Saturday, September 14, 2013
Is this happening at any other school or did this just happen at mine?
Last week the superintendent visited my school and criticized every teacher she came across. She had nothing positive to say about any of us. In fact, she went out of her way to be critical. One of us was even criticized for taking our students to the bathroom. I don't understand it. Is this happening at any other school or did this just happen at mine? I really need to know.
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It also happened at Hannigan.
I've heard that it has happened at quite a few of the schools.
She was asking for examples of rigor on the 1st day of school. Hahahaha the kids were kind of hoping to get their schedules and lockers first. We would also like to thank the city of New Bedford for our giant classes this year. I'm confident the recipe for a 40% increase in MCAS scores is larger classes. Also, thank you for the extra class periods we are now able to teach too. The delayed dismissal has been another bonus that deserves applause as well. All in all, I believe the increased number of hours we each teach in a week, the decreased amount of prep time we receive, the increased class sizes, and lack of supplies will definitely lead to our 40% decrease in MCAS failures. The students really hate their giant classes. "How do you know they hate their giant classes?" Answer in robotic voice: "Because they told me, We hate our giant classes!" "Were the giant classes rigorous?" Answer in robotic voice: "Yes, they were rigorous." "How do you know the giant classes were rigorous?" Answer in robotic voice: "Because none of my students were able to do the work and they now all hate school." "How do you know they hate school?" Answer in robotic voice: "Because they told me, I don't understand this, I hate school?"
Isn't that harrassment?
I work in an area district that has "taken in" a few New Bedford teachers who lost their positions in the recent budget mess. Almost universally they express how more supportive the administration is in their new district.
It seems that the people in charge over their are hellbent on destroying the public school system.
I'm sure that she was a perfect teacher centuries ago. I'm sure she never, ever made a mistake. I guess that is why she is so mean spirited towards the people who give their lives to the children. It must be nice to be so perfect in everyway!
Neighboring districts have "taken in" NB teachers who lost positions---I would like them to take a few of our administrators that live in their towns!
Where did this happen??
it happened at my school also and I heard at mostly all of the others too
she didn't have anything nice to say about the Middle School either I feel like im a horrible worker :(
I fled teaching in NB - why? I loved my principal, my students (most of them:), my team of teachers, and the job BUT the hostile attitude toward teachers would make any talented young teacher LEAVE! Stay strong NBEA- you are the best!
Lou- is this true about the bathroom thing? I've heard this from numerous people. I have 31 students. It takes 10 minutes to take the class to the bathroom and get it over with. They would be asking all day long otherwise and it would be a revolving door. Can she dictate this? Why should I be in fear that she's going to "catch us" at the bathroom?!! Seriously people - this is ridiculous.
That is why I am a nervous wreck.....
I guess she would rather have the kids mess their pants! Unbelievable !
This breaks my heart...
A kid in my class had an accident on Friday....we have been told that grades 3-5 should no longer take bathroom breaks. Our lunch time is 12:10....that would be their first opportunity to use the restroom without asking during rigorous instruction time. I guess the poor kid did not want to ask because she knows the policy.
I'm a parent first and a teacher second. So I always think - how would I feel if my child's teacher did this? If I wouldn't want it for my children- I don't want it for my students.
STOP the madness!!!!
Complaining on a blog isn't going to fix the mess in the NBPS. WE NEED TO HIT THE STREETS! 800 teachers in front of City Hall and PRAB will put the power brokers on notice that the madness must stop! We must turn our backs to central administrators during the upcoming rigor meetings. LET'S TAKE BACK OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM!
LEts get the ball rolling then
This is crazy! We can't take 3 years of this . I agree, we need to put a stop to this before it's get any worse!!!!!!
I'm ready to march to City Hall and PRAB! Are you?
It is time! If not now, then when? Let's not wait for teachers to leave because of this woman and her backers for Ed. Reform. I'm in. We need to organize and wake up those who think we will continue to work under these conditions.
Talk is cheap. How many of us would picket city hall or school committee meetings? Many of us didn't even go to the NBEA rally at the end of June. Unless we are willing to step out of our comfort zone Pia the steamroller will destroy what's left of us.
I have read the blogs. Cannot believe this is going on in NB. The good teachers will leave eventually. This is inner city....The teachers are doing more with less....God Bless you all!!!!
