PBL...

School starts up again next week and I finally have the paperwork and medical stuff squared away that allows me to work yet another year. In fact the district, for the first time ever, is offering to pay subs a half development day to learn about a new concept called Project Based Learning (PBL) that they started last year at the lowest performing school in the district.

I have routinely turned down assignments at this school because the majority of the student clientele seem to be there only for the recess and lunchtime social interaction. It is going to take much more than one development class and $65 to change my mind.

That said, I'm willing to be bribed for their attempt.

Update: 8/15/2013 

I arrived at the school to find a packed library in attendance. The presentation team were scrambling to find room for all the substitute teachers that showed up. They were surprised and  happy to have such a large turnout. They said they would have been happy if 15-20 showed interest. I estimated the attendance at 50-60. I believe that all of us came away with a optimistic viewpoint for success at this school. 

Who knows? Maybe it will migrate to the rest of the schools in the district over time.





ESL Kinders...

Could I get Fired For Doing This?…

By “this”, I mean writing a blog about the daily experiences and commentary about the characters and events in schools. The question stems from a recent news story about a teacher that did just that:

“…Natalie Munroe, a teacher at Central Bucks East High School in Doylestown, Pa., was fired Tuesday night after a long controversy over the content of her foul-mouthed, tell-all blog”

She’s now suing the school district for violations of her right of free speech:

”It's about freedom of speech. It's about having integrity and not compromising the truth”

I’m not gonna guess how this all turns out but I suspect she won’t be working for that district in the future, but that’s not the point.

What would happen to me if the school district took issue with something I wrote about? Would I get fired? Would I get sued? 

While I don’t think my blog is anywhere near as controversial as Natalie’s, the district could take exception and do something about it.

Would I get fired?  The answer is: no! If they formally “fired” me, I could theoretically file for unemployment benefits which increase the employer insurance contribution.

It’s more likely they’d just quietly remove me from the call list and not say a word.

How do I know? It’s happened before (for a different reason)

Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You…

Well, it is two weeks into the new school year and I’m surprised to report that I AM getting calls to work. Even though I still can’t call in to the substitute system for any assignments, I have been getting called almost every day from the system for work.

I have heard through the grapevine that most of the RIF’ed teachers have been rehired into other schools or different positions so the competition pool is lessening. Assignments are more than trickling down to the “on call only” substitutes. At this point, I believe that I’m working more at this time of the year than previous years.

I still don’t like the fact that I can’t call in to plan my week more than a day or two in advance, but maybe that restriction will disappear as the year progresses.

The Pledge...

I just wish students and even OUR OWN government knew the meaning of "Pledge of Allegiance" as well as Red did. We'd all be better off...

Inclement Day Session...

I’ve heard rumors about some areas of the country where they cancel school due to heavy snow and impassable roads. I say rumors because I’ve never experienced one. Here, in Silicone Valley California, we rarely get snow. The couple of times in the last 40 years when it actually did snow on the valley floor, it was gone in a few hours. We do have the occasional “rainy day” session where recess and or lunch is held in the classroom but in reality, the weather here rarely interferes with school activities.

That’s why I was surprised yesterday by the office noon time announcement that due to the “cold windy conditions”, teachers should decide if they want to allow the kids to eat lunch in the classroom as there wasn’t room in the cafeteria to eat indoors. Half the cafeteria had been taken over by the Halloween Haunted House they were running this week. I stepped outside to see what “cold windy conditions” the principal was talking about.

The classroom is situated near a small curved stadium like seating area outside the classroom door. It’s in bright sunshine and must have been in the mid 60’s with just a bit of a breeze reaching the bottom steps of the protected seating area.

Eat inside because of rain, falling snow, raging floods, freezing temperatures or even typhoon force winds, I might relent. But, a little bit of Calif breeze? No way!

“But it’s so COLD!!” says the kid standing in front of me dressed in T-shirt, shorts and shoes without socks as I’m locking the classroom door.

“Remember this moment when you get dressed for school tomorrow morning”, was my reply as I lead them off to get lunch.

Coming back to the classroom after lunch, I see that the door to the classroom is wide open and no one around. Evidentially, someone had talked the janitor into unlocking classroom door to allow some kids to eat inside. I don’t know if there was any adult supervision while I was away, but no one closed the door after they left.

Fortunately, the teacher’s laptop computer, portable document camera and, more importantly, my personal subbing bag looked to be unmolested.

