MCEA is furious with MCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a mess right now.

MCPS IS a mess right now! Zuckerman leaving should help some (he is a Starr holdover) same for Navaro and Diamond. I laugh at those worried for MCPS because many in upper management are leaving - these people have needed to leave for a long, long time. There are a few more who need to go as well.

It is too big, there is no discipline anywhere, special ed has been shredded at all levels, differentiation is a joke, long term planning is ineffective (as demonstrated by so many clusters in moratorium because of overcrowding), teachers are overwhelmed because of all the sh*t flowing downstream from central office, there is little to no support when a child who does not belong in gen ed has a parent who won't cooperate (see Clarksburg recently, but also happening at all levels), I could go on and on, but MCPS is not the shining star it once was, and has not been for some time.

I love the differentiation "initiative." Tomlinson was big in the 90s, yet the county thinks this is something new.

Try differentiating with 33 kids in a class. It's impossible.

And if the county LOVES differentiation so much, why does it tout the magnets? Test-in magnets, by their very nature, are tracking tools. Yet outside of these magnets, we place all kids - regardless of current ability - in honors classes and ask teachers to differentiate.

What a bunch of crap!

I teach MS magnet. Even within a class of highly gifted students, you still must differentiate. Talk to anyone teaching magnet and they will tell you that we see a wide range of skills and talents even with high standardized test scores. There are still those who learn grasp it the first time and those who need repetition. There’s still a need to teach in different modalities. And I still have to differentiate in assessment. I was observed recently and differentiation was one of the core areas being looked for.

Mixed ability group works well within bands, IME. I’ve done it successfully outside of magnet with groups that included low to low average or high average to high.

How long have you taught in the MS Magnet?

It did not always used to be this way. It used to be that the Magnets were truly the highest performing kids. Now there is definitely a larger variety of abilities.

DP. What PP is probably telling you is that within ANY group, you must differentiate. Because not everybody is alike.

Yes, even within the highest performers you must differentiate. Even with the highest performers, not ever child is learning at the same rate. They are humans, not robots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a mess right now.

Try differentiating with 33 kids in a class. It's impossible.

And if the county LOVES differentiation so much, why does it tout the magnets? Test-in magnets, by their very nature, are tracking tools. Yet outside of these magnets, we place all kids - regardless of current ability - in honors classes and ask teachers to differentiate.

What a bunch of crap!

**differentiating (All by myself) in a sophomore HS class with kids Who have been taking multiple AP classes since forever as well as 14-16 Y.O. kids who can’t read beyond a simple my first chapter book in the same class with just one teacher. (P.S.: I’m not Saying the student who can barely read is at fault. Rather, it is the system and pressure from admin kid’s fault AT ALL.) rather this is a top-down failure from the superintendent and admin to make themselves look good.

[Anonymous]

Last year, admin literally thanked themselves out loud at meetings and did not mention one word of gratitude toward the completely demoralized teachers who, i don’t know actually teach?—and spend entire yearS drilling a state test into students to help save our accreditation. Accreditation is at risk because admin keeps promoting kids who are 3-5 reading and math levels below grade level. Teachers don’t like teaching tests.


OH YEAH and then admin decided to pass around a stuffed bear this year to “help boost staff morAle.” Because that’s what we really want.

[Anonymous]

Message to teachers who bow to pressure to pass unprepared kids or graduate kids who can't read fluently etc.: That's unethical behavior. Blow the whistle and refuse to do it. If you suffer repercussions, go to the media, get a lawyer, do what you have to do. Take the outrage and use it to give kids a better chance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Message to teachers who bow to pressure to pass unprepared kids or graduate kids who can't read fluently etc.: That's unethical behavior. Blow the whistle and refuse to do it. If you suffer repercussions, go to the media, get a lawyer, do what you have to do. Take the outrage and use it to give kids a better chance

Will you be paying their mortgages or rent? putting food on their tables?

You dish out advice in ignorance. Keep in mind that the system has many layers of protection. Teachers don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last year, admin literally thanked themselves out loud at meetings and did not mention one word of gratitude toward the completely demoralized teachers who, i don’t know actually teach?—and spend entire yearS drilling a state test into students to help save our accreditation. Accreditation is at risk because admin keeps promoting kids who are 3-5 reading and math levels below grade level. Teachers don’t like teaching tests.


OH YEAH and then admin decided to pass around a stuffed bear this year to “help boost staff morAle.” Because that’s what we really want.

We had a Yoda once. What a stupid time-waster!

The new report cards ding schools on attendance issues. So if Lulu is chronically absent at School X and then transfers to School Y, both schools get dinged. Education is a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Message to teachers who bow to pressure to pass unprepared kids or graduate kids who can't read fluently etc.: That's unethical behavior. Blow the whistle and refuse to do it. If you suffer repercussions, go to the media, get a lawyer, do what you have to do. Take the outrage and use it to give kids a better chance

Will you be paying their mortgages or rent? putting food on their tables?

