Teachers Resigning Like Crazy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DW teaches in an elementary school. They received an email from their administrators reminding them of their contract hours and the expectation that they be in the building during those hours through today. My DW puts in many more than her “contract hours” on a daily basis and she said they had no meetings. She said what she did at the school could have been done from home if she wanted to.

She’s salaried. I told her they are treating her like an hourly employee. They shouldn’t do both. If they treat her as an hourly employee as they did in that email then she really shouldn’t volunteer to do any other work outside of those hours. I know she can’t get her job done and won’t do that, but the morale sure does take a hit.

I’ll add staff meeting Morning Meetings. Every time we have a staff meeting or PD day such as today we start off with a Morning Meeting. Message, share, activity. After 100+ days of school the students are tired of MM. we are tired of them. Why must we hold one at the beginning of a Staff Development Day? That’s 25 minutes I won’t get back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Of course they aren't ! Not any more than other positions. They really have no other skills or opportunities except retail or daycare.

Not true, I know plenty of teachers who left and went directly into office jobs. Anyone can send emails, edit documents, sit in meetings, etc.

I'm so curious about people like you -- what exactly do you think those of us who work in an "office job" actually do all day long. Do you think we all have the exact same job? Do you think every company is Dundler Mifflin? Please tell us more about the typical "office job"!!

I'd settle for just being able to go to the bathroom when I need to instead of praying for some random adult to walk past my classroom at the end of the hall.

This sounds like my nightmare. Are you an elementary teacher?

I’ve had to do much the same in HS. 6 minute class break to try to pee, but 1 minute to the nearest faculty bathroom and 1 minute back, and there’s only one stall that’s serving 10-12 classrooms so there’s usually a wait.

Most of the Office Jobs Über Alles crew wouldn’t last a week.

I mean, it's so disheartening to hear this. If school administrators can't figure out a way to allow teachers to use the bathroom when they need to, what hope is there that they can tackle more difficult problems.

I know people complain about this on this board, but it isn’t something I hear teachers mention IRL. I’ve been teaching 30 years and IME there isn’t much anxiety over this. I go at 6:40 when I get up, 12:00, and again before I leave or when I get home.

I take a meditation that is a diuretic. I have to go all day long as often as every 30-40 minutes. It can be a sad piece of stress since there is nobody near me to help.

Of course a medical reason makes a difference. That’s not what I’m talking about here. People post making it sound like not being able to use the restroom is some daily struggle for most teachers and that has not been my experience in my ES teaching career.

m

Everyone has different struggles. Remember that.

Yes, of course. I attested to that in my post. No doubt. Once again, my point is this is not a widespread difficulty that most teachers experience.

Ok, we got in - “in your experience” - others have other experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they aren't ! Not any more than other positions. They really have no other skills or opportunities except retail or daycare.

Not true, I know plenty of teachers who left and went directly into office jobs. Anyone can send emails, edit documents, sit in meetings, etc.

I'm so curious about people like you -- what exactly do you think those of us who work in an "office job" actually do all day long. Do you think we all have the exact same job? Do you think every company is Dundler Mifflin? Please tell us more about the typical "office job"!!

I'd settle for just being able to go to the bathroom when I need to instead of praying for some random adult to walk past my classroom at the end of the hall.

This sounds like my nightmare. Are you an elementary teacher?

I’ve had to do much the same in HS. 6 minute class break to try to pee, but 1 minute to the nearest faculty bathroom and 1 minute back, and there’s only one stall that’s serving 10-12 classrooms so there’s usually a wait.

Most of the Office Jobs Über Alles crew wouldn’t last a week.

I mean, it's so disheartening to hear this. If school administrators can't figure out a way to allow teachers to use the bathroom when they need to, what hope is there that they can tackle more difficult problems.

I know people complain about this on this board, but it isn’t something I hear teachers mention IRL. I’ve been teaching 30 years and IME there isn’t much anxiety over this. I go at 6:40 when I get up, 12:00, and again before I leave or when I get home.

I take a meditation that is a diuretic. I have to go all day long as often as every 30-40 minutes. It can be a sad piece of stress since there is nobody near me to help.

You should probably switch to an office job then.

