A Shrewdness of Apes

An Okie teacher banished to the Midwest. "Education is not the filling a bucket but the lighting of a fire."-- William Butler Yeats

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Mommy, I'm SCARED.

More than fifty percent of our principals leaving. Five English teachers are leaving, and maybe more, and not all of them are going to be replaced.

I was accosted in the hallway by the English dept. chairperson who had an insane gleam in the eye as she suddenly pounced,"Hey! You're dual certified in English, aren't you?" It was actually more of an accusation than a query.

When I stuttered in the affirmative, she snapped, "How'd you like to teach English?"

Why, since you asked so nicely....

I mumbled something noncommittal, and she stalked off, muttering to herself. I was left standing rooted to the spot, mouth agape. I believe she was just kidding. I think.

Ohmigawd. The year can't end soon enough.

I feel for her-- I do. Someone higher up the food chain needs to realize that they are making us crazy down here with the vibes that are being sent out. We are howling like animals that sense an earthquake coming.

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4 Comments:

At 5/22/08, 10:30 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I feel your pain. We are probably losing 75% of the four principal on our campus.

I laughed out loud when I read your reaction to the English dept. head. I found out this year that I was on the short list to teach a couple sections of science, for which I am completely certified and which I haven't taught since my first year of teaching (over 10 years ago).

We're howling, too...

 
At 5/23/08, 6:02 PM, Blogger 100 Farmers said...

Good Luck,
SPED chair emailed me and asked if I wanted to teach a couple of inclusion classes next year if it was the right co-teacher. What exactly does that mean?

 
At 5/24/08, 10:22 PM, Blogger "Ms. Cornelius" said...

It means, she acknowledges that many of her co-teachers are lazy asses and that's why they're desperate, so she promises to give you the one who actually doesn;t just sit there and read email and pick fights with the emotionally disturbed students all period.

Oh, I'm sorry-- did that sound like the voice of bitter experience?

 
At 5/26/08, 11:10 AM, Blogger Cathy said...

Oh yeah, I keep my certification limited - I know better than to flesh out the certification - they will move you in a skinny minute if they have to.

In so many ways our educational system is in such a mess.

 

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