Hardy MS 7th Grade Science Situation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just heard that there are elementary schools in MCPS that are having to combine classes because of teacher shortages. Elementary classes with 50 kids. This is not a Hardy or even DCPS issue. To me, it's a reason to keep my kid in school as much as possible. If something happens and there's a vacancy and a month or more of class is lost (or pointless because there are 50 kids in it), I don't want my kid to already have missed days or weeks due to the sniffles or vacation.

We are in MCPS an our 5th grader has 19 in her class. There are no doubled up classes at our school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, it’s going awesome in private schools. I too, was incredibly committed to public education. But I had to just walk away. The class sizes are small and private schools. So you can actually give the kind of attention in public school parents demand when you have 30 kids in your class. The parents are helpful. The administrators realize that teachers are the ones you draw in applicants and students I have convinced myself that going to a private school was selling out. But every kid deserves a good teacher.

Interesting that you say how great the small class sizes are and say every kid deserves a good teacher and yet defend teachers who - overnight - leave kids either with no teacher or a solution that puts 30+ kids in a classroom. Do you think the extra workload created by teachers leaving abruptly contributes to the burnout their former colleagues experience in their wake?

People need to do what’s best for their own families but there is fallout.

- teacher

I am not responsible for your decision to stay. I’m also not going to put my own needs behind those of other peoples children. I’m not a martyr.
I’ll say that DCPS was chasing me out the door. So sure, I could have stuck around to be impacted out. But I’d rather quit than be fired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the poster asking why a teacher didn’t explain why they left- we often are not allowed to. The school wants to handle the messaging, or lack of messaging.
DCPS teachers have for years been telling people what is burning them out (IMPACT, unchecked student behavior, weekly new initiatives, 25 year old administrators who have zero management skills) We are finally just moving on from DCPS and taking action.
In a toxic organization good people leave first. Then you are left with bad actors and hostages. What you are seeing is the people who thought they were hostage, breaking out.

I left DCPS for a Big 3 private. I intend on helping as many dc teachers as I can to make the jump.

Does anyone get into teaching because they expect to be celebrated by bureaucrats? DCPS Central, sucks, we get it. Every engaged parent is doing their best to tell the city leadership that there is a real problem that needs to dealt with urgently. But intransigent administrators and inane bureaucracy isn't really a good excuse for not giving the students and parents a head's up that your heading out and/or hanging on for just a few more weeks to give the school time to get a new teacher on-boarded so that your students don't suffer months of learning loss. Teachers whose first instinct is jump to the defense of behavior such as this have anger issues that, in truth, should probably disqualify them from teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the poster asking why a teacher didn’t explain why they left- we often are not allowed to. The school wants to handle the messaging, or lack of messaging.
DCPS teachers have for years been telling people what is burning them out (IMPACT, unchecked student behavior, weekly new initiatives, 25 year old administrators who have zero management skills) We are finally just moving on from DCPS and taking action.
In a toxic organization good people leave first. Then you are left with bad actors and hostages. What you are seeing is the people who thought they were hostage, breaking out.

I left DCPS for a Big 3 private. I intend on helping as many dc teachers as I can to make the jump.

Does anyone get into teaching because they expect to be celebrated by bureaucrats? DCPS Central, sucks, we get it. Every engaged parent is doing their best to tell the city leadership that there is a real problem that needs to dealt with urgently. But intransigent administrators and inane bureaucracy isn't really a good excuse for not giving the students and parents a head's up that your heading out and/or hanging on for just a few more weeks to give the school time to get a new teacher on-boarded so that your students don't suffer months of learning loss. Teachers whose first instinct is jump to the defense of behavior such as this have anger issues that, in truth, should probably disqualify them from teaching.

OMG. I’m a parent, not a teacher, and it’s parents like you who are driving all the teachers away.

Anger issues? Disqualify from teaching? Are you for real?? You obviously are naive to not know that many schools don’t allow teachers to notify their students or families. The school wants to control the messaging.

It’s no secret that DCPS doesn’t support their teachers and it’s a toxic environment to work in. Some teachers have tried to stick it out but when you are miserable for so long, you reach a breaking point and leave for your own sanity.

Guess you missed the news that there is a nationwide shortage of teachers or missed the post in this thread from the science teacher. Sure stick it out for a few weeks or month until a new science teacher is on-boarded. So easy to find one.

