Root cause of issues at MOCO schools?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Please the reverse is true. MCPS is pressuring teachers to pass students who barely came to class. They can show up for a day of bogus "credit recovery" and boom, that E is now a passing grade.

So MCPS is no better than PG County Public Schools.

Teachers should use their Union Reps to bring this problem officially to light. This should be reported to the media.

The union knows because I reported it in 2012 with documentation. It’s why the admin at that school turned against me and I was singled out for the worst duties and class schedules. I finally just transferred.

This. There is no such thing as confidential discussions with the union. They will share with your admin and you will be targeted and punished. Ask me how I know.

Then why pay dues to the Union if they aren't protecting you from retaliation? Contact the media yourself and give them the specifics if they protect your identity. There is a HUGE problem if teachers are saying they are being encouraged or forced to do unethical things by administrators. An MCPS diploma is a worthless piece of paper if a student didn't do the work or have the skills the diploma is supposed to represent.

This isn’t the only thing the union does so, yeah, I continued paying dues.

At least now you'll have a choice!

I’m sure there will be a lot of freeloaders benefitting from the collective bargaining on salary and benefits, but my momma raised me better than that.

My momma raised me with the belief that you have lost an argument the moment you stoop to calling people names.

Names?

Calling people freeloaders just because they exercise their freedom of choice is calling them a name. For example you can say "people who don't join the union" and have a more adult argument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:How much faster has the central office staff grown over the past decade relative to the student population? 2X, 3X...

Suppose you go and get the numbers on central office staff and then get back to us?

I'll give you the student numbers:

2007-2008: 137,667
2017-2018: 161,460

so an increase of 17.3%.

Central office is shrinking.

Sadly, it is send back into classrooms and schools people who lack a decade of experience with today’s students. Many are near retirement and will just hold out for the magic number. My school got one such individual this past year. He was nice, but clearly overwhelmed. Another was hired a month or so ago and his last Classroom was in the 90s!

I’m mid career and find I have to adjust my expectations between students I taught as a novice and those we get now. Yes, the increase in LEP is part of it depending on where you teach, but also:
screen addiction across socioeconomic groups
skyrocketing SN diagnosis and inclusion rates
Increasingly complex family/household arrangements
more litigious parents
traumatized children (whether unaccompanied minors or native US kids who have experience homelessness, drug abuse in the home, neighborhood violence, abuse and neglect)

I could go on and on.

I love teaching, but I don’t romanticize it. And I worry about the hiring trends I see in MCPS. I don’t see us hiring for the students we have right now. The candidates would be fine for the 1997-98 school year.

What would you do differently to hire for the students you have now? Who should he recruited?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Central Office is the root cause of issues at MoCo schools. It is bloated, gaming the pension system, did nothing with 8 years of serious complaints on C2.0, and only focuses on the golden unicorn Achievement Gap. Everyone else (teachers, parents who care), have to pick up the slack.

Boom. Def saw that before we left for private. I’m still bitter. Did not move to MoCo with the intent of going private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The root cause of issues in MCPS is the loss of vission to do right by the child.

Many years ago, there were good people in the school system that would look out for what was best for children. They were willing to fix errors if they occurred instead of ignoring problems till molehills became mountains. They considered their career goal as teaching students not how to get their next promotion. They treated students and parents with honesty and dignity instead of lies to cover their butts for the crappy job that they do. When these standards were lost, MCPS ceased to be a good public school system.

Another boom. So is this just a sign of the general decline of our society? Or is this attributable to a lack of leadership?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please the reverse is true. MCPS is pressuring teachers to pass students who barely came to class. They can show up for a day of bogus "credit recovery" and boom, that E is now a passing grade.

So MCPS is no better than PG County Public Schools.

Teachers should use their Union Reps to bring this problem officially to light. This should be reported to the media.

The union knows because I reported it in 2012 with documentation. It’s why the admin at that school turned against me and I was singled out for the worst duties and class schedules. I finally just transferred.

