immediately dealt with, with real consequences (missing recess, actually getting yelled at by the principal, parents called, etc.). Babying them along and trying to relate to them emotionally is a waste of time for everyone. Teachers shouldn't be expected to devote their time to soothing the troublemakers back into good behavior (which does not work) at the expense of the other kids who simply want to learn.

Parent of a rule following child who loves to learn here - my kid doesn't want you yelling at her peers, even if they're being a pain in the butt. She had a teacher like that and was terrified of her. It was her worst year at school ever. And my kid is the good kid. No one was yelling at her and being mean to her, but she couldn't handle the teeny tiny remote possibility of her teacher going off on her like she did other kids. Consider the stress you are causing other children when you yell at their peers.

Let's just hope PP isn't a teacher, since they think that trying to relate to children emotionally is a "waste of time."

I don’t care if she relates to my kids emotionally. That’s not her job.

Wow...it is actually but this statement says a lot.

It’s interesting that you think that is a teacher’s job. I want my DD’s teacher to be kind and fair, but I don’t expect her to be a therapist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t there pre reqs for higher level classes? That only makes sense. If you have a C or below in a previous math, English, history class, why are those students allowed to move up a level?

Because teachers were accused of being racist/sexist/whatever when we didn’t recommend kids move up to honors/AP/IB. It wasn’t “equitable” to track a kid. I sat in sooooo many meetings having to bring dozens of data points about why I didn’t think a child who got a D in algebra belonged in honors geometry, or a child who failed the math 7 SOL should be discouraged from skipping math 8/taking algebra. The county moved to open enrollment so every child could be “encouraged to reach their full potential.”

So now I have kids in my honors algebra with Ds, and sit in meetings trying to figure out “what I’m doing wrong” because it’s unfathomable that 6 kids in one honors class have a D.

If that makes you feel "better", our regular Algebra classes have around a third of students failing right now. A third of the kids do next to nothing in class, other sleep or chat. A good portion of those who turn in their homework on time are just copying the key. Others only turn them in late just to try to get a few extra points. The number of absences is truly astonishing, and they're never caught up when they get back since somehow time apparently stops while they're gone. 50% minimum grades and open enrollment are definitely working--just not in the way they were supposed to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t there pre reqs for higher level classes? That only makes sense. If you have a C or below in a previous math, English, history class, why are those students allowed to move up a level?

Those students should be held back until they pass the minimum requirements.

Why isnt this obvious to all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t there pre reqs for higher level classes? That only makes sense. If you have a C or below in a previous math, English, history class, why are those students allowed to move up a level?

Those students should be held back until they pass the minimum requirements.

Why isnt this obvious to all?

When it’s your kid who is failing, I don’t think it is obvious, and administrators tend to give in to parental demands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I would love is a teacher who is brave enough to write an expose of FCPS. Maybe someone who is planning to quit anyway. I really don't think the general public has any clue what it's actually like these days in the "responsive classroom."

I've been expose-ing fcps on this board since I quit 10 years ago. It's pointless. The system is so broken there. Parents have no idea, and the county likes it that way. If you read through these forums you'll see many many teachers posting the same things I have been saying. It's not a secret. But it's so bureaucratic that nothing can be changed. The whole top-down structure where all the decisions are made by people who are basically politicians and haven't been in a classroom in 30 years, and teachers are powerless.

Not sure why you are targeting RC though - it's just one of a million programs that gets adopted for a while and then replaced with something new a few years later. It's one of the better programs FCPS has, actually.

I'm targeting RC because it's a trendy program that simply doesn't work. Kids with behavioral issues continue to disrupt the class because they know there are no consequences. Kids who really want to learn continue being ignored while the teacher deals with the troublemakers. Rinse and repeat. RC does no one any favors. Troublemakers should be immediately dealt with, with real consequences (missing recess, actually getting yelled at by the principal, parents called, etc.). Babying them along and trying to relate to them emotionally is a waste of time for everyone. Teachers shouldn't be expected to devote their time to soothing the troublemakers back into good behavior (which does not work) at the expense of the other kids who simply want to learn.

