Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps this year will be a teachable moment for communities to respect, fund, and support schools and their employees.

A teachable moment to do what? Perhaps if teachers got back inside the classroom earlier and for more days per week, you'd be onto something.

Teachers had no control over that. Really you need to harass the BOE and central office.

Except that the teacher's union was the face of the obstructionist policy.

The union couldn’t do anything that the BOE and Central Office truly opposed. Insiders admit that they were happy to let MCEA be the fall guy for policies that they actually supported.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps this year will be a teachable moment for communities to respect, fund, and support schools and their employees.

A teachable moment to do what? Perhaps if teachers got back inside the classroom earlier and for more days per week, you'd be onto something.

Teachers had no control over that. Really you need to harass the BOE and central office.

Except that the teacher's union was the face of the obstructionist policy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps this year will be a teachable moment for communities to respect, fund, and support schools and their employees.

A teachable moment to do what? Perhaps if teachers got back inside the classroom earlier and for more days per week, you'd be onto something.

Teachers had no control over that. Really you need to harass the BOE and central office.

Easier to point fingers at teachers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps this year will be a teachable moment for communities to respect, fund, and support schools and their employees.

A teachable moment to do what? Perhaps if teachers got back inside the classroom earlier and for more days per week, you'd be onto something.

Teachers had no control over that. Really you need to harass the BOE and central office.

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps this year will be a teachable moment for communities to respect, fund, and support schools and their employees.

A teachable moment to do what? Perhaps if teachers got back inside the classroom earlier and for more days per week, you'd be onto something.

Anonymous wrote:^^ what an absolute missed opportunity.
After being back to IPL for only a few weeks my students parents were in tears. Not because I am so great. It was because they’re kids genuinely missed school. These are incredibly well off families. The kids were in pods ect before returning. It’s not about childcare.
When my own child returned in March it was a night and day differ with for him.
Teaching and schools are powerful for students. It is heartbreaking that many teachers are missing that aspect of things because they are realizing that they actually don’t like their jobs.

Not a teacher but what I can say is that Teachers like teaching and kids just fine. What they don’t like is having the reprecussions of many of societies ills heaped upon them with great expectation for them to resolve or work around. What they don’t like is being given ever more and more paperwork/data to gather but no additional time with which to do this work. What they don’t like is how parents fail to remember that teachers have lives outside of school and can’t devote their whole being to their students. What they don’t like is being blamed for policy decisions made at a state level. What they don’t like is comments such as “having 2-5 more additional kids in a class is not a big deal(really, so if they dropped 2-5more kids at your house for a sleepover, or dinner everything would be the same?). What they don’t like is being told to adapt to changing technology and trends, but not actually being provided appropriate training, mentoring, and ramp up time. What they don’t like is being compared to private schools where tuition is 25-50k/student, the students and families specifically selected, and class sizes half. What they don’t like is folks seemingly not understanding that they are tired and battered after a pandemic just like everyone else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone want to teach summer school after a year of being harassed and belittled? The money isn’t enough and neither are bonuses. What does that say?

Were you harassed and belittled at work, or on DCUM?

NP here, why the snark? Anyone could see that the pandemic is pushing the public education sector to its limit. I assuming that you must not read your news? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/27/us/covid-school-teaching.html

Its a sad day when some adults choose to only consume their news from television and radio sources and lack basic research skills.

What's wrong with my question? I know many teachers personally, and I know that public education is in trouble. I support funding it (which is part of why it makes me super angry when teacher union leaders write op-eds downplaying the impact of the pandemic on students). But PP was talking specifically about "a year of being harassed and belittled". What was she referring to? DCUM? Or was there harassment during the course of her work? Because the solution to harassment on DCUM is not to turn down work.

Why does anyone need an excuse or reason to turn down extra work that is outside of their contract?

Teaching summer school doesn’t help you advance in your career. If you don’t need the money, why do it? Does the public really expect that teachers will give up the scheduled time off as some type of self-sacrifice for the students and then be criticized all school year if they need a day off for a doctor’s visit or to handle other business?

Anonymous wrote:^^ what an absolute missed opportunity.
After being back to IPL for only a few weeks my students parents were in tears. Not because I am so great. It was because they’re kids genuinely missed school. These are incredibly well off families. The kids were in pods ect before returning. It’s not about childcare.
When my own child returned in March it was a night and day differ with for him.
Teaching and schools are powerful for students. It is heartbreaking that many teachers are missing that aspect of things because they are realizing that they actually don’t like their jobs.

I think a lot of teachers realized during the pandemic that they disliked particular aspects of teaching in MCPS like being the scapegoat and life is too short to continue doing it for the compensation offered. This isn’t very different than what workers in other fields are also realizing. I know so many people who left the restaurant industry because they felt disrespected by customers coming in with Covid symptoms.

We sent out summer school invites to our lowest 20%. Then our lowest 40%. Then to everyone. We cannot fill our in person summer school seats. Which is probably good because we didn't have enough staff. Now with combined grade levels to make an almost full class we have the right number of kids and teachers. I'm so glad I didn't agree to teach this summer though. What a shit show.

