tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post5188149651059582448..comments2024-03-27T08:53:29.267-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: The Superteacher ShufflePeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-14757603237780023272015-07-04T14:47:07.533-04:002015-07-04T14:47:07.533-04:00Once you shuffle the super teachers they seem to l...Once you shuffle the super teachers they seem to lose their capes. My school had several of these drop in wonders, they fared no better than their predecessors. Context is important, so is stability. I have been at the same school for 18 years. I have a rapport with the parents and the community. I am able to work with kids and parents because I know them well and the parents trust me. As the musicians say, "you gotta pay your dues" especially in poorer communities.Old Teacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05906965809756360801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-18167590009968275672015-07-03T18:32:56.346-04:002015-07-03T18:32:56.346-04:00I remember my mentor teacher during my first year ...I remember my mentor teacher during my first year teaching at an NYC school. She had one year of experience teaching which, granted, was one more year than I had. She told me in November I'd made a big mistake not to start calling parents about poor student behavior back in September. She left the following year to go to Medical School; two of my other colleagues that year left after 2 or 3 years and are now in Law School and Business School.<br />There were very few teachers in the school with more than three years experience due to the high turnover (a lot of TFA and a lot of burnout), so I can see that the administration didn't have a lot of options. The solution was group professional development coaching on a weekly basis, following whatever teaching theory was current at the central office that year, or week.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-85481595168002703442015-07-03T11:06:21.900-04:002015-07-03T11:06:21.900-04:00Eeek. Make that: "...while in stunned disbeli...Eeek. Make that: "...while in stunned disbelief I watch my stack of rejection notices grow." <br /><br />Once an English teacher...Lee Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12156538814085987505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-77973161854534828972015-07-03T11:03:34.132-04:002015-07-03T11:03:34.132-04:00Though I was a great teacher, I was less skilled a...Though I was a great teacher, I was less skilled at picking a husband. In 2004, in the midst of a horrible divorce, I left a wonderful school where I had taught for 12 years because I was afraid my husband's vitriol and violence would affect my students and colleagues. I made a terrible decision because I felt terrified.<br /><br />It took me years to make my way back to teaching. By 2012, settled in a great school, my now ex-husband suddenly and drastically changed our custody arrangement, so I left another excellent school to maintain contact with our son. Again, a terrible decision because I was afraid I would lose touch with my son. (My ex has way more money than I and a ruthless criminal--seriously--for a lawyer, so court is an exercise in futility.)<br /><br />Three years later, with certification in three subjects, I have not found another full time teaching job. I'm too expensive and, I suspect, at 56, considered too old. That I'm within shooting distance of my master's, and schools continue to claim they want experienced teachers, means little.<br /><br />I was a proud and effective third generation teacher. Today, I am spending the last of my financial reserves while I watch my stack of rejection notices grow in stunned disbelief.Lee Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12156538814085987505noreply@blogger.com