Parent of a rule following child who loves to learn here - my kid doesn't want you yelling at her peers, even if they're being a pain in the butt. She had a teacher like that and was terrified of her. It was her worst year at school ever. And my kid is the good kid. No one was yelling at her and being mean to her, but she couldn't handle the teeny tiny remote possibility of her teacher going off on her like she did other kids. Consider the stress you are causing other children when you yell at their peers.

Let's just hope PP isn't a teacher, since they think that trying to relate to children emotionally is a "waste of time."

I don’t care if she relates to my kids emotionally. That’s not her job.

Wow...it is actually but this statement says a lot.

It’s interesting that you think that is a teacher’s job. I want my DD’s teacher to be kind and fair, but I don’t expect her to be a therapist.

It's interesting that you don't realize what is going on in classrooms.

[Anonymous]

As a parent, it would be nice to know if someone cared that my kid was failing and let me know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent, it would be nice to know if someone cared that my kid was failing and let me know.

They're already letting you know. It's called SIS and you can have your own parent login.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent, it would be nice to know if someone cared that my kid was failing and let me know.

ES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t there pre reqs for higher level classes? That only makes sense. If you have a C or below in a previous math, English, history class, why are those students allowed to move up a level?

Those students should be held back until they pass the minimum requirements.

Why isnt this obvious to all?

So I guess you're OK with your 14 year old being in a class with 21 year olds? Or your 5 year old being in a class with 8 year olds?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t there pre reqs for higher level classes? That only makes sense. If you have a C or below in a previous math, English, history class, why are those students allowed to move up a level?

Those students should be held back until they pass the minimum requirements.

Why isnt this obvious to all?

So I guess you're OK with your 14 year old being in a class with 21 year olds? Or your 5 year old being in a class with 8 year olds?

I have 5th graders that can’t do the worksheets I used with my 2nd graders. I have literal nightmares about them going into MS and HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent, it would be nice to know if someone cared that my kid was failing and let me know.

Well, there are these very expensive programs called SIS and Schoology which should allow you to keep tabs on your child’s assignments and grade. FCPS pays for those things, so you should consider using them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent, it would be nice to know if someone cared that my kid was failing and let me know.

ES?

No doubt they mean MS and HS, too. Those teachers have case loads of 150 kids per year. You can’t expect the same level of communication from them as you do from ES teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t there pre reqs for higher level classes? That only makes sense. If you have a C or below in a previous math, English, history class, why are those students allowed to move up a level?

Because teachers were accused of being racist/sexist/whatever when we didn’t recommend kids move up to honors/AP/IB. It wasn’t “equitable” to track a kid. I sat in sooooo many meetings having to bring dozens of data points about why I didn’t think a child who got a D in algebra belonged in honors geometry, or a child who failed the math 7 SOL should be discouraged from skipping math 8/taking algebra. The county moved to open enrollment so every child could be “encouraged to reach their full potential.”

So now I have kids in my honors algebra with Ds, and sit in meetings trying to figure out “what I’m doing wrong” because it’s unfathomable that 6 kids in one honors class have a D.

That’s insane. In my kid’s private school, you can’t move up a level unless you have an A in the previous level. It encourages students to work hard if they want to move up. My son is just now getting to his first AP courses as a senior. I can’t imagine having students in that class who had low grades in previous levels. I’d be pissed as a teacher that they were allowed in. It changes the entire class when the teacher has to bend over backwards to help kids who don’t belong there.

Do private schools have to report demographic data to the state? Indicating how many SPED, ELL, and minorities are in AP classes? Probably not.

If the kids cannot do the work, they should be placed in whatever level that is appropriate for them until they demonstrate they are reading for the next level. Who cares what color they are? Maybe their parents should care more about their actual abilities rather than what looks good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I would love is a teacher who is brave enough to write an expose of FCPS. Maybe someone who is planning to quit anyway. I really don't think the general public has any clue what it's actually like these days in the "responsive classroom."

I've been expose-ing fcps on this board since I quit 10 years ago. It's pointless. The system is so broken there. Parents have no idea, and the county likes it that way. If you read through these forums you'll see many many teachers posting the same things I have been saying. It's not a secret. But it's so bureaucratic that nothing can be changed. The whole top-down structure where all the decisions are made by people who are basically politicians and haven't been in a classroom in 30 years, and teachers are powerless.

