there really isn't one. You should start it.

^^^ yes! DCPS is a world full of snakes.

One of the problems with the idea of a DC Urban Teachers site is that most teachers who have real grievances wouldn't talk about them in an open forum because of fear of repercussions. I'm a DCPS teacher who is leaving a school frequently (usually positively) discussed on here, and frankly, I could tell some stories that would make your hair curl. But I won't, because at the end of the day it wouldn't do much good, and would very likely do me a lot of harm. So I vent to colleagues and friends, and leave the Internet out of it.

PP here- she's not TFA but was DC Teaching Fellows. One of the parents asked her if she knew what ABA was and she had no clue. It's heartbreaking how little these teachers are prepared for their jobs http://rheebotnomore.blogspot.com/2010/08/your-my-daughters-teacher.html

I read this one ex-TFA er who was placed in an autism classroom. TFA training is a joke enough when it's designed for neurotypical students but for children with complicated special needs? She was so far in over her head. It was hard to read. http://rheebotnomore.blogspot.com/

Anonymous wrote:I've seen a few blogs usually disgruntled ex TFA types.

The most famous (formerly of Noyes then CHEC) was definitely not TFA. He got fired of course. Funny and not kid-friendly:

http://teachbad.com/

Last year we had a Mom/Daughter team at school. One way that Mom kept the distance was putting Dad on the contact list for the teacher. Sure-if there was an emergency Mom would step in, but it really helped her daughter keep a good perspective.

As for the teacher site... it would be interesting. Depending on where in DCPS you teach no one (outside of the DCPS teacher world) would believe the stories you have to tell.

Its a journey.

I think you should start one! Teachers need places to vent and share strategies (I know; I am one, but of older kids.) Especially if I were wearing the parent had and seeing people criticize my school (which I only do not because it's too disorganizedly under the radar to attract attention), I would want to exchange thoughts.

phpBB.com is a free forum site. Go for it! But then maybe make it members-only, with people needing to provide some proof that they're teachers to join, so non-teachers can't come in. Of course, it's hard to have bona fide identity checks, but the Yahoo parents group I'm in asks for checks and I've never felt like anyone was secretly a neighbor who hated children, posting for us all to pick up our dropped lovies and make our kids stop whining as we pass her house.

Good luck with your first year at your child's school! As a teacher, I always loved the kids I affectionately referred to as "staff brats." And I agree that keeping a respectful distance and only rarely mentioning your family to your students will be a good thing for your kid -- and even create some exciting mystique among your students!

This doesn't appear to be very active now, but was at one time:

http://thewashingtonteacher.blogspot.com

I've seen a few blogs usually disgruntled ex TFA types.

Do NOT call your kid honey, sweetie, pumpkin, schmoopsie or any other term of endearment. Realize that your kid will be made fun of on your behalf. So if you are fat or wear floods, your kid will be teased for months over it.

Love,
Someone who VEHEMENTLY hated having her mom work in her school for these reasons.

Does the Union host something?

Anonymous wrote:I just made the leap from parent to 1st year teacher (and at my child's school no less). I've seen a few heated comments about my school. It's interesting to read them from the perspective of an actual employee now. It made me wonder if there's a teacher version of this site floating around somewhere. If not, does anyone have any experience/advice for how to wear both hats in the same school?

Would the site be open to the public, or limited to teachers only? Anonymous or identified?

Congrats! My mom was a teacher and we sometimes overlapped. It would depend a lot on your child's or children's age, but particularly in middle and high school, I very much appreciated that my mom let me call the shots on how much we communicated on school grounds. She was really respectful about letting me have my space and also very professional about not talking about any of her students to me.

I just made the leap from parent to 1st year teacher (and at my child's school no less). I've seen a few heated comments about my school. It's interesting to read them from the perspective of an actual employee now. It made me wonder if there's a teacher version of this site floating around somewhere. If not, does anyone have any experience/advice for how to wear both hats in the same school?