I agree, "Talk is cheap". Where and when can we organize, and see just what NBPS educators are made of? There have been similar movements in NY and VI that I know of.If we do not voice our opinions, our public education system and our profession, as we know, it will be a thing of the past.
I have only been teaching in the NBPS system for approximately 7 years now, so I still consider myself a fairly new/young teacher. I am a hard worker, care about my students and consider myself a great teacher. With all of this madness going on, I am already looking for another position for the following school year. I work long and hard hours, but I am NOT married to the job! Nor should we be. I am not an over confident person, but whoever gets me as an educator will be lucky and the city of New Bedford will continue to lose dedicated, caring, and hard working educators. I feel bad for the students!
I think that idea of boycotting the rigor meetings is essential. DON"T ATTEND! Take a stand for ALL the students and staff!!
Any teacher that denies a child his "RIGHT" to go to the bathroom is looking at a lawsuit from the parents.if the NAACP finds out your doing this or the office of CIVIL RIGHTS...you will be in trouble..as well as the administration who gave this directive....
Superintendent
I do not know you as you do not no me. While each of us has heard unpleasant things about one another, to judge without all the facts is unprofessional and wrong. Just as I am willing to hear your goals and vision for the district, please hear me also. I was unfairly let go from a district I truly care about despite its challenges, taught in a position I found to be rewarding, enriching, and yet, challenging. I was so dedicated to my job, I took it home with every night to reflect on how I could improve my practices as teaching and learning are so dynamic. I was not given credit for the work I had done clearly articulated in everything I did on an academic level. I was the teacher who was visited first, when a Newcomer arrived with little or no English proficiency. I nurtured these students, I addressed the needs of students with interruptions in their formal education, embraced a culturally responsive environment, built basic foundational skills, wrote course descriptions and curriculum, bought all my own materials, taught to the multiple intelligence, backed up everything I did with research and kept 75 portfolios, addressed the social and emotional wellness of all my students as I have documentation of this avocation. I have never, and would never, be anything other than a professional, role model, and a teacher, to my students. I just happen to have such excitement and creativity that accompanied me each day. To say I have not made mistakes would be a falsehood. I am willing to take accountability for my actions and use them as a tool to grow. I miss my district, I miss my school, and miss my students tremendously. I have made pleas to my Headmaster asking if he would consider a probationary period. I told him I would be willing to teach in the dungeon, all to no avail. Superintendent, the actions of your former Asst. Superintendent for Diversity and Equity almost destroyed my life. It was so brutal and inhumane. I did not even see it coming. After that incident, I did not like the person I had become. On this roller coaster, I felt angry, sad, desperate, emotional, and without value. I had never encountered anything of this magnitude before, nor did I have the correct skill set to resolve it on my own. Others were affected, including the infrastructure of our department. It had spiraled out of control. There have been times that administrators stepped in, but in this case, much of what is essential to ESL is misunderstood and misrepresented. I miss many of my colleagues, as we were doing great work (we still had unresolved issues, of course, and in truth, they were manipulated by Danielle Carrigo).
I want you to know that I watched your opening presentation via internet and admired your courage as you stood before an audience of leery educators, as I listened to your words. Now, please listen to mine: Superintendent, I did not have a fair chance. What happened to me should never have occurred. I was not equipped to properly stand up for myself. For my mistakes,I will strive for closure. Anyone who really knows me, knows that what I say is the truth. I never intentionally hurt anyone. I am honest enough to own up to my mistakes. I prefer to resolve problems in a peaceful and calm manner. I always wore a smile which I brought to work and shared what I had with my colleagues. I'm kind and thoughtful. I love to teach, was heartbroken when I lost my job. I was, and still am, a great teacher. I care about our community, and I give from the heart. I am transparent. I have learned from my mistakes. I now see this as an opportunity to grow and make change. As a teacher, I see myself as a work-in-progress. I am as dynamic as my students. I am far from perfect, but I know I deserve a second chance with a new superintendent, new ideas, and a new perspective! I am willing to take on the hard work required from our district. This is very much worthwhile and I'm up for the challenge. This district is where my heart is. I make no apologies for the way I feel.
They are not being denied the right to go to the bathroom. There is just no group bathroom break allowed because Pia frowns upon it. If they ask to go, we can't say no. The problem then becomes a staggered interruption of learning and teaching for these requests. Some children will have accidents because they don't want to ask under this type of regime.