I suggest you take your frustrations out on DCPS and not the teachers, unless of course you want to drive away even more teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the poster asking why a teacher didn’t explain why they left- we often are not allowed to. The school wants to handle the messaging, or lack of messaging.
DCPS teachers have for years been telling people what is burning them out (IMPACT, unchecked student behavior, weekly new initiatives, 25 year old administrators who have zero management skills) We are finally just moving on from DCPS and taking action.
In a toxic organization good people leave first. Then you are left with bad actors and hostages. What you are seeing is the people who thought they were hostage, breaking out.

I left DCPS for a Big 3 private. I intend on helping as many dc teachers as I can to make the jump.

Does anyone getinto teaching because they expect to be celebrated by bureaucrats? DCPS Central, sucks, we get it. Every engaged parent is doing their best to tell the city leadership that there is a real problem that needs to dealt with urgently. But intransigent administrators and inane bureaucracy isn't really a good excuse for not giving the students and parents a head's up that your heading out and/or hanging on for just a few more weeks to give the school time to get a new teacher on-boarded so that your students don't suffer months of learning loss. Teachers whose first instinct is jump to the defense of behavior such as this have anger issues that, in truth, should probably disqualify them from teaching.

Thank you, supportive parent! Your words were really helpful for me today! To the parent who is aghast that a teacher would leave mid-year, tou might want to understand a bit more about what the antecedents were to his/her departure. I have been physically assaulted by students in the past and came extremely close to not coming back when admin wasn’t supportive. I showed up again not out of duty to my other students (trust me that assault erases that professional more from your conscience) but because I needed the health insurance and wasn’t ready to jump yet. Other possible reasons for an abrupt departure might be a physical or mental health crisis.
OMG. I’m a parent, not a teacher, and it’s parents like you who are driving all the teachers away.

Anger issues? Disqualify from teaching? Are you for real?? You obviously are naive to not know that many schools don’t allow teachers to notify their students or families. The school wants to control the messaging.

It’s no secret that DCPS doesn’t support their teachers and it’s a toxic environment to work in. Some teachers have tried to stick it out but when you are miserable for so long, you reach a breaking point and leave for your own sanity.

Guess you missed the news that there is a nationwide shortage of teachers or missed the post in this thread from the science teacher. Sure stick it out for a few weeks or month until a new science teacher is on-boarded. So easy to find one.

I suggest you take your frustrations out on DCPS and not the teachers, unless of course you want to drive away even more teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP.
The exact same thing happened in the few weeks before the drama teacher started.
I don't understand why subs in situations like this are not doing any instruction.
Is it one bad sub? There is a curriculum. How dare the guy show up to class as a substitute teacher and then not teach anything at all?

Have you seen what subs are paid? No one wants to do it. For that price, you get a warm body who's 18+ with no felony convictions. The end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any teacher that quits with no notice mid-term and any school system that hires such a teacher deserves no favors from anybody.

Sit down bonehead

The teacher concerned has entered the chat . . .

In all seriousness, in what other professional occupation would this be considered acceptable?

Any. Only in education is it perceived as unethical to quit at a certain time of the year.

I mean, if you were a litigator, you would literally have to ask a judge to quit mid-case... and that permission would often get denied.

Neat. Irrelevant, but neat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The science teacher just up and left. No notice to the school to allow them to find a replacement. No e-mail to the parents to give them a head’s up or explain why she was leaving. No apparent consideration given to how severely she was screwing over her students for the year. We understand that DCPS has its issues and that the school administration is a mess, but to take out one’s frustration on the students is really appalling.

You are pathetic. Every teacher is concerned about their students. If a teacher isn't concerned, then good riddance. Sadly the teacher weighed up their options and still decided that leaving was better than staying. Yes, it sucks for parents and students, but the teacher is only human and has to what is right for them.

Teachers who are concerned about their students don’t do what that teacher did. No one is asking for a lifetime commitment, only due notice. What exactly did they expect to happen after they decided to walk away from a class in the middle of a term? In no profession is it acceptable to leave one’s colleagues and clients in the lurch like this. But here you are offering up weak excuses for such behavior and calling others pathetic. I guess it must hit a bit too close to home.

You are impressively wrong. Oh, and I'm a Mom, not a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the poster asking why a teacher didn’t explain why they left- we often are not allowed to. The school wants to handle the messaging, or lack of messaging.
DCPS teachers have for years been telling people what is burning them out (IMPACT, unchecked student behavior, weekly new initiatives, 25 year old administrators who have zero management skills) We are finally just moving on from DCPS and taking action.
In a toxic organization good people leave first. Then you are left with bad actors and hostages. What you are seeing is the people who thought they were hostage, breaking out.