[Anonymous]

If you are an elementary school teacher, you can pee right before the kids come in (8:25), again at specials times or lunch (anywhere from mid morning to noon), again at recess (a colleague could watch your class outside easily) and again at dismissal (3:30 ish). It’s really not that hard!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me it’s not about the inability to pee on my schedule. It’s about how my district and my administration tells the teachers that the reason we have a racial achievement gap is our implicit biases. That if we just tried harder then our students would all have exactly the same outcomes regardless of their hugely different home experiences and innate abilities.

This would piss me off too, but the fact that you’re attributing at least part of the racial achievement gap to these students’ innate abilities suggests that you do have a lot of implicit bias. You’re making it sound like you believe that different races have different innate abilities.

I do think that regardless of your biases, you and other teachers aren’t responsible for fixing the racial achievement gap. That’s ridiculous. But just beware that the language you use might make the admin think that they are onto something.

I’m that pp and here’s the reality in my school community. The white kids are primarily the children of upper middle class college-educated professionals. The Hispanic kids are primarily the children of non-college or high school educated blue collar workers, construction, housecleaning, etc. This is the society we live in right now in my area. People who drop out of high school generally have lesser innate academic abilities than people who graduate from college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me it’s not about the inability to pee on my schedule. It’s about how my district and my administration tells the teachers that the reason we have a racial achievement gap is our implicit biases. That if we just tried harder then our students would all have exactly the same outcomes regardless of their hugely different home experiences and innate abilities.

This would piss me off too, but the fact that you’re attributing at least part of the racial achievement gap to these students’ innate abilities suggests that you do have a lot of implicit bias. You’re making it sound like you believe that different races have different innate abilities.

I do think that regardless of your biases, you and other teachers aren’t responsible for fixing the racial achievement gap. That’s ridiculous. But just beware that the language you use might make the admin think that they are onto something.

I’m that pp and here’s the reality in my school community. The white kids are primarily the children of upper middle class college-educated professionals. The Hispanic kids are primarily the children of non-college or high school educated blue collar workers, construction, housecleaning, etc. This is the society we live in right now in my area. People who drop out of high school generally have lesser innate academic abilities than people who graduate from college.

Okay but if you don’t want to sound biased need to avoid saying the *racial* achievement gap has something to do with any kind of innate ability. If you say it does, then you’re saying that some races are just born with more innate abilities, academic or otherwise. Im sure you recognize that this line of thinking is racist. You have to recognize that the reason that lower class workers are disproportionately POC is because of racist societal structures and not because there were born with fewer abilities than white people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DW teaches in an elementary school. They received an email from their administrators reminding them of their contract hours and the expectation that they be in the building during those hours through today. My DW puts in many more than her “contract hours” on a daily basis and she said they had no meetings. She said what she did at the school could have been done from home if she wanted to.

She’s salaried. I told her they are treating her like an hourly employee. They shouldn’t do both. If they treat her as an hourly employee as they did in that email then she really shouldn’t volunteer to do any other work outside of those hours. I know she can’t get her job done and won’t do that, but the morale sure does take a hit.

I’ll add staff meeting Morning Meetings. Every time we have a staff meeting or PD day such as today we start off with a Morning Meeting. Message, share, activity. After 100+ days of school the students are tired of MM. we are tired of them. Why must we hold one at the beginning of a Staff Development Day? That’s 25 minutes I won’t get back.

Ugh. That sounds awful. At some point, there has to be some efficiency built in and recognition to just let them get their sh-- done. They can "share" later amongst themselves if they want to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me it’s not about the inability to pee on my schedule. It’s about how my district and my administration tells the teachers that the reason we have a racial achievement gap is our implicit biases. That if we just tried harder then our students would all have exactly the same outcomes regardless of their hugely different home experiences and innate abilities.

This would piss me off too, but the fact that you’re attributing at least part of the racial achievement gap to these students’ innate abilities suggests that you do have a lot of implicit bias. You’re making it sound like you believe that different races have different innate abilities.

I do think that regardless of your biases, you and other teachers aren’t responsible for fixing the racial achievement gap. That’s ridiculous. But just beware that the language you use might make the admin think that they are onto something.

I’m that pp and here’s the reality in my school community. The white kids are primarily the children of upper middle class college-educated professionals. The Hispanic kids are primarily the children of non-college or high school educated blue collar workers, construction, housecleaning, etc. This is the society we live in right now in my area. People who drop out of high school generally have lesser innate academic abilities than people who graduate from college.