I see that it isn’t just kids who seem to be lacking some common sense.

You Might Be a School Employee If...

Attributed to Jeff Foxworthy:

1. YOU might be a school employee if you believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick.

2. YOU might be a school employee if you want to slap the next person who says, 'Must be nice to work 8 to 3:30 and have summers off.

3. YOU might be a school employee if it is difficult to name your own child because there's no name you can come up with that doesn't bring high blood pressure as it is uttered.

4. YOU might be a school employee if you can tell it's a full moon or if it's going to rain, snow, hail....anything!!! Without ever looking outside.

5. YOU might be a school employee if you believe, 'shallow gene pool' should have its own box on a report card.

6. YOU might be a school employee if when out in public, you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.

7. YOU might be a school employee if you have no social life between August and June.

8. YOU might be a school employee if you think people should have a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.

9. YOU might be a school employee if you wonder how some parents MANAGED to reproduce.

10. YOU might be a school employee if you laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the 'lounge.'

11. YOU might be a school employee if you encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling and are willing to donate the U-HAUL boxes should they decided to move.

12. YOU might be a school employee if you think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

13. YOU might be a school employee if you can't imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your students chair with Velcro and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro could ever be misunderstood by the public.

14. YOU might be a school employee if meeting a child's parent instantly answers this question, 'Why is this kid like this?'

15. YOU might be a school employee if you would choose a mammogram over a parent conference.

16. YOU might be a school employee if you think someone should invent antibacterial pencils and crayons...and desks and chairs for that matter!

17. YOU might be a school employee if the words 'I have college debt for this?' has ever come out of your mouth.

18. YOU might be a school employee if you know how many minutes, and seconds are left in the school year!

...and as a substitute teacher, I can identify with: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 16.

Minimum Day, No Way…

Thursdays are “minimum day” in this district. Substituting on a “Thursday” means a full day’s pay for about half a day’s work. Teachers cherish “Thursdays” almost as much as a regular school holiday.

It’s no wonder that substitutes don’t get many calls to work on “Thursdays”.

This morning’s automated call at 06:00am was as unusual as well as it was unexpected. After hearing the assignment, I knew why it was being shopped around.

The assignment was for the worst school in the district where I’ve had problems in the past. It’s also the only school currently on my boycott list.

It was for SDC (Special Day Class) -- in the worst school in the district. (Did I mention that already?)

It was for a two day (Thur/Fri) assignment -- in the worst school in the district.

After what I had experienced, it was a no brainer decision to decline. It was also no surprise that the automated system called ninety minutes later (15mins before the class started) to “offer” it again, as no other substitute in the district wanted to take it either.

NO WAY, TODAY!

A H.S. Diploma Isn't Good Enough...

I don't think kids, in general, are any less intelligent than those 40yrs ago. I don't think teachers are any less qualified than any in the past. I DO believe that the intrusion of politics, politicians and government mandates interfere with the "old school" goals of teaching basic foundation information and problem solving skills.

While the idea of programs like NCLB and CASHEE are noble in concept, the implementation has had the unintended consequence of forcing teachers accept school administrator overrides to a "retention" recommendation, to what amounts to student "social promotion" through the school system.

It's the kind of direct observation about the current state of education or should I say "the politics of education" that seems to be driving more and more parents to seek out private schools or choosing home schooling options for their kids.

Now there may be some data to back it up.
From: Carpe Diem
"...Degrees and diplomas may not translate to on-the-job success"

From the study: More Grads, But Cognitive Ability Declines
The study suggests that because the ability level of the average high school graduate has changed over time, finding job candidates with the same level of ability as 1970 high school graduates requires employers seek out applicants with two or more years of college training.

MP: Hey, but aren't grades (and self-esteem) at an all-time high in both high school and college?

Who Wants To This Job -- FOR FREE??

From: WTOV9

"...HARRISON COUNTY, Ohio -- Local parents said they were shocked and outraged to hear that a man who was acting as a substitute teacher during the Harrison Hills teacher strike was never hired by the district.

A school resource officer from the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department told NEWS9 that Frederick Saunders of Youngstown acted as a seventh-grade social studies substitute teacher for several days at Harrison Junior High.Saunders was charged with misdemeanor assault after police said he hit a picketer with his car on Tuesday, Oct. 2.