I left DCPS for a Big 3 private. I intend on helping as many dc teachers as I can to make the jump.

Does anyone get into teaching because they expect to be celebrated by bureaucrats? DCPS Central, sucks, we get it. Every engaged parent is doing their best to tell the city leadership that there is a real problem that needs to dealt with urgently. But intransigent administrators and inane bureaucracy isn't really a good excuse for not giving the students and parents a head's up that your heading out and/or hanging on for just a few more weeks to give the school time to get a new teacher on-boarded so that your students don't suffer months of learning loss. Teachers whose first instinct is jump to the defense of behavior such as this have anger issues that, in truth, should probably disqualify them from teaching.

Hahaha. You're delusional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The science teacher just up and left. No notice to the school to allow them to find a replacement. No e-mail to the parents to give them a head’s up or explain why she was leaving. No apparent consideration given to how severely she was screwing over her students for the year. We understand that DCPS has its issues and that the school administration is a mess, but to take out one’s frustration on the students is really appalling.

You are pathetic. Every teacher is concerned about their students. If a teacher isn't concerned, then good riddance. Sadly the teacher weighed up their options and still decided that leaving was better than staying. Yes, it sucks for parents and students, but the teacher is only human and has to what is right for them.

Teachers who are concerned about their students don’t do what that teacher did. No one is asking for a lifetime commitment, only due notice. What exactly did they expect to happen after they decided to walk away from a class in the middle of a term? In no profession is it acceptable to leave one’s colleagues and clients in the lurch like this. But here you are offering up weak excuses for such behavior and calling others pathetic. I guess it must hit a bit too close to home.

No, most do not hold your view. Most would leave their job, even at an in opportune time, for
Personal or professional reasons. I am a middle school teacher looking to leave teaching. My district requires 30 days notice to leave in good standing/ be able to be rehired and I would strongly try to give that, but if I couldn’t, oh well. Teaching has become an exhausting, depressing, unsustainable job. No raises despite massive inflation. Many more duties. I am a teacher, IT support, a social worker and constantly have more and more emails and documents shoved in my face. Newsflash- this is not a desk job. I’m working with kids.

I can’t wait to leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The science teacher just up and left. No notice to the school to allow them to find a replacement. No e-mail to the parents to give them a head’s up or explain why she was leaving. No apparent consideration given to how severely she was screwing over her students for the year. We understand that DCPS has its issues and that the school administration is a mess, but to take out one’s frustration on the students is really appalling.

You are pathetic. Every teacher is concerned about their students. If a teacher isn't concerned, then good riddance. Sadly the teacher weighed up their options and still decided that leaving was better than staying. Yes, it sucks for parents and students, but the teacher is only human and has to what is right for them.

Teachers who are concerned about their students don’t do what that teacher did. No one is asking for a lifetime commitment, only due notice. What exactly did they expect to happen after they decided to walk away from a class in the middle of a term? In no profession is it acceptable to leave one’s colleagues and clients in the lurch like this. But here you are offering up weak excuses for such behavior and calling others pathetic. I guess it must hit a bit too close to home.

No, most do not hold your view. Most would leave their job, even at an in opportune time, for
Personal or professional reasons. I am a middle school teacher looking to leave teaching. My district requires 30 days notice to leave in good standing/ be able to be rehired and I would strongly try to give that, but if I couldn’t, oh well. Teaching has become an exhausting, depressing, unsustainable job. No raises despite massive inflation. Many more duties. I am a teacher, IT support, a social worker and constantly have more and more emails and documents shoved in my face. Newsflash- this is not a desk job. I’m working with kids.

I can’t wait to leave.

Why would you care about being in good standing?

Why would a teacher leaving mid-year care about whether the school wants to control the messaging? You are already breaking your contract and saying you are done. Why not communicate with students before you leave? It’s not as if the school can fire you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The science teacher just up and left. No notice to the school to allow them to find a replacement. No e-mail to the parents to give them a head’s up or explain why she was leaving. No apparent consideration given to how severely she was screwing over her students for the year. We understand that DCPS has its issues and that the school administration is a mess, but to take out one’s frustration on the students is really appalling.