Okay but if you don’t want to sound biased need to avoid saying the *racial* achievement gap has something to do with any kind of innate ability. If you say it does, then you’re saying that some races are just born with more innate abilities, academic or otherwise. Im sure you recognize that this line of thinking is racist. You have to recognize that the reason that lower class workers are disproportionately POC is because of racist societal structures and not because there were born with fewer abilities than white people.

I didn't get PP said race was the reason for the achievement gap but, rather, the economic situation of the parents. This has a disparate effect or is more visible in various races. But PP wasn't saying white = smart, other races = not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they aren't ! Not any more than other positions. They really have no other skills or opportunities except retail or daycare.

Not true, I know plenty of teachers who left and went directly into office jobs. Anyone can send emails, edit documents, sit in meetings, etc.

I'm so curious about people like you -- what exactly do you think those of us who work in an "office job" actually do all day long. Do you think we all have the exact same job? Do you think every company is Dundler Mifflin? Please tell us more about the typical "office job"!!

I'd settle for just being able to go to the bathroom when I need to instead of praying for some random adult to walk past my classroom at the end of the hall.

This sounds like my nightmare. Are you an elementary teacher?

I’ve had to do much the same in HS. 6 minute class break to try to pee, but 1 minute to the nearest faculty bathroom and 1 minute back, and there’s only one stall that’s serving 10-12 classrooms so there’s usually a wait.

Most of the Office Jobs Über Alles crew wouldn’t last a week.

I mean, it's so disheartening to hear this. If school administrators can't figure out a way to allow teachers to use the bathroom when they need to, what hope is there that they can tackle more difficult problems.

I know people complain about this on this board, but it isn’t something I hear teachers mention IRL. I’ve been teaching 30 years and IME there isn’t much anxiety over this. I go at 6:40 when I get up, 12:00, and again before I leave or when I get home.

I take a meditation that is a diuretic. I have to go all day long as often as every 30-40 minutes. It can be a sad piece of stress since there is nobody near me to help.

You should probably switch to an office job then.

Or ask for a medical accommodation. Which they'd have to give you. Yours is not the typical situation, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me it’s not about the inability to pee on my schedule. It’s about how my district and my administration tells the teachers that the reason we have a racial achievement gap is our implicit biases. That if we just tried harder then our students would all have exactly the same outcomes regardless of their hugely different home experiences and innate abilities.

Agreed, that’s infuriating.

Do you know what I think is infuriating the assumption that just because a student is from a racial group not your own, or not traditionally associated with being a model minority the assumption usually by implicit bias is that it is less than. As the parent of a child who’s experiences in FCPS have definitely been negatively impacted by your biases, I really get tired of having to take ignorance to the mat every single year. It’s no fun to have to put you in your place either privately or in front of your peers. But it is necessary when my kid gets tired of the harassment. In other words if you have to hear it from someone better it be from one of your own.

Not all white people are privileged or innately intelligent, and not all Asians are innately intelligent nor are they all hardworking and not all of the others are violent, dumb, poor and stupid or because they are “poor” that makes them less capable or whatever ignorance you use to other and confirm your biases in regards to little and not so kids every single day.

Disparity in discipline which has its roots in hostility and over vigilance, in scrutinizing and then reporting on those you deem as others who need to be policed and fixed lest they get out of control and ruin the experience for the more deserving. What effect do you think that has on the youngest of students?

What does my kid need to do in order for bigots to think he has an equal right to be? Should he wear his passport on his back so you can check the stamps, or wear his parents professional degrees on his shirt front, bring a copy of our mortgage docs for you to inspect at the beginning of the year. Please even that wouldn’t be enough. Nope that would just make you really angry.

But know this people like “the less thans” don’t need to just take it and be grateful, so get off of this board and go read some Kendi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me it’s not about the inability to pee on my schedule. It’s about how my district and my administration tells the teachers that the reason we have a racial achievement gap is our implicit biases. That if we just tried harder then our students would all have exactly the same outcomes regardless of their hugely different home experiences and innate abilities.

