Anne Arundel - NO special ed teachers will return

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is there such a shortage of Sped teachers?

Well, my friend, who quit who US job and moved overseas, says she is usually black and blue with bruises. She specializes in severely autistic and sometimes they lash out.

It's not an easy job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is there such a shortage of Sped teachers?

Well, my friend, who quit who US job and moved overseas, says she is usually black and blue with bruises. She specializes in severely autistic and sometimes they lash out.

It's not an easy job.

I mean you choose which level of disability to work with. Most special ed kids aren't severely autistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is there such a shortage of Sped teachers?

There isn't. It's something unions like to claim. In reality, if there was a shortage, they'd be paid more. There is no shortage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should teachers have the choice to return? Everyone else has been told to get on with it or get out. What about police force, supermarket workers, nurses and the rest. Teachers are being far to precious. Get on with the job you are paid for. Children are paying the price.

#ReopenSchools

If so many other professionals can work from home and get paid for the work that they do, why can’t teachers do the same? Most of you guys are sitting at home working and getting a paycheck. But you are up in arms when teachers want to do the same? Smh

Your argument is fundamentally flawed.

I am a professional who works from home, but the difference is I work with ADULTS, not children, who are fully capable of using technology to do their day-to-day jobs. In my experience, 6 year olds are not experts in using Word, PowerPoint, Zoom, or interacting only with other people via computer.

Young children were not meant to use computers all day. Are educators now condoning the use of screens for 6+ hours a day for a 6 year old? Last time I checked, I thought there was some guidance that suggested this much screen time was inappropriate for developing brains, but I'm not the expert

Yes and unlike adults, 6 year olds have absolutely no concept of personal space. Try being in a room with 30 of them from 9:00-3:00 each day and let me know how long it takes you to get Covid.

Or enjoy your cushy work from home job and complain about teachers. Ugh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is there such a shortage of Sped teachers?

There isn't. It's something unions like to claim. In reality, if there was a shortage, they'd be paid more. There is no shortage.

There is a national teacher shortage. Where are you getting that there are no shortages of SPED teachers? If it was just about pay, then teachers would be paid more, period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So those of you saying fire them, where are you getting new sped teachers from right now? There aren't 100s of unemployed, ready to work people with sped credentials. They can't even find enough subs on a daily basis when we aren't in a pandemic, and that has basically no qualifications. I get the frustration, but unless you want someone with no classroom education or experience teaching the neediest kids, there isn't a better option, is there?

I don't really see the downside. The teachers have worked hard to ensure schools won't open anytime soon regardless if what is done. It's true that firing/furloughing the teachers might not allow reopening, but that's already the situation that we're in.

The best way to deal with this problem long-term is to nip this in the bud now.

The teachers are playing dirty, so now the county needs to fight back.

Close all schools and furlough all teachers until they agree to go back in person.

No DL, no paychecks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So those of you saying fire them, where are you getting new sped teachers from right now? There aren't 100s of unemployed, ready to work people with sped credentials. They can't even find enough subs on a daily basis when we aren't in a pandemic, and that has basically no qualifications. I get the frustration, but unless you want someone with no classroom education or experience teaching the neediest kids, there isn't a better option, is there?

I don't really see the downside. The teachers have worked hard to ensure schools won't open anytime soon regardless if what is done. It's true that firing/furloughing the teachers might not allow reopening, but that's already the situation that we're in.

The best way to deal with this problem long-term is to nip this in the bud now.

So you'd rather have no school than virtual school? Am I understanding that correctly? And then when school reopens eventually have no teachers to come in? That seems incredibly short sighted, but maybe I'm missing something.

Yes. Virtual school is the same as no school for SPED kids. I know this because I'm living through it right now (in MCPS).

I might be more worried about losing teachers if I wasn't so convinced that a substantial percentage would do their jobs if the alternative was losing their jobs without unemployment benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is there such a shortage of Sped teachers?

There isn't. It's something unions like to claim. In reality, if there was a shortage, they'd be paid more. There is no shortage.

There is a national teacher shortage. Where are you getting that there are no shortages of SPED teachers? If it was just about pay, then teachers would be paid more, period.

Yeah, it's more complicated than that. There is a shortage, particularly in certain geographic areas and in certain subjects. More pay probably would help, but unions are probably (ironically) the main thing impeding that. They make it tough to pay, say, STEM teachers more than, say, elementary school teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should teachers have the choice to return? Everyone else has been told to get on with it or get out. What about police force, supermarket workers, nurses and the rest. Teachers are being far to precious. Get on with the job you are paid for. Children are paying the price.

#ReopenSchools

If so many other professionals can work from home and get paid for the work that they do, why can’t teachers do the same? Most of you guys are sitting at home working and getting a paycheck. But you are up in arms when teachers want to do the same? Smh

Your argument is fundamentally flawed.

I am a professional who works from home, but the difference is I work with ADULTS, not children, who are fully capable of using technology to do their day-to-day jobs. In my experience, 6 year olds are not experts in using Word, PowerPoint, Zoom, or interacting only with other people via computer.

