As a teacher, meetings never end. Seriously, this year we have even had meetings to plan future meetings. Last week we had our 1st staff meeting of the school year. How we have made it to the last week of November without meeting, I don't know, but it happened.
At that meeting, we had the normal updates (like how the county is trying to cut approx. $220 million so class size is going to be something like 30+ next year), the normal updates on various fundraisers, and then some little pat-on-the-back activity. One of our administrators played a little YouTube video about how PBS (Positive Behavior Something or Other) makes fpr good people. Basically, instead of yelling at our kids when they do something dumb, we should reward them for good behavior. And we all know there is nothing high school students love more than to be called out for being a goody-goody.
So the administrator read us the captions on this horrible video about how you should be the teacher who supports the kids when no one else does, yada, yada, yada. And like the good teacher I am, I sat there, watched, gagged a little bit, and then became really frustrated.
When I started teaching, I was teaching middle school. What a horrible and awkward group! I was so angry with the situation that I was in and it was really hard to explain this, especially when every person I met either told me I was crazy or a saint for being a teacher.
And then people would suggest that I read books about being a teacher. This was right around the time that Ron Clark's book, The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educators Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child, (even the title sounds douchey) was being made into a TV movie starring Matthew Perry. Someone even bought me the book as a gift. So I decided to read it. And it made my anger grow exponentially. Do you know how Ron Clark made all the little disadvantaged children in rural North Carolina and in Harlem successful? By including rules like "Flush the toilet and wash your hands after using the restroom." And while I agree that this is a great rule to follow, as a high school English teacher who only sees my kids for one semester, this is not the kind of thing I have time to focus on.
I was so sick and tired of hearing about how some crazy teacher fixed a bunch of kids. I finally received a book from another first year teacher. Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year by Esme Raji Codell was exactly what I needed. It took an honest approach to relating the experiences of a first year teacher. I no longer felt like someone was throwing their success in the face of all of the other teachers who were struggling to find their voice.
And so back to the staff meeting. There I was again. Back at the place where I felt so patronized. I know I am still no where near my peak as a teacher. And I am lucky that I work in a department with such talented and caring teachers. However, the last thing I need is the administrator who just suspended one of my kids (the one who is repeating 9th grade English, dealing with his brother who got shot earlier in the year, and trying to not get kicked out of his house) because she was "tired of him" telling us how we should be the one teacher who makes a difference in a child's life. Excuse me, what the thell do you think I am doing here?
**And as a side-note as I edit my entry - I have crazy ADHD - sorry about my tangents!**
No comments:
Post a Comment