Permanent Employee?

Permanent Employee?

image from TeachHub Education Blog

I happened upon a teacher blog post about tenure in CA and it got me thinking again. The blog post was from a social studies teacher in NYC, NYC Urban Ed Blog, and his point was focused on #10 below, but I think the full list here is worth a good read through.

Considering the going belief is that teachers who have “permanent” status, like I do, have a guaranteed job for life and they cannot be fired. This belief is contrary to fact. As the California Ed Code below is pretty clear there is quite a variety of ways for a teacher to be dismissed. The reason for the belief that teachers cannot be fired is because administrators have to follow a process in order to demonstrate that a teacher should be removed, and this means they have to stand their ground, have their ducks in a row, and it must be valid. 

Tenure protects teachers like me who disagree with their administrators about decisions, who question decisions that are not made in the best interest of the students, or are frustrated by administrators who speak much and act little. However, if an administrator is honest from the beginning, gives real evaluations every time that are truly based on teaching and not politics, then the process works. It is when they have given positive evaluations that were undeserved in order to be nice, or to avoid conflict that those subsequent negative evaluations are questioned.

Unsatisfactory performance IS a cause for dismissal. (Read that twice, it is #4 below, it is really there.)

But in addition to unsatisfactory performance of job duties, there are ten other causes for dismissal where a total of five have to do with behavior or performance at school or in their work. That leaves eleven items we as tenured teachers can be dismissed that are not even related to how we do our jobs, it is how we live outside of the classroom.

Please be aware, that in most jobs (even those without permanent status) when an employee is not on the clock or representing their employer, their behavior is their own. Their behavior may be embarrassing or frustrating, but off the clock behavior is not regulated by employers. This is not so true for teachers.

We have all seen on facebook or other networks, the lists of requirements for school teachers in the early American years of the one-room schoolhouse. Teachers must not “keep the company of men,” or their dresses must not rise more “than 2 inches above the ankle,” are examples of the such lists. While the details have changed, expectations for teachers’ behavior are still very high, inside and outside of the classroom and school.

Schools are exceptional workplaces though, places where we send our children and expect a lot. I certainly do from the school I send my children to.

So, while everyone has heard some horror story about a teacher who ‘couldn’t be fired’ because they had tenure… remember, there are stories from every workplace. The idea that the ‘tenure’ is the reason they could not be fired is just not true. There is more to the story. I am not saying there are no bad teachers, there are bad employees in every profession. What I am saying is that there is always more to the story when a bad teacher is still in a classroom. Appropriate actions can and should be taken.

I promise you, no one wants a bad teacher in a classroom, especially the good teacher teaching next door.

Here is the actual text from the California EdCode.

44932.  (a) No permanent employee shall be dismissed except for one
or more of the following causes:
  (1) Immoral or unprofessional conduct.
  (2) Commission, aiding, or advocating the commission of acts of
criminal syndicalism, as prohibited by Chapter 188 of the Statutes of
1919, or in any amendment thereof.
  (3) Dishonesty.
  (4)  Unsatisfactory performance.
  (5) Evident unfitness for service.
  (6) Physical or mental condition unfitting him or her to instruct
or associate with children.
  (7) Persistent violation of or refusal to obey the school laws of
the state or reasonable regulations prescribed for the government of
the public schools by the State Board of Education or by the
governing board of the school district employing him or her.
  (8) Conviction of a felony or of any crime involving moral
turpitude.
  (9) Violation of Section 51530 or conduct specified in Section
1028 of the Government Code, added by Chapter 1418 of the Statutes of
1947.
  (10) Knowing membership by the employee in the Communist Party.
  (11) Alcoholism or other drug abuse which makes the employee unfit
to instruct or associate with children.
  (b) The governing board of a school district may suspend without
pay for a specific period of time on grounds of unprofessional
conduct a permanent certificated employee or, in a school district
with an average daily attendance of less than 250 pupils, a
probationary employee, pursuant to the procedures specified in
Sections 44933, 44934, 44935, 44936, 44937, 44943, and 44944. This
authorization shall not apply to any school district which has
adopted a collective bargaining agreement pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 3543.2 of the Government Code.

44933.  A permanent employee may be dismissed or suspended on
grounds of unprofessional conduct consisting of acts or omissions
other than those specified in Section 44932, but any such charge
shall specify instances of behavior deemed to constitute
unprofessional conduct. This section shall also apply to the
suspension of probationary employees in a school district with an
average daily attendance of less than 250 pupils.