Anonymous wrote:Is the shortage why I haven’t gotten any details about virtual algebra for the summer? Registered and crickets.

Nah. Most likely the people running virtual summer school are the same as for the virtual academy, and right now they have a lot of things to sort out. There is no reason virtual summer school won’t happen. They aren’t geographically limited for hiring. Sure, they will start with MCPS teachers, but if they need to, they can hire other teachers from MD or from other states.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ what an absolute missed opportunity.
After being back to IPL for only a few weeks my students parents were in tears. Not because I am so great. It was because they’re kids genuinely missed school. These are incredibly well off families. The kids were in pods ect before returning. It’s not about childcare.
When my own child returned in March it was a night and day differ with for him.
Teaching and schools are powerful for students. It is heartbreaking that many teachers are missing that aspect of things because they are realizing that they actually don’t like their jobs.

Maybe not for you but it is for my students. I teach in another MD district and my students are in-person every day except one where we are doing virtual learning at home. Many parents who originally signed up their kids for in-person learning changed their minds when they found out school was only 4 days a week in person. They said they wouldn't be able to find someone to babysit them once a week so they dropped out. Every week, I have a parent asking me when school will be in person every day because they don't have anyone to watch their kids that one day per week. School is most definitely child care for many of my students. I even have students telling me "My mom says I don't have to do that (online) work." I have students who haven't done any work all year.

Yup. I have parents in my class who kept their child virtual to avoid potentially having to quarantine with their child, and whose children haven’t completed a single assignment all year/last spring. Some of them have had the audacity to complain that their child has regressed. It’s like...yes, what did you expect? Your child hasn’t so much as written their name since last March. They come and go from our live classes with excuses about bad internet (multiple days a week?) or issues with logging in (you do it once, it’s not difficult, and I’ve been providing tech support on request since March 2020). Some parents genuinely just can’t be bothered.

Anonymous wrote:^^ what an absolute missed opportunity.
After being back to IPL for only a few weeks my students parents were in tears. Not because I am so great. It was because they’re kids genuinely missed school. These are incredibly well off families. The kids were in pods ect before returning. It’s not about childcare.
When my own child returned in March it was a night and day differ with for him.
Teaching and schools are powerful for students. It is heartbreaking that many teachers are missing that aspect of things because they are realizing that they actually don’t like their jobs.

Maybe not for you but it is for my students. I teach in another MD district and my students are in-person every day except one where we are doing virtual learning at home. Many parents who originally signed up their kids for in-person learning changed their minds when they found out school was only 4 days a week in person. They said they wouldn't be able to find someone to babysit them once a week so they dropped out. Every week, I have a parent asking me when school will be in person every day because they don't have anyone to watch their kids that one day per week. School is most definitely child care for many of my students. I even have students telling me "My mom says I don't have to do that (online) work." I have students who haven't done any work all year.

Anonymous wrote:^^ what an absolute missed opportunity.
After being back to IPL for only a few weeks my students parents were in tears. Not because I am so great. It was because they’re kids genuinely missed school. These are incredibly well off families. The kids were in pods ect before returning. It’s not about childcare.
When my own child returned in March it was a night and day differ with for him.
Teaching and schools are powerful for students. It is heartbreaking that many teachers are missing that aspect of things because they are realizing that they actually don’t like their jobs.

It has nothing to do with “liking their jobs”. It has everything to do with being continually gaslighted, demeaned, and attacked. It has to do with constantly shifting guidance that is never communicated to us before the general public. It has to do with not having a seat at the table, and being told to continually “be flexible and professional” when given impracticable guidance. Perhaps this year will be a teachable moment for communities to respect, fund, and support schools and their employees. If not, I expect there to be greater and greater challenges attracting and retaining educators. Children and families will suffer. It’s preventable, but people would rather lash out in anger.

Anonymous wrote:The teachers who think summer school is child care- are you parents? I find it hard to believe that any teacher/parent would still cling to the tired line that parents want kids in buildings for childcare.
Have you returned, in person- and seen the truly transformative impact it’s had on your students? Have you sent your own kids back and seen the impact being back has had on your student/family.
As for those who are threatening to quit because of internet snark- grow up. People have ALWAYS hated teachers. So here your opportunity to see this just as a job. Don’t hold out for teacher appreciation week gifts- but also maybe stop reading internet hate. Teaching is a job. That’s it.
It’s fair and ok to take issue with how unions handled this past year. Teachers unions are not above reproach.

Teacher and parent here. Kids come to summer school for different reasons and the reasons change for ES, MS and HS. Some do come as free day care. It’s the cheapest and closest option and can include busing. Some come because there is nothing to do at home. Some come to improve academically/ credit recovery/ get through required courses faster. It can be exhausting trying to keep kids engaged who don’t want to be there, though. That is wher the childcare references come in.

^^ what an absolute missed opportunity.
After being back to IPL for only a few weeks my students parents were in tears. Not because I am so great. It was because they’re kids genuinely missed school. These are incredibly well off families. The kids were in pods ect before returning. It’s not about childcare.
When my own child returned in March it was a night and day differ with for him.
Teaching and schools are powerful for students. It is heartbreaking that many teachers are missing that aspect of things because they are realizing that they actually don’t like their jobs.