You are pathetic. Every teacher is concerned about their students. If a teacher isn't concerned, then good riddance. Sadly the teacher weighed up their options and still decided that leaving was better than staying. Yes, it sucks for parents and students, but the teacher is only human and has to what is right for them.

Teachers who are concerned about their students don’t do what that teacher did. No one is asking for a lifetime commitment, only due notice. What exactly did they expect to happen after they decided to walk away from a class in the middle of a term? In no profession is it acceptable to leave one’s colleagues and clients in the lurch like this. But here you are offering up weak excuses for such behavior and calling others pathetic. I guess it must hit a bit too close to home.

No, most do not hold your view. Most would leave their job, even at an in opportune time, for
Personal or professional reasons. I am a middle school teacher looking to leave teaching. My district requires 30 days notice to leave in good standing/ be able to be rehired and I would strongly try to give that, but if I couldn’t, oh well. Teaching has become an exhausting, depressing, unsustainable job. No raises despite massive inflation. Many more duties. I am a teacher, IT support, a social worker and constantly have more and more emails and documents shoved in my face. Newsflash- this is not a desk job. I’m working with kids.

I can’t wait to leave.

Why would you care about being in good standing?

Why would a teacher leaving mid-year care about whether the school wants to control the messaging? You are already breaking your contract and saying you are done. Why not communicate with students before you leave? It’s not as if the school can fire you.

At the moment I do not want to teach or be in a classroom. I still respect my school and the kids and admin and want to give notice so they can have some kind of transition. At this point current circumstances are extremely damaging for my mental health. I want to keep the option open to return down the line, maybe for a different role. I’ve been teaching for a decade and not looking to burn it all down. I’m also not breaking a contract. I never signed a contract that said I would stay teaching a full academic year. That’s why we have to give 30 days notice. Not 6 months, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The science teacher just up and left. No notice to the school to allow them to find a replacement. No e-mail to the parents to give them a head’s up or explain why she was leaving. No apparent consideration given to how severely she was screwing over her students for the year. We understand that DCPS has its issues and that the school administration is a mess, but to take out one’s frustration on the students is really appalling.

You are pathetic. Every teacher is concerned about their students. If a teacher isn't concerned, then good riddance. Sadly the teacher weighed up their options and still decided that leaving was better than staying. Yes, it sucks for parents and students, but the teacher is only human and has to what is right for them.

Teachers who are concerned about their students don’t do what that teacher did. No one is asking for a lifetime commitment, only due notice. What exactly did they expect to happen after they decided to walk away from a class in the middle of a term? In no profession is it acceptable to leave one’s colleagues and clients in the lurch like this. But here you are offering up weak excuses for such behavior and calling others pathetic. I guess it must hit a bit too close to home.

No, most do not hold your view. Most would leave their job, even at an in opportune time, for
Personal or professional reasons. I am a middle school teacher looking to leave teaching. My district requires 30 days notice to leave in good standing/ be able to be rehired and I would strongly try to give that, but if I couldn’t, oh well. Teaching has become an exhausting, depressing, unsustainable job. No raises despite massive inflation. Many more duties. I am a teacher, IT support, a social worker and constantly have more and more emails and documents shoved in my face. Newsflash- this is not a desk job. I’m working with kids.

I can’t wait to leave.

Why would you care about being in good standing?

Why would a teacher leaving mid-year care about whether the school wants to control the messaging? You are already breaking your contract and saying you are done. Why not communicate with students before you leave? It’s not as if the school can fire you.

At the moment I do not want to teach or be in a classroom. I still respect my school and the kids and admin and want to give notice so they can have some kind of transition. At this point current circumstances are extremely damaging for my mental health. I want to keep the option open to return down the line, maybe for a different role. I’ve been teaching for a decade and not looking to burn it all down. I’m also not breaking a contract. I never signed a contract that said I would stay teaching a full academic year. That’s why we have to give 30 days notice. Not 6 months, etc

That’s interesting that you don’t sign a contract. Are you union?

[Anonymous]

Yes, union. Actually, our contract has expired. But there is no contract teachers sign year to year

[Anonymous]

Also, all of the parents quick to blame and judge teachers- you’re missing the bigger picture. That education right now is life-sucking and miserable, that teachers are depressed, using all their PTO, and don’t want to be in schools. This is not sustainable. You should be advocation for better in school conditions which directly affect your children. Teachers working conditions are childrens learning conditions.