From a reader:
Dear Primary Elementary Student,
I want to offer my deepest apologies for what you are experiencing this year. I want you to know that you are entitled to a great education. I have strived in my all my years to provide each student with that education, but I can't give it to you. I must explain that the curriculum that is appropriate for your age and developmental level is no longer being used. As I try to teach you the basics, I can not take the time with you and show you the way because the district says we are behind on the curriculum guide. I HAVE to combine these lessons so that we stay on the mandated lessons, not the lessons that are best for you or your classmates.
I know that your misbehavior means that you are frustrated, and I truly know what I should do. However, the district mandate says that I have to fill out these papers and follow the proper protocol before you can get the right help for extra food, glasses, hearing aids, counseling, or any other services you may require. The timeline on this protocol can be from 6 months to 3 years. Please know that I spoke on your behalf, I wrote up document after document, but it was not enough to get you the help you needed because the people at the table didn't believe me.
I am so sorry that I came back and demanded more than you could possibly give me. I am sorry I made you cry because you didn't understand. I will tell you the truth, I didn't understand many of those lessons myself because I wasn't trained correctly or supported by district staff in the proper ways to help you understand the logic of the lessons. They were too concerned about getting home on time and having too much work to do, so I had to do the best I could. If I had enough time to properly analyze your work, I would have seen the error pattern you were making and I could have corrected it, instead I had to rely on a computer program that goes down twice a week when you try to work on it. I know that the computer did not teach you the same strategies as I did and it was confusing. Please forgive me for not being able to fix all those computer glitches that wasted your time and effort and made you repeat your work.
Please know that even when I was angry and my voice was rough, I still loved you. I still wanted the most for you. I tried with every breadth of my soul to fix it everyday until I was ultimately defeated. Please know that it took putting me in the hospital, sacrificing time with my own family, or even losing the job I loved so much just to protect you from all of this. In the end, we both lost.
Sincerely,
Your Loving Teacher
Dear Primary Elementary Student,
I want to offer my deepest apologies for what you are experiencing this year. I want you to know that you are entitled to a great education. I have strived in my all my years to provide each student with that education, but I can't give it to you. I must explain that the curriculum that is appropriate for your age and developmental level is no longer being used. As I try to teach you the basics, I can not take the time with you and show you the way because the district says we are behind on the curriculum guide. I HAVE to combine these lessons so that we stay on the mandated lessons, not the lessons that are best for you or your classmates.
I know that your misbehavior means that you are frustrated, and I truly know what I should do. However, the district mandate says that I have to fill out these papers and follow the proper protocol before you can get the right help for extra food, glasses, hearing aids, counseling, or any other services you may require. The timeline on this protocol can be from 6 months to 3 years. Please know that I spoke on your behalf, I wrote up document after document, but it was not enough to get you the help you needed because the people at the table didn't believe me.
I am so sorry that I came back and demanded more than you could possibly give me. I am sorry I made you cry because you didn't understand. I will tell you the truth, I didn't understand many of those lessons myself because I wasn't trained correctly or supported by district staff in the proper ways to help you understand the logic of the lessons. They were too concerned about getting home on time and having too much work to do, so I had to do the best I could. If I had enough time to properly analyze your work, I would have seen the error pattern you were making and I could have corrected it, instead I had to rely on a computer program that goes down twice a week when you try to work on it. I know that the computer did not teach you the same strategies as I did and it was confusing. Please forgive me for not being able to fix all those computer glitches that wasted your time and effort and made you repeat your work.
Please know that even when I was angry and my voice was rough, I still loved you. I still wanted the most for you. I tried with every breadth of my soul to fix it everyday until I was ultimately defeated. Please know that it took putting me in the hospital, sacrificing time with my own family, or even losing the job I loved so much just to protect you from all of this. In the end, we both lost.
Sincerely,
Your Loving Teacher
This needs (MUST) be printed in the Times Union.
ReplyDeleteWe need to all stop teaching what we feel is inappropriate, and teach what is appropriate in the manner that is age-appropriate.
ReplyDeleteDo what is right for our students!
Just what in hell are we afraid of anyway?
ReplyDeleteThe same person the principals are afraid of.
ReplyDeleteWHERE ARE THE PARENTS OF DUVAL COUNTY AND WHY ARE THEY ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN TO THEIR CHILDREN? Is there no one out there who has the manhood or the womanhood to stand up and speak out against the atrocities that are happening daily in classrooms all over this county. Parents you were never afraid to complain about individual teachers. You should be shouting at this district and the people who are running it !!! They are either too "bought and paid for" by special interests or too stupid to know how much damage they are doing to not just the foundation of the school system but to the "infrastructure" of every CHILD who attends our schools. Yes, Superintendent Vitti, School Board, and worse of all all those ADMINISTRATORS who value their very large salaries so much that they dare not tell the " Emperor" that his "NEW CLOTHES" are destroying a generation of learners who will eventually stop trying to succeed because their will and hearts are broken.
ReplyDeleteSo true!!! �� I miss my kids and being in the classroom. The long hours... I mean more than 80 a week was too much. Why can't we just teach our kids and not having us do all the extra stuff that has nothing to do with teaching. That's is someone else job not mine. I want to teach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo true!!! �� The long hours... I mean more than 80 a week is too much. Why can't we just teach our kids without having to do all the extra stuff that has nothing to do with teaching. I don't want to do the many other job titles we had to do that takes time away from educating our kids. They need to hire someone else for these extra jobs. Give teachers the time they need to do their lesson planning not steal our time with other things. I want to teach my kids!!
ReplyDelete