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I just counted 39 general education vacancies in grades 1-6 in my district. Our building still needs a fourth grade teacher. The class has had a long term sub, but she can't continue past the middle of December. She's been a trooper having done as much as she has for substitute pay. I'm curious to see what will happen in a little over a month. We qualified for an additional teacher due to enrollment and class size, but they basically gave up trying to hire for that spot.
We hired a new 5th grade teacher but she quit before she started. I've been out almost a month now do I'm not sure where that's at but we needed another 3rd grade teacher and a self contained SPED teacher as well.
We had another lockdown today. A mentally ill man walked in the front door, apparently acting normal until he was asked to sign in. Then he took off running down the hall. We heard loud yelling for a minute before the PA came on telling us to lock our doors and cover our windows. We all remained in our classrooms for an hour, well into the lunch period, before we got the all clear. The man was taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation. The news media was there when school dismissed, so it was a high-profile day.
At least this time I wasn't locked in a room with crazy people for nearly three hours like last time. This time, the kids were genuinely scared because we had all heard the screaming coming from downstairs. The fear wore off with time and several students watched movies or basketball games on their laptops with the sound off. They mostly kept quiet, as did the class next door.
In our area of the building, the security is extremely lax both at the outside door and the upstairs landing area. Our district is under intense scrutiny, especially regarding the fact that our schools are not safe. This won't help the central office which is reeling after the resignation of the superintendent and today's rejection by the state Department of Education of the district's turnaround plan.
This is the case in many places. I am looking to take an early retirement next year and return to private industry. Education has become too reliant on university "experts" with new research that isn't supported by real-world experience or longitudinal data. I frankly am tired of fighting for what I know is right. When too many middle schoolers don't know simple life skills like how to make $0.15 with coins, how many nickels there are in a quarter or quarters in a dollar but they are pushed along learning about abstract concepts with no factual knowledge I know it's time to go.
I'd love to return to private industry but they aren't hiring 57 year old engineers who have been out of the game for 9 years. I tried for about 3 years to find something in industry. The best I could come up with was a $20/hr job as a lab tech with no benefits. I know several engineers who were downsized in 2005-2008 like me who never did find work in engineering again. By the time they cut me they were cutting good engineers but there's a stigma attached to being let go. I mean it COULDN'T have just been the economy. There must be something wrong with you.
While I enjoy teaching I' come under fire for holding my students to high standards. My school wants few failures and lots of A's. I want to hold my students to the high standards I know they can achieve if they put their minds to it. To quote one of the other teachers "You have to do what you have to do to keep your job". Unfortunately, that makes teaching my J.O.B. and not my passion. I had no idea how political every decision I'd make as a teacher would be. Silly me. I thought I could just close my door and teach.
I was out of school on Wednesday and Thursday and didn't realize we have a quiz tomorrow. Can I take it later? Also I need to make up the quiz from the last chapter that I missed.
Your Student.
It never ceases to amaze me how many students are absent or have excuses for not taking a test or quiz on the assigned day and then wait weeks to make them up.
I'm from north of you, tgbwc (Baltimore). Nephews get 2 lousy days.
Wow. We get the same as your nephews...Thursday and Friday. I do wish we had Wednesday off to allow for some travel time.
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There must be something wrong with you.
