Recommended Reading

You should consider reading this post From The T.F.A. Trenches if:

1. You are a teacher. It helps when you know that you are not alone and that your frustrations are felt by others.

2. You are thinking of becoming a teacher and you are curious to know exactly where you'll be in the educational pecking order, and what the management of many districts really think about their teachers.

3. You are a parent and are curious to know exactly what teachers are up to on those "staff development days" when teachers work but students stay home.

4. You are a school administrator who has sponsored (or is contemplating the sponsorship of) such a circus sideshow and you would really like to know what many teachers think about the so-called training program that has been foisted upon them.

5. You have participated in that Eternal Debate about whether or not teachers are actually "professionals" and you need to support your argument that they are not.

6. You are a taxpayer and would like to see yet another example of how your money is often wasted by school districts around the country.

When I return to my mid-sized California school district, I'll be forced through several days of bells, whistles, and other gimmicks as we "ramp-up" for the upcoming school year.

Not too long ago, the administrators of the junior high school where I work had about 30 of us classroom teachers playing a game whereby balloons were thrown into the air and we had to keep them from touching the ground. As balloons hit the floor, one of the admin staff would pop them with a pin.

The whole exercise was supposed to be a symbolic representation of our students.
-----------------------------View the latest edition of The Carnival Of Education, guest hosted by Jenny D, over there. See entry guidelines for the next edition, right here.

Main Page/Latest Page