This would piss me off too, but the fact that you’re attributing at least part of the racial achievement gap to these students’ innate abilities suggests that you do have a lot of implicit bias. You’re making it sound like you believe that different races have different innate abilities.

I do think that regardless of your biases, you and other teachers aren’t responsible for fixing the racial achievement gap. That’s ridiculous. But just beware that the language you use might make the admin think that they are onto something.

I’m that pp and here’s the reality in my school community. The white kids are primarily the children of upper middle class college-educated professionals. The Hispanic kids are primarily the children of non-college or high school educated blue collar workers, construction, housecleaning, etc. This is the society we live in right now in my area. People who drop out of high school generally have lesser innate academic abilities than people who graduate from college.

Okay but if you don’t want to sound biased need to avoid saying the *racial* achievement gap has something to do with any kind of innate ability. If you say it does, then you’re saying that some races are just born with more innate abilities, academic or otherwise. Im sure you recognize that this line of thinking is racist. You have to recognize that the reason that lower class workers are disproportionately POC is because of racist societal structures and not because there were born with fewer abilities than white people.

I didn't get PP said race was the reason for the achievement gap but, rather, the economic situation of the parents. This has a disparate effect or is more visible in various races. But PP wasn't saying white = smart, other races = not.

Right I do get what she’s trying to say, but everybody should honestly avoid suggesting the radial achievement gap has something to do with innate abilities. At a minimum, it’s not a necessary argument because in PP’s case it’s not the teachers who are causing the gap, implicit bias or no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they aren't ! Not any more than other positions. They really have no other skills or opportunities except retail or daycare.

Not true, I know plenty of teachers who left and went directly into office jobs. Anyone can send emails, edit documents, sit in meetings, etc.

I'm so curious about people like you -- what exactly do you think those of us who work in an "office job" actually do all day long. Do you think we all have the exact same job? Do you think every company is Dundler Mifflin? Please tell us more about the typical "office job"!!

I'd settle for just being able to go to the bathroom when I need to instead of praying for some random adult to walk past my classroom at the end of the hall.

This sounds like my nightmare. Are you an elementary teacher?

I’ve had to do much the same in HS. 6 minute class break to try to pee, but 1 minute to the nearest faculty bathroom and 1 minute back, and there’s only one stall that’s serving 10-12 classrooms so there’s usually a wait.

Most of the Office Jobs Über Alles crew wouldn’t last a week.

I mean, it's so disheartening to hear this. If school administrators can't figure out a way to allow teachers to use the bathroom when they need to, what hope is there that they can tackle more difficult problems.

I know people complain about this on this board, but it isn’t something I hear teachers mention IRL. I’ve been teaching 30 years and IME there isn’t much anxiety over this. I go at 6:40 when I get up, 12:00, and again before I leave or when I get home.

I take a meditation that is a diuretic. I have to go all day long as often as every 30-40 minutes. It can be a sad piece of stress since there is nobody near me to help.

You should probably switch to an office job then.

Or ask for a medical accommodation. Which they'd have to give you. Yours is not the typical situation, PP.

DP. What would a reasonable accommodation be, and what is the likelihood that it would actually be implemented? I ask because I have issues with this and I am toying with the idea of going into teaching (I know, im crazy).

[Anonymous]

Not being able to go pee, is not really a concern.

For me I hardly have time to drink water all day. Most days, I barely take <5 sips from arrivals to dismissal, because it's non-stop.

We're hustling and working during specials, lunch, and recess, and you have to be "on" every minute of the day -- at least in Elementary. And if I'm not drinking anything, I don't have to pee!

After-school staff meetings are absurd, except on an emergency basis. Everything could be communicated in an e-mail. Don't make teachers stay after school for an hour so we can practice new morning meeting ideas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me it’s not about the inability to pee on my schedule. It’s about how my district and my administration tells the teachers that the reason we have a racial achievement gap is our implicit biases. That if we just tried harder then our students would all have exactly the same outcomes regardless of their hugely different home experiences and innate abilities.

Agreed, that’s infuriating.

Do you know what I think is infuriating the assumption that just because a student is from a racial group not your own, or not traditionally associated with being a model minority the assumption usually by implicit bias is that it is less than. As the parent of a child who’s experiences in FCPS have definitely been negatively impacted by your biases, I really get tired of having to take ignorance to the mat every single year. It’s no fun to have to put you in your place either privately or in front of your peers. But it is necessary when my kid gets tired of the harassment. In other words if you have to hear it from someone better it be from one of your own.