Young children were not meant to use computers all day. Are educators now condoning the use of screens for 6+ hours a day for a 6 year old? Last time I checked, I thought there was some guidance that suggested this much screen time was inappropriate for developing brains, but I'm not the expert

Have you even thought that teachers are moms, too? My SIL is one and she has elementary school kids at home. She can't leave them alone all day and the dad is overseas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow.
Not a single teacher from any of the three special schools agreed to return to school.
Given the unanimity, I can only assume it's a union/job action rather than the thought-out risk evaluation by each teacher.
Sigh.

https://www.capitalgazette.com/education/ac-cn-reopening-anne-arundel-schools-20200915-glvdiocp7neufghicuwwu7agtm-story.html

Since not all teachers belong to the union and even some teachers are libertarians and anti-union, I think your assumption is wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So those of you saying fire them, where are you getting new sped teachers from right now? There aren't 100s of unemployed, ready to work people with sped credentials. They can't even find enough subs on a daily basis when we aren't in a pandemic, and that has basically no qualifications. I get the frustration, but unless you want someone with no classroom education or experience teaching the neediest kids, there isn't a better option, is there?

I don't really see the downside. The teachers have worked hard to ensure schools won't open anytime soon regardless if what is done. It's true that firing/furloughing the teachers might not allow reopening, but that's already the situation that we're in.

The best way to deal with this problem long-term is to nip this in the bud now.

So you'd rather have no school than virtual school? Am I understanding that correctly? And then when school reopens eventually have no teachers to come in? That seems incredibly short sighted, but maybe I'm missing something.

Yes. Virtual school is the same as no school for SPED kids. I know this because I'm living through it right now (in MCPS).

I might be more worried about losing teachers if I wasn't so convinced that a substantial percentage would do their jobs if the alternative was losing their jobs without unemployment benefits.

That's a game of chicken, and you might not win it. That's fine, but better clearly articulate the back-up plan in case you lose the bluff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So those of you saying fire them, where are you getting new sped teachers from right now? There aren't 100s of unemployed, ready to work people with sped credentials. They can't even find enough subs on a daily basis when we aren't in a pandemic, and that has basically no qualifications. I get the frustration, but unless you want someone with no classroom education or experience teaching the neediest kids, there isn't a better option, is there?

I don't really see the downside. The teachers have worked hard to ensure schools won't open anytime soon regardless if what is done. It's true that firing/furloughing the teachers might not allow reopening, but that's already the situation that we're in.

The best way to deal with this problem long-term is to nip this in the bud now.

So you'd rather have no school than virtual school? Am I understanding that correctly? And then when school reopens eventually have no teachers to come in? That seems incredibly short sighted, but maybe I'm missing something.

Yes. Virtual school is the same as no school for SPED kids. I know this because I'm living through it right now (in MCPS).

I might be more worried about losing teachers if I wasn't so convinced that a substantial percentage would do their jobs if the alternative was losing their jobs without unemployment benefits.

That's a game of chicken, and you might not win it. That's fine, but better clearly articulate the back-up plan in case you lose the bluff.

It's less of a bluff and more of a calculated risk.

And the back-up plan is basically the status quo... As bad as that is, there's not much to lose when there's no end in sight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow.
Not a single teacher from any of the three special schools agreed to return to school.
Given the unanimity, I can only assume it's a union/job action rather than the thought-out risk evaluation by each teacher.
Sigh.

https://www.capitalgazette.com/education/ac-cn-reopening-anne-arundel-schools-20200915-glvdiocp7neufghicuwwu7agtm-story.html

Since not all teachers belong to the union and even some teachers are libertarians and anti-union, I think your assumption is wrong.

Regardless of whether they're union, they'd still be under tremendous pressure from colleagues based on what the union is pushing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So those of you saying fire them, where are you getting new sped teachers from right now? There aren't 100s of unemployed, ready to work people with sped credentials. They can't even find enough subs on a daily basis when we aren't in a pandemic, and that has basically no qualifications. I get the frustration, but unless you want someone with no classroom education or experience teaching the neediest kids, there isn't a better option, is there?

I don't really see the downside. The teachers have worked hard to ensure schools won't open anytime soon regardless if what is done. It's true that firing/furloughing the teachers might not allow reopening, but that's already the situation that we're in.

The best way to deal with this problem long-term is to nip this in the bud now.

So you'd rather have no school than virtual school? Am I understanding that correctly? And then when school reopens eventually have no teachers to come in? That seems incredibly short sighted, but maybe I'm missing something.

Yes. Virtual school is the same as no school for SPED kids. I know this because I'm living through it right now (in MCPS).

I might be more worried about losing teachers if I wasn't so convinced that a substantial percentage would do their jobs if the alternative was losing their jobs without unemployment benefits.

That's a game of chicken, and you might not win it. That's fine, but better clearly articulate the back-up plan in case you lose the bluff.

It's less of a bluff and more of a calculated risk.

And the back-up plan is basically the status quo... As bad as that is, there's not much to lose when there's no end in sight.

So ... if those SPED teachers retire or find other jobs, and kids return to school, you're just going to be ok with the status quo continuing? A lot of SPED positions were unfilled before the pandemic -- and before you pretty much told trained professionals "my way or the highway." They aren't going to be easier to fill now.

[Anonymous]

4 years from now there aren’t going to be any teacher candidates graduating. Why would they enter this profession with this type of commentary in the background?

I have to believe it is the minority of people though. The moms in my neighborhood are praising teachers left and right for their efforts.