So I guess Pia doesn't use the bathroom herself unless it is scheduled?
Dear educators,
A similar incident happened to me when a student ran into the bathroom as I was washing my hands. The door was open and she flew in claiming it was an emergency. These are things we cannot control. The district of New Bedford does not realize how lucky it is to have each and every one of you! We certainly don't do it for the money. It is our chosen profession! Sometimes, things just don't make sense, especially where the students are concerned. We are damned if we do, we are damned if we don't! Use your best judgement. Document everything, and stand united. Think of Pangea: The Supercontinent! You are in my thoughts!
Lou,
Thank you for creating this blog and giving educators a voice. Want a logical solution? Ask the teachers. Not only do we know how to stretch a buck, we know what our students need best! We always make it work. That is part of the problem!
Whatever you do, do not apply to Fall River for a position. They will use you and abuse you. You are not hired until you are hired. They don't tell you that. You discover this when you receive your check, and it is sub pay. You have no recourse, due to an implied hire. Yet, you have your classroom up and running. Their practice is to get something for nothing! Screw the students!
We are worth so much more! It is time to put our money, or lack of, on the table, and rise up against educational inequalities, even if it means bringing in the Commissioner of Education and members of Congress!
Advise the Advisor: Melody Barnes and Education
In the third edition of the Advise the Advisor program, Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council and one of President Obama’s senior advisors on education policy, is asking for feedback from parents, teachers and students on what’s working in communities and what needs to change.
Providing our nation’s students with a world-class education is a shared responsibility. It’s going to take all of us – educators, parents, students, philanthropists, state and local leaders, and the federal government – working together to prepare today’s students for the jobs of the 21st century.
You can add your voice to the conversation by answering one or all of the following questions at WhiteHouse.gov/Advise:
Parents: Responsibility for our children’s education and future begins in our homes and communities. What are some of the most effective ways you're taking responsibility at a personal and local level for your child’s education?
Teachers: President Obama has set a goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. How are you preparing your students for college and career? What’s working and what challenges do you face?
Students: In order to compete for the jobs of the 21st century, America’s students must be prepared with a strong background in reading, math and science along with the critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity needed to succeed in tomorrow’s workforce. How has your education prepared you for a career in the 21st century? What has worked and what challenges do you face?
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Remember all the hype and hoopla once Mike Longo announced his retirement around selecting a outsider as his successor? Change can only come from the outside they said. Fresh ideas were needed they said. The good old boy network needed to go they said. Where are all those yahoo's now? That push for change has led to where we are today. Our system was flawed then,no doubt. At least with the "good old boys" everyone knew who the players were and they all were under a constant microscope. The devil you know is always better than the devil you dont know.Now please tell me where the supposed transparency is now? There is no one left with any type of institutional knowledge of our system that can spot mistakes and missteps. Now when we find the problems it's way too late to correct them. We rely on outsiders like Haskell to cut everything and anything and insist that IPass was much better than our Stone Age systems. Ask the high school how that worked out.
. We were never under consideration for state takeover. We were consistently at the top of all gateway cities. Brockton and Fall River wanted to be us. Now we want to be them. We moved heaven and earth to make accreditation in the past. How's that looking now?
Families are leaving New Bedford if their kids don't get into the charter school. Our high school which was a beacon of pride for so many years has deteriorated as much physically as it has morale wise.
Ask any custodian or maintainence man or plant engineer if they feel backed up by their superiors. They'll tell tell you no. Teachers feel the same way. How they can use 20+ year old instructional material and feel confident they are providing their students with the best education they deserve.
How can any administrator with a conscious be ok with placing a teacher in a class that he or she has no experience with? That happens in New Bedford.
Does anyone want to know why New Bedford Voke is kicking our rear ends? It's because they adapted while we were stagnant. They curriculum is relevant while ours is useful for only half of our students. Most importantly they value and treasure any alumnus willing to teach there. The teachers pride in their school is evident. It's valued by the administration. They have waiting lists and we have people running away.
In closing I hope Pia Durkin is the leader we need to at least get us back to where we were not that long ago. Its a huge challenge that is going to require a investment to work together on all sides. She can't do it by herself . She will need to build bridges but by the previous comments posted it looks like she needs to get better at that already.
Look at her track record! She is a crazed dictator! That is not how you bring about change. Anybody knows that!
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