You dish out advice in ignorance. Keep in mind that the system has many layers of protection. Teachers don't.

Agree with this PP. It's impossible for an individual teacher to fix this issue. It is a system wide problem. Teachers can't be expected to fix a corrupt, ineffective school system. You need better leadership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Message to teachers who bow to pressure to pass unprepared kids or graduate kids who can't read fluently etc.: That's unethical behavior. Blow the whistle and refuse to do it. If you suffer repercussions, go to the media, get a lawyer, do what you have to do. Take the outrage and use it to give kids a better chance

I don’t know where you think that pressure comes from. Now that grades are online, there is enough transparency that I can’t imagine this is happening.

But I have to say that there is something to be said for D-ing someone out. If you have a kid that isn’t quite able to pass but has the capability to be a productive adult, a HS diploma is the biggest asset that kid could have. The difference between a HS diploma and not having one is that a HS diploma will get you a full time job with insurance and paid sick leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Message to teachers who bow to pressure to pass unprepared kids or graduate kids who can't read fluently etc.: That's unethical behavior. Blow the whistle and refuse to do it. If you suffer repercussions, go to the media, get a lawyer, do what you have to do. Take the outrage and use it to give kids a better chance

Will you be paying their mortgages or rent? putting food on their tables?

You dish out advice in ignorance. Keep in mind that the system has many layers of protection. Teachers don't.

Agree with this PP. It's impossible for an individual teacher to fix this issue. It is a system wide problem. Teachers can't be expected to fix a corrupt, ineffective school system. You need better leadership.

The point of a Union is for individual teachers to have strength in numbers, but DCUM teachers don’t go to union meetings or participate in planned actions. They just whine about being demoralized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got this email:
Subject: Bargaining Update #12: No Love This Valentine's Day
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Dignity is sweet.
Respect is too.
Last night MCPS demonstrated:
That neither educators nor students deserve dignity or respect.
That there is no intention on their part of alleviating the immense pressures that educators are facing on the front lines of our underfunded school system.
We are appalled by what seems to be a failure on the part of MCPS to bargain in good faith.
We will be reaching out with a comprehensive bargaining update to include details from Thursday night’s session. Stay tuned for next steps.

It should have said - "Dear MCPS BOE - Don't you know who I am? I'm the one who got you f'ing elected. The sheep grab my apple ballot and vote for you. How dare you bite the hand that feeds you!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It should have said - "Dear MCPS BOE - Don't you know who I am? I'm the one who got you f'ing elected. The sheep grab my apple ballot and vote for you. How dare you bite the hand that feeds you!"

PP is angry because the Apple Ballot is more effective in elections than the PP.

[Anonymous]

My kids' teachers are almost universally phenomenal and dedicated. I feel terrible for them that they are constantly dealing with curriculum changes and technology changes that are poorly rolled out without much notice, planning, or support.
They've barely had time to figure out the glitch-ridden grading system that started 2-3 years ago to replace the old one, and apparently they are going to have a new one next year?
I emailed a teacher at one of my kids' school that is in charge of the advanced pilot class to ask if they were offering it next year, and the teacher didn't know until very recently. Given how much work I know that teacher has put into developing that curriculum...it's just ridiculous that they put all this extra time into developing a curriculum, and they don't know from year to year whether they will be able to offer it. No wonder they are asking for more planning time to try to figure out and supplement the ever-changing curricula!
The County's greatest strength is its teachers --- I wish they would trust them more and let them do their work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Message to teachers who bow to pressure to pass unprepared kids or graduate kids who can't read fluently etc.: That's unethical behavior. Blow the whistle and refuse to do it. If you suffer repercussions, go to the media, get a lawyer, do what you have to do. Take the outrage and use it to give kids a better chance

Will you be paying their mortgages or rent? putting food on their tables?

You dish out advice in ignorance. Keep in mind that the system has many layers of protection. Teachers don't.

Agree with this PP. It's impossible for an individual teacher to fix this issue. It is a system wide problem. Teachers can't be expected to fix a corrupt, ineffective school system. You need better leadership.

The point of a Union is for individual teachers to have strength in numbers, but DCUM teachers don’t go to union meetings or participate in planned actions. They just whine about being demoralized.

Unless you're in the system, just go away. I mean that. And if you're IN the system, you're clearly callous and ignorant.

[Anonymous]

I'm with the PP. You can refuse to act unethically AND pay your mortgage. There are whistleblower laws. There's a union. You have the numbers. But someone has to have the courage to stop doing stuff that's wrong. Even if you quietly do the right thing and don't draw attention to it, do the right thing.

[Anonymous]

MCEA has canceled the negotiations with MCPS for today and Feb. 20th.