Well time may be up. I know of four teachers who work in the county who are about to blow the lid off. They know they’ll face retribution and no longer care. They feel they’re being asked to do things that go against all the ethics of their profession. Historically the local media has turned a blind eye to these types of issues, but that could be changing.

Thank God for them. It is the only way things will change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please the reverse is true. MCPS is pressuring teachers to pass students who barely came to class. They can show up for a day of bogus "credit recovery" and boom, that E is now a passing grade.

So MCPS is no better than PG County Public Schools.

Teachers should use their Union Reps to bring this problem officially to light. This should be reported to the media.

The union knows because I reported it in 2012 with documentation. It’s why the admin at that school turned against me and I was singled out for the worst duties and class schedules. I finally just transferred.

Well time may be up. I know of four teachers who work in the county who are about to blow the lid off. They know they’ll face retribution and no longer care. They feel they’re being asked to do things that go against all the ethics of their profession. Historically the local media has turned a blind eye to these types of issues, but that could be changing.

Thank God for them. It is the only way things will change.

I'm all for this, but it's a pipe dream. Look at the Kemp Mill situation. After all of the press and union "action," the principal, who bullied teachers in PA, is still there. The county will shut it down and again again if it resurfaces. And teachers will leave - perhaps en masse. But the county won't care.

I left the county for a smaller system. It's the same there, too. Central office bullies administrators, and they, in turn, bully teachers. No one wants to take responsibility for anything.

Until more teachers leave the system entirely or find ways to open their own schools built on tolerance and respect, all systems will eventually implode. It may take longer for the smaller systems to feel the pain, but they, too, will suffer as more and more parents with means find out other options.

Right now, I just have to get my kids through school. Their system (not the same as mine) will survive long enough to ensure they'll receive a solid education. This wasn't the case back in MCPS. But while I say that, I feel the doom and gloom, as I always ask, "What about my grandkids?" What protections do we have in place for them?

MCPS is too far gone - too large and dysfunctional- to change it from within. My current system offers a bit more hope, but while I see it, those entrenched - those who have been in this tiny system for most of their lives (as both students and employees) - don't see the bigger picture. It's very sad.

[Anonymous]

As voters we can demand change, it honestly just takes raising awareness and this would only take 1-2 stories in the Washington Post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please the reverse is true. MCPS is pressuring teachers to pass students who barely came to class. They can show up for a day of bogus "credit recovery" and boom, that E is now a passing grade.

So MCPS is no better than PG County Public Schools.

Teachers should use their Union Reps to bring this problem officially to light. This should be reported to the media.

The union knows because I reported it in 2012 with documentation. It’s why the admin at that school turned against me and I was singled out for the worst duties and class schedules. I finally just transferred.

This. There is no such thing as confidential discussions with the union. They will share with your admin and you will be targeted and punished. Ask me how I know.

Then why pay dues to the Union if they aren't protecting you from retaliation? Contact the media yourself and give them the specifics if they protect your identity. There is a HUGE problem if teachers are saying they are being encouraged or forced to do unethical things by administrators. An MCPS diploma is a worthless piece of paper if a student didn't do the work or have the skills the diploma is supposed to represent.

This isn’t the only thing the union does so, yeah, I continued paying dues.

At least now you'll have a choice!

I’m sure there will be a lot of freeloaders benefitting from the collective bargaining on salary and benefits, but my momma raised me better than that.

My momma raised me with the belief that you have lost an argument the moment you stoop to calling people names.

Names?

Calling people freeloaders just because they exercise their freedom of choice is calling them a name. For example you can say "people who don't join the union" and have a more adult argument.

What term would you use for people who receive a benefit that other people pay for?

[Anonymous]

I posted the term freeloaders first and stand by it. They are receiving benefits they don't pay for, which in the long run will end weakening the union, meaning eventually ALL will lose benefits. Selfish, freeloader, etc., all acceptable in this situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted the term freeloaders first and stand by it. They are receiving benefits they don't pay for, which in the long run will end weakening the union, meaning eventually ALL will lose benefits. Selfish, freeloader, etc., all acceptable in this situation.

