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I do and then some. I really think the problem is that I make them earn it rather than give it to them. (I don't give extra credit for Kleenex and I won't give extra credit for an extra credit assignment that had little effort put into it.) For 50% of the work in my class, I allow students to redo the work and resubmit for corrections. My standards are very high to earn credit back. I find by doing this that I see higher and higher quality work turned in as the year progresses. The students who rise to the challenge seem to like it. The others, not so much. You should see the difference in technical writing from the beginning of the year to the end. This year I'm keeping the first lab reports so I can show my principal exactly what he's throwing out at the end of the year. I won't win this but I'll go out with my head held high. I know what I do works. What it doesn't do is result in easy A's but chemistry never was an easy A.
It shouldn't be any more difficult to get an A in chemistry/math than any other academic subjects. If the kids and the parents think that it is more difficult to get an A in your classes than other classes they will avoid your classes. Additionally, they will ask the principal to move them out of your class and giving your principal the idea that you are a problem teacher.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivorytickler
The standards are not impossible. If they were, I wouldn't be giving 25% of my students A's. The kids who really want them seem to do what they need to get them. The problem is the PARENTS who want them whose kids don't want to do what is needed to get them.
They should not have to do more to get an A in your class than any other class. If you are teaching honors math you should have more than 25% of your students getting As.
I suppose then, as you continue to post, we will all watch as you throw away your career and job.
You have evidently been at odds with the administration of your school from day one. Your boss (the principal) knows the objectives that he wants to achieve and obviously will do so with or without you.
It doesn't have to be that way. The following sums it up very clearly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ohnozer
Trust me, you have plenty of control over it. It has nothing to do with your gender or your age....it has everything to do with your attitude and your ability to conform to the mission of the school (things you can change!)
You prattle on about getting a job as an engineer. And have the fantasy of doing so. However, you aren't an engineer. And haven't been one for six years. Nothing is impossible but I'd bet that your chances of actually getting an engineering job are considerably less than attaining tenure at your current position.
It looks as if you are heading toward a very grim and bleak future. And to beat all, its of your own making.
I suppose then, as you continue to post, we will all watch as you throw away your career and job.
You have evidently been at odds with the administration of your school from day one. Your boss (the principal) knows the objectives that he wants to achieve and obviously will do so with or without you.
It doesn't have to be that way. The following sums it up very clearly.
You prattle on about getting a job as an engineer. And have the fantasy of doing so. However, you aren't an engineer. And haven't been one for six years. Nothing is impossible but I'd bet that your chances of actually getting an engineering job are considerably less than attaining tenure at your current position.
It looks as if you are heading toward a very grim and bleak future. And to beat all, its of your own making.
If you think I'll throw my job away by doing my best, then yes. I'm not throwing away anything. I recognize a losing battle when I see one and this is one. I will continue to look for work and when I find something else, I will leave. The trick here is for me to find something before my principal wins. That is the challenge. Your guess is as good as mine as to how this plays out. I'm just going to do my job. My coworkers are right. I can't change this.
If this is of my making, then tell me why I'm 4:2 on great PR's and lousy PR's? Why my principal was forced to rewrite my PR two years ago by those above him. Why the union tells me I'm not the only teacher he targets, I'm just the one with the misfortune to be untenured. Do even read what I post?
You have your mind made up about me and you've never even met me. You've never walked into my school. You've never met my principal. You don't even read what I post here about this situation. You pick things out selectively and put them together your own way so you can draw the conclusion you want. That's what my principal does. He sees what he wants to see so he can justify a decision he's already made for no good reason at all but I cannot change that and I'm not going to beat my head against the wall trying. I'm going to go to work and do my job and then I'm going to come home and send out resumes. I'm going to repeat this until I find something else. Finding something else is my only way out.
No, I'm not an engineer at the moment but that doesn't mean that isn't a valid option. My degree is still good and while recent experience would be better, my experience is good too. It just happens to take time to find an engineering job. Roughly 2 months per $10K in salary you're asking, maybe more since I have to deal with this little side trip into teaching which will be seen as a negative by some. That means I have several months of looking ahead of me. The truth is all I need is one break to restart an engineering career. When it will come or even if it will come is unknown at this time but it's the only route left open at the moment so it's the path I'm going down.
There's nothing I can do to change my principal's mind. That I already know. His mind was made up before the first time he observed me teach. I suspect I know why but there's nothing I can do about it so I'm not going to even try to figure out if that is the real reason. What people around me suspect is the real issue can't be changed by any of us.
Ivory, if you already know exactly why things are happening the way they are, you already know exactly what you're going to do, you know nothing at all is going to change, and you don't want anyone's opinion or advice, why do you keep posting?
If this is of my making, then tell me why I'm 4:2 on great PR's and lousy PR's? Why my principal was forced to rewrite my PR two years ago by those above him. Why the union tells me I'm not the only teacher he targets, I'm just the one with the misfortune to be untenured. Do even read what I post?
As I mentioned earlier, have you talked to the union about what it takes to deny you tenure?
Everything I have read about your state says it is impossible at this point for the principal to formally deny you tenure. (Actually, it is always impossible, since the school board has to vote to specifically deny you tenure no matter what he recommends. But assuming the school board rubber stamps his recommendations, it is still impossible at this point for him to have you formally denied tenure.)
The best he can do is force you to resign instead of being non-renewed, but there is no way he can prevent that. You just have to give enough notice on your resignation.
Ivory, quick exit slip for you. Write down one thing you have learned from this 27 page discussion that will help improve your practice.
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