The PD video teachers must watch on Monday

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am dreading showing this to staff on Monday. We've had several staff hit by students this school year and the lack of accountability in terms of student behavior is out of control. If there is any advice I can give MCPS parents is that if you have children who are coming home commenting about behaviors at their school, believe your kids. Email the teacher, the principal, etc. I'm in a Title 1 school so we have smaller class sizes in K - 2nd grade. We have a first grade class with sixteen students but requires multiple adults to keep it somewhat under control. The teacher was punched two weeks ago in the face and the area director wouldn't allow the principal to suspend the student. The teacher, however, was supposed to just ignore the bruise on her face and come back the next day and continue on like nothing is wrong.

THIS IS NOT OKAY! Things in MCPS are terrible right now. We may get paid well (for educators) but the conditions are atrocious. This video we have to watch is insulting. The central office staff who have designed this PD and script need to be in schools more often to see what it looks like these days. Schools look so much different now than 2018.

If a teacher is physically assaulted they need to file a police report.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mcps is obsessed with racism. My opinion is that they use racism to blame teachers for the crime and violence in the classroom. I caught alot of grief as a teacher for writing the students up for behavior issues in the classroom that could lead to students getting hurt. I was told by admin that I didn't understand that what I thought was behavior problems was just racism on the teachers behalf who didn't understand minority culture. Just remember that teachers. If kids fight, cuss you out, or throw chairs at each other its just the teacher being a racist.

I assume that MCPS pays extra stipends to multicultural teachers who are experts in all the different cultures in their classrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mcps is obsessed with racism. My opinion is that they use racism to blame teachers for the crime and violence in the classroom. I caught alot of grief as a teacher for writing the students up for behavior issues in the classroom that could lead to students getting hurt. I was told by admin that I didn't understand that what I thought was behavior problems was just racism on the teachers behalf who didn't understand minority culture. Just remember that teachers. If kids fight, cuss you out, or throw chairs at each other its just the teacher being a racist.

This is insanity.

[Anonymous]

As the training was part of MCPS's commitment to antiracism work, it would have been nice if my administrator had acknowledged the terrorist attack in Israel, carved out time to prepare teachers to discuss it the next day with students, as quite a large number at my W middle are Jewish and already have dealt with a lot of antisemitism, and also acknowledged that many of his staff members might be struggling themselves to process the event. I'm not Jewish but many of my colleagues are, and I felt so uncomfortable about the omission.

[Anonymous]

There was a big focus on anti-racism and how every teacher and administrator needs to take an anti-racism stance. Teachers must focus on making their classroom an anti-racism environment as student achievement levels are being negatively impacted by structural racism and teachers innate biases.
Also, we were told to have more empathy for EML students and that teachers are not doing a good job bringing up the achievement level of EML students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a big focus on anti-racism and how every teacher and administrator needs to take an anti-racism stance. Teachers must focus on making their classroom an anti-racism environment as student achievement levels are being negatively impacted by structural racism and teachers innate biases.
Also, we were told to have more empathy for EML students and that teachers are not doing a good job bringing up the achievement level of EML students.

And all of you teachers didn't revolt at the blatant dumping on you all and your skills, competency and profession? Because this is pretty offensive to me, but I'm just a parent.

[Anonymous]

What's EML?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's EML?

Emerging Multilingual Learners. What we formerly used to call English as a Second-Language (ESOL) Learners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a big focus on anti-racism and how every teacher and administrator needs to take an anti-racism stance. Teachers must focus on making their classroom an anti-racism environment as student achievement levels are being negatively impacted by structural racism and teachers innate biases.
Also, we were told to have more empathy for EML students and that teachers are not doing a good job bringing up the achievement level of EML students.

And all of you teachers didn't revolt at the blatant dumping on you all and your skills, competency and profession? Because this is pretty offensive to me, but I'm just a parent.

I mean, a workplace is not a democracy. We did not revolt because we want to keep our jobs. We complained a lot to our colleagues and spouses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a big focus on anti-racism and how every teacher and administrator needs to take an anti-racism stance. Teachers must focus on making their classroom an anti-racism environment as student achievement levels are being negatively impacted by structural racism and teachers innate biases.
Also, we were told to have more empathy for EML students and that teachers are not doing a good job bringing up the achievement level of EML students.

And all of you teachers didn't revolt at the blatant dumping on you all and your skills, competency and profession? Because this is pretty offensive to me, but I'm just a parent.

I mean, a workplace is not a democracy. We did not revolt because we want to keep our jobs. We complained a lot to our colleagues and spouses.

Says a lot about the culture at MCPS if that's the case...

[Anonymous]

That quasi-religious poetry reading and tone strikes me as just insulting to teachers. I can’t believe they’re expected to put up with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a big focus on anti-racism and how every teacher and administrator needs to take an anti-racism stance. Teachers must focus on making their classroom an anti-racism environment as student achievement levels are being negatively impacted by structural racism and teachers innate biases.
Also, we were told to have more empathy for EML students and that teachers are not doing a good job bringing up the achievement level of EML students.

And all of you teachers didn't revolt at the blatant dumping on you all and your skills, competency and profession? Because this is pretty offensive to me, but I'm just a parent.

I mean, a workplace is not a democracy. We did not revolt because we want to keep our jobs. We complained a lot to our colleagues and spouses.

Says a lot about the culture at MCPS if that's the case...

At this point I think a lot of teachers are like abused spouses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As the training was part of MCPS's commitment to antiracism work, it would have been nice if my administrator had acknowledged the terrorist attack in Israel, carved out time to prepare teachers to discuss it the next day with students, as quite a large number at my W middle are Jewish and already have dealt with a lot of antisemitism, and also acknowledged that many of his staff members might be struggling themselves to process the event. I'm not Jewish but many of my colleagues are, and I felt so uncomfortable about the omission.

I would have felt uncomfortable if admin mentioned it, but didn't acknowledge Israeli apartheid, and the terror that many Palestinians have been living under for more than half a century.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a big focus on anti-racism and how every teacher and administrator needs to take an anti-racism stance. Teachers must focus on making their classroom an anti-racism environment as student achievement levels are being negatively impacted by structural racism and teachers innate biases.
Also, we were told to have more empathy for EML students and that teachers are not doing a good job bringing up the achievement level of EML students.

And all of you teachers didn't revolt at the blatant dumping on you all and your skills, competency and profession? Because this is pretty offensive to me, but I'm just a parent.

I mean, a workplace is not a democracy. We did not revolt because we want to keep our jobs. We complained a lot to our colleagues and spouses.

Says a lot about the culture at MCPS if that's the case...

At this point I think a lot of teachers are like abused spouses.

Unfortunately, the abuse can come daily if you have a particularly bad admin. I left a school because of how poorly admin treated teachers.

Plenty of people have said it: teachers leave administrators, not schools.

[Anonymous]

The teachers in my group openly objected to the constant framing that they are somehow to blame or needed training. They thought it was insulting and academically dishonest. If a kid refuses to do any work it is not the fault of one teacher. No amount of training will fix it.