CPS nightmares
Posted 08-06-2014 at 08:20 AM by chet everett
The problems with CPS are especially frustrating for those, like the OP, have actual classroom experince and seem to be very much on top all the hurdles that are placed in their path.
Beleive me I well know the lunacy that abounds there. In fact I know it a far more thoroughly that somebody that by their own admission was just trying to get calls answered back in April --
You see, I have been through this all before. I served as a cadre sub at the CPS school that I eventually got hired at. Worked very hard to put into to practice the research based info that I learned at DePaul, was rated "excellent" by the adminstrators at the school, respected by colleagues and students. I mostly enjoyed worked at the school that I eventually got hired at. Unfortunately CPS & CTU decided to solve a budget crisis by making cuts to high school staffing and with little seniority my position there was eliminated. I went back to cadre sub status, which at the time also allowed me to at least earn step credit but the paltry daily rate was insufficient to make ends meet. I worked in suburban system that in most every way was not as satisfying as my experience at the school in CPS. I left that suburban school after a year and worked at private school for a few years. Though the work I did there was nearly as satisfying as that I did in CPS through the compensation was insufficient to support my family...
I am supportative of the OP and I completely understand what they are facing. They too have kids to support, like I did, as well obligations to their spouse that is relocating. Beyond that they sound like the kind of teacher that unfortunate often are too few off -- those that understand that to be effective one must stick it with what might be easy or what other ineffective teachers are doing but what the best teaachers do and what the smartest professors of education uncover when they analyze data.
It is highly relevant to refute the nonsense that some not yet full time teacher is spreading. The sad reality is that US system often does make it especially difficult for folks fresh from earning their teaching certificate to forget what that data shows and instead up the bad habits that schools hold on to. This vignette details how Ahikiko Takahashi, a math teacher from Japan lauded for his success, was crushed to find that instead of seeing the well researched methods in practice in the US where they were uncover, instead saw only ineffective teaching. He moved to Chicago to work at a school run by Japan's Education Ministry in Chicago and is now on staff at DePaul. Why do Americans Stink at Math?|NYTimes Magazine
It is very much useful to anyone that wants to pursue a career as a teacher to understand the shortcomings of tossing underprepared potential teachers into a classroom setting even as substitute. Elizabeth Green details how this sort of disconnect between the academic prepartion of teachers and the reality they face in the classroom is not limited to mathematics instructions, it is pervasive and goes a long to explaining why so many reforms and good practices never really get implemented Behind the Cover Story: Building a Better Teacher|NYTimes Chalkbeat
Anyone focused on working in CPS further should know the dysfunctional system often is plaqued with incompetent principals that can make the nightmare scenarios for dedicated teachers all too commonCPS' flawed evaluation policies | Chicago Reader
I don't really care how butt hurt some would be teacher feels. Read this whole thread, I've consistently supported the OP and sincerely hope the input she gets will help her do what is best for her situation. CPS has procedures in place that make the already challenging process of becoming an effective teacher in an urban setting far more difficult than it ought to be and I will gladly highlight those shortcomings.
Beleive me I well know the lunacy that abounds there. In fact I know it a far more thoroughly that somebody that by their own admission was just trying to get calls answered back in April --
Quote:
Originally Posted by chiMT
This is the sentiment of MANY MANY MANY teachers right now. 
I wish I could lend some help about the CPS bureaucracy, but I'm currently having the same problem. It was very difficult finding out what I needed to do to get into the system in the first place, much less going through with all of it. If I get anything accomplished, I will post up. I think I'm slightly further in the process than you are -- I had my phone interview several weeks ago. Surprisingly, they did call when they said they would.
I wish I could lend some help about the CPS bureaucracy, but I'm currently having the same problem. It was very difficult finding out what I needed to do to get into the system in the first place, much less going through with all of it. If I get anything accomplished, I will post up. I think I'm slightly further in the process than you are -- I had my phone interview several weeks ago. Surprisingly, they did call when they said they would.
You see, I have been through this all before. I served as a cadre sub at the CPS school that I eventually got hired at. Worked very hard to put into to practice the research based info that I learned at DePaul, was rated "excellent" by the adminstrators at the school, respected by colleagues and students. I mostly enjoyed worked at the school that I eventually got hired at. Unfortunately CPS & CTU decided to solve a budget crisis by making cuts to high school staffing and with little seniority my position there was eliminated. I went back to cadre sub status, which at the time also allowed me to at least earn step credit but the paltry daily rate was insufficient to make ends meet. I worked in suburban system that in most every way was not as satisfying as my experience at the school in CPS. I left that suburban school after a year and worked at private school for a few years. Though the work I did there was nearly as satisfying as that I did in CPS through the compensation was insufficient to support my family...
I am supportative of the OP and I completely understand what they are facing. They too have kids to support, like I did, as well obligations to their spouse that is relocating. Beyond that they sound like the kind of teacher that unfortunate often are too few off -- those that understand that to be effective one must stick it with what might be easy or what other ineffective teachers are doing but what the best teaachers do and what the smartest professors of education uncover when they analyze data.
It is highly relevant to refute the nonsense that some not yet full time teacher is spreading. The sad reality is that US system often does make it especially difficult for folks fresh from earning their teaching certificate to forget what that data shows and instead up the bad habits that schools hold on to. This vignette details how Ahikiko Takahashi, a math teacher from Japan lauded for his success, was crushed to find that instead of seeing the well researched methods in practice in the US where they were uncover, instead saw only ineffective teaching. He moved to Chicago to work at a school run by Japan's Education Ministry in Chicago and is now on staff at DePaul. Why do Americans Stink at Math?|NYTimes Magazine
It is very much useful to anyone that wants to pursue a career as a teacher to understand the shortcomings of tossing underprepared potential teachers into a classroom setting even as substitute. Elizabeth Green details how this sort of disconnect between the academic prepartion of teachers and the reality they face in the classroom is not limited to mathematics instructions, it is pervasive and goes a long to explaining why so many reforms and good practices never really get implemented Behind the Cover Story: Building a Better Teacher|NYTimes Chalkbeat
Anyone focused on working in CPS further should know the dysfunctional system often is plaqued with incompetent principals that can make the nightmare scenarios for dedicated teachers all too commonCPS' flawed evaluation policies | Chicago Reader
I don't really care how butt hurt some would be teacher feels. Read this whole thread, I've consistently supported the OP and sincerely hope the input she gets will help her do what is best for her situation. CPS has procedures in place that make the already challenging process of becoming an effective teacher in an urban setting far more difficult than it ought to be and I will gladly highlight those shortcomings.
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