I’ll make this shirt. I had a principal who went after me day 1 on coming back from a childcare leave. My union rep and I filed a grievance. All of a sudden a prek opened up and I got it. Several years later I had 25 letters in my file from this same principal over nonsense. I warned him I’d file a grievance and report him to OSHA. He, my rep and I sat down. He handed me my letters and told me I was really a good teacher. Both times I was saved because I was tenured and didn’t stand down. I also have to thank Norm for all his calming words of advice back then. I made it through several horrible principals only because I had tenure and stood up for myself. Thank you Arthur for this gem of a piece.
Thanks for your kind words, and congratulations for so successfully standing up for yourself. It's awful that he wrote all those letters but amazing you got him to give them up. So many of us are terrified. We need leadership that will support teachers, as well as teacher voice. And this is our year.
I remember teaching 9th grade English, the special education inclusion classroom where I was the general education teacher in it. In one classroom I had 7 students who had arrived in the U.S. a week or so before school started and spoke maybe 10 words of English, 4 of them speaking only Spanish and 3 speaking only Arabic. I also had 3 students in that class with IQs below 69....my new principal came in and observed. his big comment was that I was moving too slow on the work in my classroom, was babying my students, as was explaining things way too much. he demanded that I teach Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to this class because that was a 9th grade level work of literature. when I protested, mentioning that I had 73% special ed students in that classroom, in violation of the contract, he told me that if I was a good teacher, I could figure it out. the school would be judged by my students test scores, and I would be judged by that as well. if I didn't teach "faster" in my class, and my kids didn't do well enough on test scores, I might get an "unsatisfactory" rating at the end of the year. fortunately, I was tenured, having taught over 20 years, and I was chapter leader. I put my rebuttal of his evaluation of that class in writing in a grievance, including all the contract violations he did in how he observed me and in how he spoke to me and in all the supplies I was missing to teach the class. (I had mentioned that I had few supplies and the kids were too poor to buy their own pens, notebooks and paper, and he had responded by telling me that was my problem and that could also get me an unsatisfactory rating if I didn't solve it)....also, that same day I filed multiple grievances about both my class size (40 students) and my percentage of special ed students in my classroom...I informed him I was happy to file grievances on all the present school violations. and my very good district rep popped in the next day to let my principal know that he had a very good and knowledgeable chapter leader and she was always available to help the school in any way she could. surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, he never again mentioned my inadequate teaching in that lesson, never brought up my speed of teaching again, didn't put my evaluation in my file, and gave me a satisfactory rating at the end of the year.....the proof is in the pudding...we need a strong, proactive union to truly support teachers...unfortunately since I retired, that seems to be the case less and less often from what I see and hear.
I'm sad to agree with you. Doing the same old same old has gotten us here. It's time for leadership that stands up to this nonsense. We can absolutely do that.
Thank you, Arthur. It’s good to remind us of the history that came before. And it’s good that a plan of Resistance is in place before “shite happens”. I’m 77 and retired since 2012 but I’ll be standing with you.
A great I'm gonna go as usual. Yes, we need a strong union again that will speak truth to power. I would job is not to be popular, but to defend and improve the conditions for each and every teacher. only by doing this, can we ensure a good public education for every student.
Frightened teachers can't be strong role models. There is an agenda to produce teachers who are no more than temps, who can never achieve a decent salary, who can never make a career out of educating kids. It's a lose-lose.
I’ll make this shirt. I had a principal who went after me day 1 on coming back from a childcare leave. My union rep and I filed a grievance. All of a sudden a prek opened up and I got it. Several years later I had 25 letters in my file from this same principal over nonsense. I warned him I’d file a grievance and report him to OSHA. He, my rep and I sat down. He handed me my letters and told me I was really a good teacher. Both times I was saved because I was tenured and didn’t stand down. I also have to thank Norm for all his calming words of advice back then. I made it through several horrible principals only because I had tenure and stood up for myself. Thank you Arthur for this gem of a piece.
Thanks for your kind words, and congratulations for so successfully standing up for yourself. It's awful that he wrote all those letters but amazing you got him to give them up. So many of us are terrified. We need leadership that will support teachers, as well as teacher voice. And this is our year.
*Short….
Okay, but I would indeed be impressed if you made a shirt.
I remember teaching 9th grade English, the special education inclusion classroom where I was the general education teacher in it. In one classroom I had 7 students who had arrived in the U.S. a week or so before school started and spoke maybe 10 words of English, 4 of them speaking only Spanish and 3 speaking only Arabic. I also had 3 students in that class with IQs below 69....my new principal came in and observed. his big comment was that I was moving too slow on the work in my classroom, was babying my students, as was explaining things way too much. he demanded that I teach Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to this class because that was a 9th grade level work of literature. when I protested, mentioning that I had 73% special ed students in that classroom, in violation of the contract, he told me that if I was a good teacher, I could figure it out. the school would be judged by my students test scores, and I would be judged by that as well. if I didn't teach "faster" in my class, and my kids didn't do well enough on test scores, I might get an "unsatisfactory" rating at the end of the year. fortunately, I was tenured, having taught over 20 years, and I was chapter leader. I put my rebuttal of his evaluation of that class in writing in a grievance, including all the contract violations he did in how he observed me and in how he spoke to me and in all the supplies I was missing to teach the class. (I had mentioned that I had few supplies and the kids were too poor to buy their own pens, notebooks and paper, and he had responded by telling me that was my problem and that could also get me an unsatisfactory rating if I didn't solve it)....also, that same day I filed multiple grievances about both my class size (40 students) and my percentage of special ed students in my classroom...I informed him I was happy to file grievances on all the present school violations. and my very good district rep popped in the next day to let my principal know that he had a very good and knowledgeable chapter leader and she was always available to help the school in any way she could. surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, he never again mentioned my inadequate teaching in that lesson, never brought up my speed of teaching again, didn't put my evaluation in my file, and gave me a satisfactory rating at the end of the year.....the proof is in the pudding...we need a strong, proactive union to truly support teachers...unfortunately since I retired, that seems to be the case less and less often from what I see and hear.
I'm sad to agree with you. Doing the same old same old has gotten us here. It's time for leadership that stands up to this nonsense. We can absolutely do that.
Thank you, Arthur. It’s good to remind us of the history that came before. And it’s good that a plan of Resistance is in place before “shite happens”. I’m 77 and retired since 2012 but I’ll be standing with you.
Thank you Larry. We will present an alternative to tired politicking that gets us nowhere.
Very informative and inspiring. Thank you.
Thank you Alan.
If you want a union that fights for the members work towards a unified slate in the upcoming UFT election.
A great I'm gonna go as usual. Yes, we need a strong union again that will speak truth to power. I would job is not to be popular, but to defend and improve the conditions for each and every teacher. only by doing this, can we ensure a good public education for every student.
Frightened teachers can't be strong role models. There is an agenda to produce teachers who are no more than temps, who can never achieve a decent salary, who can never make a career out of educating kids. It's a lose-lose.
I am glad you made out something I did not proof read. I do not have my head on straight.
We all go through that. Thanks for taking the time to comment.