Politics and Money in Education, NoBueno!

The discussion of education in the media has gotten rather absurd. Between the CA verdict yesterday and the ad run today in the USA Today bashing teachers I am flabbergasted that things have come this far. The instigators have made a case in the press that they claim to be teachers versus kids. That is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever come across. Teachers are all about kids! We are for kids, for education, for the benefit of our nation and world's future. It IS what we do, it IS what we ARE.

Offensive much?

Are they serious?! Well, I guess that now they have a set precedent of a court ruling that due process is unconstitutional. Interesting, isn’t it? I guess if we all dropped millions of dollars into a press campaign during a trial we could all have a bit more of a say in it’s outcome. Too bad I’m a teacher, not a millionaire.

Be clear, the war in education is special interests versus educators. I do not use the term "Special Interests" in some generic way, I mean people who are attempting to turn our education system into a wholly new avenue for profit. I mean people like Rick Berman, David Welch, Ben Austin, and so many more. They want to dismantle the current education system in order to create profit centers for themselves, and it is US the educators that see their farcical actions as what they are, a way to get rid of experienced teachers (which by the way is the #1 predictor of student success) and replace them with poorly trained maybe-college grads who only have a shelf life of a few years before the next crop of stepping-stone educators come in to take their spot, never building a community of learning anywhere or a foundation of true support for students and families.

I am not claiming that our system is perfect, it does need some remodeling. Yes there are some in the field that should go elsewhere and we need a system to remove them (there is one, by the way, but it is dependent upon competent administrators).

But this battle that is waging in the press, striking fear into the hearts of parents, and teachers, is not getting us where we need to go. These reformers, are not aiming to help the lives of children, they are trying to line their pockets to the detriment of our children. That includes my children, so I am angry as a parent as a teacher.

Please do not fall into their marketing tactics intended to scare the public into this ploy. But don’t take my word for either, talk to your kids' teachers, talk to other educators you know, see what is really going on in the schools. Please do not sell out our children’s education so that the already-rich can get richer to the detriment of our children’s education and future. Because THAT is exactly what is going on here.

Here is a great blog post for further reading on the current issue.

What do I do?

What do I do?

I love teaching, but what I do changes all the time for variety of reasons, but my title has never changed. What does this mean?

People ask me what I do, and I am a teacher.

Does it really matter what I teach? Or who I teach?

I love kids, teenagers to be specific. They are so definite and so open at the same time. Many of my students see the world in very black and white, but they are open to the discussion and confusion that leads to growth that many adults are not able to accomplish.

And what I teach...well .... It is literature in the sense it is introductory and I love opening their eyes to reading deeper and seeing more in the text. And I'm okay with the fight to get them to just read the darn thing already! I almost find pleasure in that fight, because if I can make it interesting and engaging in the way I approach it, then I typically win.

But I also love technology, and sharing it with other teachers. This means I present at conferences, and share with colleagues close to me whenever I can. I love helping teachers find new ways to teach and engage students. So many teachers just don't know where to start, and my philosophy is that the place to start is where you are at. Take the curriculum you already have, the lessons you have already developed, and see what ways technology integration can give them an edge. It is not about starting over, starting from scratch. So many creative teachers out there, so many amazing lessons, technology can just give it that boost. Like a squeeze of lime on those tacos, or hot sauce...the result is amazing, but you have to be brave to decide to try it before you can experience any results.

I like working with new new teachers in the classroom as well. Teacher candidates coming in with so much to share, and such a huge desire to be great teachers. It is fun to work with them to develop the strategies that are so important yet we all think of as fluff in our methodologies classes. But once they are staring down 34 10th grade students with a poem in hand wanting to discuss poetic techniques, the realization that strategy really is important dawns on them. And that with a good strategy (or 4) in place , they can discuss poetic techniques with 10th graders.

Add to this list being a Department Chair managing communication, policy, and budget for 15-17 teachers. This gave me a managerial perspective, yuck. I was good at it, and enjoyed it, but that was because I worked to help my department and represent them and our students.

And a last addition to this list I was also an Intervention Teacher on Special Assignment tracking student progress, supporting teachers, managing data systems, etc. this allowed me to see impact. The impact of intervention courses on students individually and on groups. The impact of intervention courses on a department schedule and on teachers. And so, soooo much more.