Not sure why you are targeting RC though - it's just one of a million programs that gets adopted for a while and then replaced with something new a few years later. It's one of the better programs FCPS has, actually.

I'm targeting RC because it's a trendy program that simply doesn't work. Kids with behavioral issues continue to disrupt the class because they know there are no consequences. Kids who really want to learn continue being ignored while the teacher deals with the troublemakers. Rinse and repeat. RC does no one any favors. Troublemakers should be immediately dealt with, with real consequences (missing recess, actually getting yelled at by the principal, parents called, etc.). Babying them along and trying to relate to them emotionally is a waste of time for everyone. Teachers shouldn't be expected to devote their time to soothing the troublemakers back into good behavior (which does not work) at the expense of the other kids who simply want to learn.

Parent of a rule following child who loves to learn here - my kid doesn't want you yelling at her peers, even if they're being a pain in the butt. She had a teacher like that and was terrified of her. It was her worst year at school ever. And my kid is the good kid. No one was yelling at her and being mean to her, but she couldn't handle the teeny tiny remote possibility of her teacher going off on her like she did other kids. Consider the stress you are causing other children when you yell at their peers.

Well, I imagine teachers like parents aren’t perfect. No one *deliberately* yells.

I left teaching a few years ago, but if you think that teachers can spend over seven hours a day, 180 days a year, managing over 25 students and are not yelling every once in a while… Then you’re delusional.

I'm the parent you all are quoting and I was specifically referring to the person above who said that teachers and parents need to yell at kids in order to get them to listen.

DP. I went back and re-read what you are referring to, and it *specifically* singles out trouble makers, not kids who are behaving.

"Troublemakers should be immediately dealt with, with real consequences (missing recess, actually getting yelled at by the principal, parents called, etc.). Babying them along and trying to relate to them emotionally is a waste of time for everyone. Teachers shouldn't be expected to devote their time to soothing the troublemakers back into good behavior (which does not work) at the expense of the other kids who simply want to learn."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I would love is a teacher who is brave enough to write an expose of FCPS. Maybe someone who is planning to quit anyway. I really don't think the general public has any clue what it's actually like these days in the "responsive classroom."

I've been expose-ing fcps on this board since I quit 10 years ago. It's pointless. The system is so broken there. Parents have no idea, and the county likes it that way. If you read through these forums you'll see many many teachers posting the same things I have been saying. It's not a secret. But it's so bureaucratic that nothing can be changed. The whole top-down structure where all the decisions are made by people who are basically politicians and haven't been in a classroom in 30 years, and teachers are powerless.

Not sure why you are targeting RC though - it's just one of a million programs that gets adopted for a while and then replaced with something new a few years later. It's one of the better programs FCPS has, actually.

I'm targeting RC because it's a trendy program that simply doesn't work. Kids with behavioral issues continue to disrupt the class because they know there are no consequences. Kids who really want to learn continue being ignored while the teacher deals with the troublemakers. Rinse and repeat. RC does no one any favors. Troublemakers should be immediately dealt with, with real consequences (missing recess, actually getting yelled at by the principal, parents called, etc.). Babying them along and trying to relate to them emotionally is a waste of time for everyone. Teachers shouldn't be expected to devote their time to soothing the troublemakers back into good behavior (which does not work) at the expense of the other kids who simply want to learn.

Parent of a rule following child who loves to learn here - my kid doesn't want you yelling at her peers, even if they're being a pain in the butt. She had a teacher like that and was terrified of her. It was her worst year at school ever. And my kid is the good kid. No one was yelling at her and being mean to her, but she couldn't handle the teeny tiny remote possibility of her teacher going off on her like she did other kids. Consider the stress you are causing other children when you yell at their peers.

Oh. Then I guess you'd prefer your rule-following, learning-loving child to be constantly distracted and interrupted by kids who refuse to behave. I'm sure she would enjoy not being able to hear or learn a thing because the teacher refuses to discipline the troublemakers. Let us know how that works out for her.

Refuses to or has no power to? There is a difference.

What on earth are you talking about? A kid who climbs into a classroom storage closet and refuses to get out is a troublemaker. This and so many other examples of bad behavior occur on the daily in my class. If there is a kid who has "no power" to behave, they should not be placed in a mainstream classroom. Period.