Then the school district made a big discovery; it says Saunders was never hired.Superintendent Jim Drexler released a statement to NEWS9; where said Saunders made it through security and apparently was working as a teacher, even though the district had never hired him.Many parents who talked to NEWS9 said they were shocked.“

How do they know there's not somebody else that's not supposed to be there, that wasn't hired?" said Cindy Sinquefield of Scio.
-----

Just why someone would WANT to fake being a substitute teacher is a mystery but the fact that someone could show up at a school posing as a substitute teacher isn't all that far fetched.

In the four years I've been walking into school offices, I've never had to actually show any identification to verify that I am who I say I am.

They might ask who I am to match with a list of who they are expecting. They might ask who I'm there for to match with someone who they know is out and has a sub coming in. There have been a few times that the phone system garbled the teacher's name bad enough that I could only identify the school and grade level I was assigned. Even in these instances, I've never had to actually show any actual identification to verify who I was.

But...the REAL question here is: Who would want to impersonate a substitute teacher for several days...in a middle school... and... not get paid for it?

That's just three times, plain insane!

Matters of Compelling Importance...

The automated substitute calling system is a great tool for any school district that can afford one. The sub can set a “not available” date range to tell the system not to call for assignments. Likewise I can indicate certain days of the week I’m otherwise occupied.

The system accurately tracks which assignments are still open, which assignments were taken, which assignments were canceled by the school, and which assignments were declined by the substitute.

The last feature, declining an assignment, requires the substitute to provide a reason for turning down the assignment. The choice has to be selected from a carefully researched and significantly important list of district reasons for ducking an assignment.

Presumably the data is collected and carefully analyzed to determine trends or problems with the quality of the substitute labor pool or schools using the system. Presumably, reports of epidemic illness among substitutes could be quickly detected and a response team would be activated to deal with the crisis. Assignment turndowns for all assignments at a particular school just might indicate a problem that the district might want to investigate.

All in all, it’s a pretty neat tool if correctly used. So what am I supposed to make of the following list of “significantly important” reasons to decline an assignment from one of the districts I work?

----------------------------------------

Reason you are declining this assignment is…

Press 1 – Illness

Press 2 – Vacation

Press 3 – Jury Duty

Press 4 – Matters of Compelling Importance

Press 5 – Medical / Dental

Press 6 – Legal

Press 7 – Graduation

Press 8 – Paternity Leave

Press 9 – Maternity Leave

In the three years I’ve worked for this district, I’ve only used codes #1 and #4 when declining an assignment. The rest don’t apply to any real world statically useful purpose.

For example:

#2

If I’m on vacation, I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be around to answer the phone to decline the assignment and enter this code.

#3 & #6

Subs don’t get compensated for jury duty. Anyway wouldn’t “legal” include “jury duty”?

Also, if I’m going to be away for a sentence of 2 to 5, I’d use the “vacation” or “matter of compelling importance” reason.

#5 & #7

I have an important appointment. Medical, dental, legal, graduation, I wanna see my kid’s first soccer game. It’s all the same to the school district as to why I’m not available for the day. To me it’s all a “matter of compelling importance”.

#8 & #9

Oh, come on! Maternity OR Paternity leave? Isn’t this just splitting hairs just a bit TOO thin? We don’t get paid for either so I believe this should fall under #2 or #4

----------------------------------------

So what would I propose instead of the current “reason to decline” list? It would certainly contain some useful information that a school district might make use for one thing. As a first attempt, how about:

----------------------------------------

Reason I’m declining this assignment is…

Press 1 – Sick.

Translation: real or imagined illness, sports injury, one too many TSINGTAO’s last night, mental health day after yesterday’s disaster of a class.

Press 2 – No transportation.

Translation: School car is in need of repair again. Suggest I’ll work if you send a ride or pay me more so I can keep my car in good repair.

Press 3 – Not available.

Translation: Not sick and I don’t want to give you a specific reason.

Press 4 – Scheduling conflicts.

Translation: Medical, legal, parole officer or other appointments I need to keep.

Press 5 – Working in a better paying district today.

Translation: All else being equal, you guys are always going to be second choice.

Press 6 – Won’t work in that school again.

Translation: self explanatory. Call me if you want details.

Press 7 – Won’t work that particular class again.

Translation: self explanatory. Call me if you want details.

Press 8 – Won’t work for that teacher again.

Translation: self explanatory. Call me if you want details.

Press 9 – Personal business.

Translation: Matters of Compelling Importance

----------------------------------------