So really, when is say I am a teacher, what exactly does that mean?

Does it mean the same for all of us who are teacher? I think: yes.

Whether you teach phonemic awareness to 4 year olds or pedagogy to adults, teaching is teaching and teachers are teachers. We share knowledge with learners. We connect with our clientele in a way no sales person ever can. We help people (children, teens, adults) learn, grow, and develop into the people they want to be.

We teach. I am a teacher. 

I forgot how fun it is to make these, so I was playing with it and needed a place to keep it. This seems as good a place as any... Here is my twitter page as a tag cloud, made with Tagxedo.

:)

Why do I do what I do?

I don’t know some days to be honest. It’s been rough. It’s a hard road to travel. But you know what? Even on the roughest days, I love them. I may not want to deal with them, I may not break through today, but I love them. I want them to get better. I want them to develop the skills they need to survive and thrive. I love them.

I teach hard kids. I love them.

On days like today, it is very hard to rationalize the level of education, the level of desire to continue to learn and be better, the energy that is needed, the stress level, the pay, the everything. So many hoops to jump through, obstacles to bypass, but I love them. I must. I love them.

I was lurking on a recent #edchat about why teachers leave within 5 years of entering the profession. This seems to be a hot topic lately. I saw it in #edchat, I’ve seen a lot of articles, etc. One article says it comes down to respect, we have to feel respected for what we do. I get that. I’m 10 years in. In #edchat I think the consensus I saw (and please comment below if not accurate) that it comes down to feeling that you are doing something successfully. That may mean helping students, helping a school, working with teachers, success has many faces. Unfortunately you can be successful in one area and frustrated in many others, and that causes an imbalance that leads to questioning things again.

I think I help my students. I think they learn from me. I have data to show it even (hahaha). I feel like they have skills when they leave my classroom that they didn’t have before. Is that enough to keep me here? It’s all I have right now. I love them.

For me, it’s because I love them.

I want to be respected, not sure if I am. On many levels disrespect is rampant, from nefarious negotiation tactics to parents who support their kid calling me horrible names in class. Colleagues respect me for the most part, or at least they are willing to use my work product and let me build curriculum for them. (Hmm, not sure if that is a good example or not.)

It is because I love them. As I tell my own son, the one I read Harry Potter to at night, "You are a hard kid to parent, but you are worth it and I wouldn’t trade you for any other in the world." My kids in my classroom are my kids. I love them. I see them in the community now as adults and parents and even though they made me pull my hair out and it took everything I had to get them to capitalize ‘I’ and not use ‘allot’ as a word, they grow into adults and I am proud. I hope I had something to do with that transformation. I love them.

Feelings and Right

Sometimes it is hard to say and do what is right. Sometimes we get our feelings hurt when we try to do what is right.

I remember the first time my feelings were hurt in my prior position. My friend, my colleague and my mentor was the culprit and it is something that will stick with me, but it was also something that was necessary, even if I didn’t like it.

I was described as too willing to succumb to authority. I have too much respect for the people in power and when they said ‘do this,’ I didn’t question it enough. She was right, but it hurt.

Unfortunately in the world of education there are too many conflicting interests where there really should be only one, the students. The students are why we are here, they are who our energy should be focused on. But we all know there are many other factors that must be considered, there is no way around it. There is funding and money, there are people and egos, there is hierarchy and politics, and these things all must be factored in when making decisions.

I believed that we all had the best interests of students at heart and that if the ‘grownups’ made a decision it was what they believed was best for the students. Naive. So naive I am embarrassed now at how naive I was.

Now, it was my turn to point out that decisions from the ‘grownups’ must not be trusted implicitly. And it hurt feelings. Unfortunately, that is why we have the hierarchy. The checks and balances of many people is needed.

This is not to say that the ‘grownups’ do not have the students’ interests at heart, but that they have to answer to a balance sheet. It takes those of us in the classrooms to stand up and shout when the balance sheet is not working in the favor of the students. We have to know what is going on around us and not just do blindly what we are told to do. There are many factors involved in decisions, and sometimes we have to point them out the decision makers, not because they choose not to see, just because their focus is on administrative tasks, while our focus is on the students. It is our job to stand up for the students when they come into conflict with the balance sheet.

