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AuthorPosts
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Exhausted
GuestSeptember 14, 2022 at 2:14 pmPost count: 145This year I have been “voluntold” to take on A LOT. I’m training a new teacher who does not have any teaching experience (didn’t major in education or our content area, hired without qualifications due to teacher shortage). I was signed up without my consent for an endorsement course that requires me to stay after school until 9pm once a week in addition to all its course work. I’m teaching an entirely new set of preps with no team support. It’s a lot, and I’ve been struggling. For the past 2 weeks I have woken up every day crying from stress. Pulling myself together and drying my own tears every morning has added some time to morning commute, which is already 40 minutes, so I’ve been about 5 minutes late for the last 2 weeks. I still get here WELL before the bell rings, and the students are not in the building yet. Today, I found out that a fellow teacher tattled on me for being late so often. My admin was fairly kind about it, but it was made clear that my professionalism was called into question. I swooped in when they needed someone to train the new teacher, I have grinned and beared it through this endorsement class that I didn’t sign up for, and spent countless extra hours planning engaging lessons for my brand new preps. I am one of the few teachers that always attends parent meetings without fail, steps up when they need a gen ed teacher for SPED meetings, volunteers my time and energy whenever needed. I am just a few minutes late for a few days because I am trying to keep myself from sobbing each morning, and now my professionalism is called into question despite everything I do at this school. And to make it all worse, it was one of my own colleagues who tattled on me. I have never felt so unappreciated. All the extra work I do means nothing. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am still hurt and furious.
Christine Mehigh
GuestOctober 3, 2022 at 11:24 pmPost count: 145I found out years ago that when you do lots of “extra” it really is not appreciated the way you think it should be. The only thing our admin cares about is if there is a warm body in front of the students and it has been this way a long time. So, since you are now aware that your extra time, effort and talent are NOT appreciated at all, the thing to do, if you need to stay in teaching is to stop doing ANY extra at all. Don’t go to the voluntold class. Don’t mentor the new untrained and uneducated teacher. When the students come in have them get a textbook out and have them read and answer questions in the book. Do the minimum because it really does not matter. Save yourself, the structure of public ed now is toxic to its workers. And to be honest, do what I did, get the hell out while you are still healthy and sane.
Sandy
GuestOctober 10, 2022 at 9:18 pmPost count: 145I think once they have someone that fills in for a task, the expectation is that you can fulfill all your tasks at the same level as before, even though you have more now. If they let you be 5 min late because you help out so much, than who’s to say the next person can’t be 5 min for an equally valid reason and therefore a slippery slope. Well, I say as long as I’m here, you all can shut up, you’d hate it more if you had to find a sub for me today.
Irene
GuestFebruary 1, 2023 at 12:45 pmPost count: 145Fed Up Teacher
GuestFebruary 21, 2023 at 10:52 amPost count: 145Wow. This is actually good advice and it helps me better understand a similar situation I’m in with my admin and department. Thank you for sharing! Like you said: all admin care about now is having a warm body in the room to watch students. Learning is not a priority anymore; babysitting is.
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AuthorPosts
5 minutes late = I’m not a professional2022-09-14T14:14:34-04:00
Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)