Not all white people are privileged or innately intelligent, and not all Asians are innately intelligent nor are they all hardworking and not all of the others are violent, dumb, poor and stupid or because they are “poor” that makes them less capable or whatever ignorance you use to other and confirm your biases in regards to little and not so kids every single day.

Disparity in discipline which has its roots in hostility and over vigilance, in scrutinizing and then reporting on those you deem as others who need to be policed and fixed lest they get out of control and ruin the experience for the more deserving. What effect do you think that has on the youngest of students?

What does my kid need to do in order for bigots to think he has an equal right to be? Should he wear his passport on his back so you can check the stamps, or wear his parents professional degrees on his shirt front, bring a copy of our mortgage docs for you to inspect at the beginning of the year. Please even that wouldn’t be enough. Nope that would just make you really angry.

But know this people like “the less thans” don’t need to just take it and be grateful, so get off of this board and go read some Kendi.

I focus on SES and not race as an explanation for the education gap. You can see it in play in the poor areas of Appalachia where there is generational poverty and generational issues with education. Parents, grandparents, great grandparents did not graduate from high school. They have lived in poverty for generations. I fully expect that the kids of those families are going to be likely to drop out of school and find themselves living in poverty. There was a series of articles in the Washington Post a few years back that showed how poor white families end up relying on disability and social security payments vs welfare payments that are more common in the inner cities. The articles highlighted to me that the issue is generational poverty and not race or ethnicity.

The larger issue is how do we convince families that have not had success in school to understand why education is important. And how do we help those parents support their kids in school so that the kids have a chance of succeeding. What we are doing in FCPS is not working to close the education gap. What we have been doing in the cities has not been working to close the education gap. What we are doing in Appalachia is not working to close the education gap.

What I do know is that we are asking out Teachers to do too much today. We are asking them to provide different lesson plans for kids with wildly different needs int he same class and it is too much. There is no way for a Teacher to meet the needs of kids who are 2 years behind, 1 year behind, struggling on grade level, on grade level, and kids who are ahead. No way. Toss in kids who are frustrated in school and are acting out because they are frustrated. And kids who are hungry and cannot concentrate. And kids who have learning issues and are frustrated. And kids who struggle with emotional regulation and are acting out. All in one classroom. What the heck are we expecting Teachers to do?

But you mention tracking and people get upset because all kids deserve the same education. You mention kids needing specialized support and people get upset because mainstream is best. Parents of kids who are on grade level or ahead and want their kids to be challenged are frustrated because the classroom is not meeting their kids needs. Parents of kids with learning issues are frustrated because the classroom is not meeting their kids needs. All the parents are frustrated that the kids who are disruptive, whether that is requiring evacuation or just always talking and moving and needing to be redirected, are slowing down progress in the classroom. And the Teacher gets all the crap because they are not making this mish mash of students work.

It isn't one kid, it is 5 or 6 kids. And it isn't one or two lesson plans, it is 5 or 6 lesson plans.

It is too much. We don't have the answer to the larger issues and it shows. But the approach we are taking now is not helping many kids and seems to be negatively impacting a lot of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not being able to go pee, is not really a concern.

For me I hardly have time to drink water all day. Most days, I barely take <5 sips from arrivals to dismissal, because it's non-stop.

We're hustling and working during specials, lunch, and recess, and you have to be "on" every minute of the day -- at least in Elementary. And if I'm not drinking anything, I don't have to pee!

After-school staff meetings are absurd, except on an emergency basis. Everything could be communicated in an e-mail. Don't make teachers stay after school for an hour so we can practice new morning meeting ideas.

They’re so afraid a teacher might take 15 minutes to themselves. I had hoped to meet with several of my colleagues who teach the same subject at tother schools today to compare notes and learn from each other but because we wanted to meet at one of their schools, I was told I couldn’t do it because I had to be in *my* building, even though there’s only one scheduled thing today and it was over at 930. I wasn’t asking to work from home or even like a coffee shop but a school 15 minutes away. Meanwhile 2 administrators are “working from home” today but haven’t answered anyone’s emails.

Equity indeed.