Feelings be damned, what is right it right. I had to learn. It stung, but it was necessary.

RaNdom RamBlinGs

I started this blog with the intention of using it as a way to reflect on my teaching and myself as a teacher, to share insights and epiphanies with the world at large or with no one other than a receptacle of my thought in written form. 

I have been stuck.

I want to be positive and uplifting and reflective for growth, but it just wasn't coming.

So I decided to keep an eye out for subjects I wanted to write about, and I even have one post that I haven't posted yet because it is still on paper from when I wrote it while watching my son swim. 

Even that strategy has been hampered by a rough start. So maybe if I vent, and get it off my chest I can get past the roadblock and get back to it. Here goes...

It has been a rough start of the year for me. My role has changed and I am adjusting. While I came to grips with this change in role, that doesn't mean I was, or am, happy about the change. 

I made an agreement at home to reduce my workload, so I gave up one additional position, my Teacher on Special Assignment position. I gave it up willingly because no matter how much I agree with the vision and the goals of the position, the realities of the position were political roadblocks and not actually creating the help and support for students that I wanted. That was hard for me. I wanted to help students in an institutional way. I wanted to be a part of the creation and launch of a support system that could carry on and really help students. But the grownups got in the way. The politics were always in the way. So, no matter how much the philosophy meant to me, and how hard it was to face the reality that it just wasn't working, I did face it and I walked away from it. This is still hard because the system I was working towards building has completely faltered and the kids are the ones who are and will suffer from that. 

On top of that, one of the roles I really enjoyed was taken from me. This is the one that has caused me much grief and, honestly, heartache. Again, I came to accept this last May, but once the doors opened and the kids flooded in, and the change became real it has been difficult. I loved being the chair of my department. I really liked being involved in the school as a large entity, meeting with the other department chairs and working to find solutions to common problems. However, I am not one to sugar coat my opinions and I have heard that I don't have a very good poker face, so I rubbed the members of my own department the wrong way. They chose to find a new department chair. Ok. I was shocked at the time, and my feelings were hurt of course. People had decided I wasn't doing a good job. I'm not used to that. I went through stages of upset, from eager to see the other person struggle, eager to see the group struggle, to now I really do just want to be a positive part of the team. 

Unfortunately, or fortunately, being out of that circle and able to have the same view as my peers, some other things have come to light. I realize that I was manipulated by my superiors. I realize that I was fed misinformation in order to believe that I was making decisions on my own, but I really wasn't. I feel like a puppet. I also have come to some conclusions as to the beginnings of the movement to replace me. I don't think it was as much a ground swell as I was led to believe. I think it was contrived. Some of the things I was told in order to convince me to make decisions, I now know to be lies or half truths. And while all of this really sucks, and is crushing to my self esteem in thinking I am an independent thinker, what is even worse is that I know I am still being used as a game piece in order to manipulate others. As much as I want to be removed from it all, I was asked early on (and refused) to be the bad news guy a couple of times in order to keep the new person seen as all positive. Also, in order to deflect responsibility the grownups are telling her to get everything from me, instead of providing the information and materials and necessary knowledge to her from the correct spigot of information. I am tired of being played. I am tired of being viewed as the bad guy for decisions that aren't mine. 

I do have to make a conscious effort to 'not care' when I see things that bother me, when decisions are made that I disagree with, or when people are acting contrary to what I think is right. I am hoping that after the 153rd time I see a colleague being disrespectful during training, or an administrator telling different stories to different teachers (lies) because each one has different opinions, or try to reach people in my department to ask questions but they aren't available because they leave at lunch, or have to tell a kid that politics determine teacher schedules instead of student need... maybe after the 153rd time, I won't have to pretend not to care anymore. Maybe I just won't. It is sad to me that the way for me to be happy in my job is to not care about how things work institutionally, but it is just the truth.

My focus is on the students in my classroom and being the best teacher I can be. When school is over, I go home, I play with my kids, I take them to their activities, I help with their homework and after school events. I am really enjoying this as well. In the hustle, hustle, hustle of always being so busy at work, the kids' activities always felt like a chore. Every now and then that frame of mind invades again and I remind myself that this is what I want to do, I am not lying or convincing, I just need to remember. And I take a deep breath, watch my son cannon ball into the water, my daughter dance across the floor, paint something, or sit down and read, and I think:

I like this.