It's a choice. You can be bitter and call people juvenile names if they don't do what you want them to do but in the end, the union needs to prove their worth if they want to survive. I personally think the system would be better off without a union so I don't join.

[Anonymous]

It is concerning to hear about teachers being bullied by administrators into doing unethical things

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please the reverse is true. MCPS is pressuring teachers to pass students who barely came to class. They can show up for a day of bogus "credit recovery" and boom, that E is now a passing grade.

So MCPS is no better than PG County Public Schools.

Teachers should use their Union Reps to bring this problem officially to light. This should be reported to the media.

The union knows because I reported it in 2012 with documentation. It’s why the admin at that school turned against me and I was singled out for the worst duties and class schedules. I finally just transferred.

This. There is no such thing as confidential discussions with the union. They will share with your admin and you will be targeted and punished. Ask me how I know.

Then why pay dues to the Union if they aren't protecting you from retaliation? Contact the media yourself and give them the specifics if they protect your identity. There is a HUGE problem if teachers are saying they are being encouraged or forced to do unethical things by administrators. An MCPS diploma is a worthless piece of paper if a student didn't do the work or have the skills the diploma is supposed to represent.

This isn’t the only thing the union does so, yeah, I continued paying dues.

At least now you'll have a choice!

I’m sure there will be a lot of freeloaders benefitting from the collective bargaining on salary and benefits, but my momma raised me better than that.

My momma raised me with the belief that you have lost an argument the moment you stoop to calling people names.

Names?

Calling people freeloaders just because they exercise their freedom of choice is calling them a name. For example you can say "people who don't join the union" and have a more adult argument.

What term would you use for people who receive a benefit that other people pay for?

Tax evaders

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please the reverse is true. MCPS is pressuring teachers to pass students who barely came to class. They can show up for a day of bogus "credit recovery" and boom, that E is now a passing grade.

So MCPS is no better than PG County Public Schools.

Teachers should use their Union Reps to bring this problem officially to light. This should be reported to the media.

The union knows because I reported it in 2012 with documentation. It’s why the admin at that school turned against me and I was singled out for the worst duties and class schedules. I finally just transferred.

This. There is no such thing as confidential discussions with the union. They will share with your admin and you will be targeted and punished. Ask me how I know.

Then why pay dues to the Union if they aren't protecting you from retaliation? Contact the media yourself and give them the specifics if they protect your identity. There is a HUGE problem if teachers are saying they are being encouraged or forced to do unethical things by administrators. An MCPS diploma is a worthless piece of paper if a student didn't do the work or have the skills the diploma is supposed to represent.

This isn’t the only thing the union does so, yeah, I continued paying dues.

At least now you'll have a choice!

I’m sure there will be a lot of freeloaders benefitting from the collective bargaining on salary and benefits, but my momma raised me better than that.

My momma raised me with the belief that you have lost an argument the moment you stoop to calling people names.

Names?

Calling people freeloaders just because they exercise their freedom of choice is calling them a name. For example you can say "people who don't join the union" and have a more adult argument.

What term would you use for people who receive a benefit that other people pay for?

Tax evaders

I don’t think that’s it.

[Anonymous]

Here's an idea, if union members do not want non-union members to benefit from their collective bargaining for free, why don't the collective bargaining contracts only cover the union members.

I am confident in my skillset and ability to negotiate a higher wage and benefits than our current union. I wouldn't mind being released from their support of mediocracy in our schools. If I am not happy with the outcome, I can move to the private sector or another public school system that would value what I can do. The United States is a free market society.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Calling people freeloaders just because they exercise their freedom of choice is calling them a name. For example you can say "people who don't join the union" and have a more adult argument.

What term would you use for people who receive a benefit that other people pay for?

Tax evaders

Actually, free riders. That's the definition of "free rider" - someone who uses resources, public goods, or services but does not pay for them. If you benefit from being part of the bargaining unit but you are not a member, then you are a free rider.