We had a hastily called Shared Decision Making Meeting today to discuss Teacher of the Year nominations, because the results have to be in by September First, um what??? Yeah for some reason the district wants to have each schools nominations in a week from Friday so there is an abridged and rushed selection process. At my school we are going to give people one day and a smidge more to get their picks in. I guess it sucks to be one of the dozen or so new staff members, who are still looking for the teachers lounge.
So there at the top of the three page selection document was a logo for the Jacksonville Pubic Education Fund, which for some inexplicable reason has been allowed to co op the Teacher of the year awards.
I and in all fairness was about five minutes late said, let me throw out a crazy idea, and please feel free to vote it down.
I had the groups attention, so I continued. I said, the Jacksonville Public Education Fund was founded by a man named Gary Chartrand, he is anti-teacher, saying it's good that teachers are now on one year contracts and don't have job protections and is pro charter school. JPEF is not pro public school/ teacher organization, why don't we send them a signal we are not going to put up with it and say we won't participate.
Yeah, i knew it was a long shot, and to be honest not knowing what the meeting was about before I arrived, just thought about it on the fly but I thought it important enough that we spend a few minutes talking about it, and right then and there, the Shared Decision Making Committee Meeting became the Assistant Principal Decision Making Meeting and i was summarily dismissed. I thought to myself, why am I here again and didn't say another word.
Yeah, that was annoying but what is far more annoying is the District has outsourced its teacher of the year awards, to a group that is pro charter school, pro privatization, which pushes Teach for America and whose founder, is an enemy to teachers everywhere. Sorry that's not just annoying, that's heartbreaking.
Now I think teachers should be recognized, why doesn't the district recognize 20 or so a week? Each region could have one representing each level, and electives and ESE too, we certainly have enough great teachers that this is more than possible.
Throwing them a few hundred extra dollars is what the QEA money should have went to fund instead of its doomed to fail merit pay scheme.
for the record I am not against Teacher of the Year awards, I just wish a group that was pro public education and really pro teacher was in charge of it.
So that happened today.
So there at the top of the three page selection document was a logo for the Jacksonville Pubic Education Fund, which for some inexplicable reason has been allowed to co op the Teacher of the year awards.
I and in all fairness was about five minutes late said, let me throw out a crazy idea, and please feel free to vote it down.
I had the groups attention, so I continued. I said, the Jacksonville Public Education Fund was founded by a man named Gary Chartrand, he is anti-teacher, saying it's good that teachers are now on one year contracts and don't have job protections and is pro charter school. JPEF is not pro public school/ teacher organization, why don't we send them a signal we are not going to put up with it and say we won't participate.
Yeah, i knew it was a long shot, and to be honest not knowing what the meeting was about before I arrived, just thought about it on the fly but I thought it important enough that we spend a few minutes talking about it, and right then and there, the Shared Decision Making Committee Meeting became the Assistant Principal Decision Making Meeting and i was summarily dismissed. I thought to myself, why am I here again and didn't say another word.
Yeah, that was annoying but what is far more annoying is the District has outsourced its teacher of the year awards, to a group that is pro charter school, pro privatization, which pushes Teach for America and whose founder, is an enemy to teachers everywhere. Sorry that's not just annoying, that's heartbreaking.
Now I think teachers should be recognized, why doesn't the district recognize 20 or so a week? Each region could have one representing each level, and electives and ESE too, we certainly have enough great teachers that this is more than possible.
Throwing them a few hundred extra dollars is what the QEA money should have went to fund instead of its doomed to fail merit pay scheme.
for the record I am not against Teacher of the Year awards, I just wish a group that was pro public education and really pro teacher was in charge of it.
So that happened today.
Sign me up! The whole process is a joke.
ReplyDeleteWell, that sucks mightily.
ReplyDeleteSee the latest statement from shine regarding why he refuses to pursue litigation against the state. Nowhere in his statement did he give the real reason for his cowardice i.e., "Gary told me not to." Shine is a little bitch who'd rather shrug his shoulders than fight for students. Why he's on the school board at all is beyond me. He might as well run for Congress while working at a charter school like his good buddy Fischer.
ReplyDelete