School In Rhode Island Fires All Staff

[bradym]

That much is true.

But then again, a person accepts a job or rejects it before they receive their first pay-check. You agree to the pay before you are hired. If you think you aren't being paid enough, quit or don't take the job in the first place.

It's like wiivsps3 said: you have to love teaching to do it. You know you're going into a field that doesn't pay anywhere near the same as other professions with the same amount of years spent getting a degree. You know you're applying for a job in a district that's poor when you apply. You have to care about the students primarily if you choose that path for yourself. So no, I think if a teacher is complaining about not getting paid enough to do their job, then they shouldn't be teaching. A teacher can't go around whining about "I'm not paid enough to care."

"

That's easy for you to say. What most teachers didn't know before they went into the profession was that the deck was going to be stacked against them. Most teachers were probably really idealistic when they entered the field. Because like you said, they must have known the pay was medicore at best. But what slowly dawned on them was that there was way less than 48% support for what they do. Pop culture entertainment makes a killing off of bashing teachers and other authority figures. Teachers are made to look like idiots in the entertainment media, and the only teachers that make the news are the pedophiles. American culture is quickly devolving to a welfare state where the vast majority of people expect the government to solve all their problems, pay for all their ills, and provide them with jobs and job security. Can you even imagine trying to teach to a group of teenagers who are fully expecting a welfare check and food stamps when they can finally get old enough to quit school, because school is "stupid and boring"? When THE ONLY thing on their minds is the next lay, or the next high? Sure their lives are miserable. Sure their parents are poor and working two jobs. Sure their school district is poor and property values have fallen through the floor. So we fix that by firing the very people who originally signed on, knowing they were going to be poorly paid, believing they had a mission in life, and believing that all kids can learn--that all kids want to learn? And then reality set in (and so do the bills). So you're probably right. They might have all been burnt out, callous, selfish, and out of energy. But I'll bet my bottom dollare they didn't start out that way. And you can fill that school with a new staff of young, idealistic teachers if you want. But I think the district just cut its own throat by firing the closest thing they had to a solution.

[bradym]

Just saw this. If we're going to continue the discussion we should keep up with the news on this story.
http://tinyurl.com/yfvzvwt
Check it out.

[bradym]

Just in case anyone is still interested in this thread--not likely because it requires a lot more thought than "how many times a day do you...?"--I'm posting another article about the mass firing of teachers at that Rhode Island school. Here's the link. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100314/...e_school_fired, but I'll put some of the quotes here as well.

When Delgado's parents could not take her to visit Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., her French teacher at Central Falls High School, Hope Evanoff, took her by train and helped her seek financial aid. Delgado, among the minority of students who graduate on time from troubled Central Falls, is now a sophomore at Lesley. Evanoff is among 93 high school instructors and staff who will be fired after the end of the school year in a desperate move to improve student performance at the school.

Gee, Justin and xav0989, apparantly there are teachers there who are willing to spend more time with the students. Certainly Ms. Evanoff is expecting a kickback from this student once she graduates from college?

Here's another one: More children live in poverty in Central Falls, a cramped city just one mile square, than anywhere else in Rhode Island. Just under half of residents in the city of nearly 19,000 people identify themselves as Hispanic, and the majority do not speak English at home.

But don't take my word for it. Read the article yourself, unless of course you're too busy reading the highly enlightening thread about how many times people go to the potty in a day. Ah yes, education at its finest.

[bradym]

Just another quick note. (not like anyone is still following this, but it feels good to get it off my chest) I teach 6th graders. In the past week, I've had one girl tell me that both her parents are in jail, one boy tell me his parents are divorcing, and one boy tell me that they might be getting kicked out of their house on the 1st. In my homeroom alone, I have one boy who lives with his aunt because his mother was killed in a car accident. Also in that household are four other children from four different fathers (same mother.) There is another boy who lives with his aunt because his mother is in jail, and he has never met his father. And these are merely the cases that I know of. Oh, yes, today a mother shared with me that her father, (the grandfather of one of my male students) hung himself in the house down the street from where they live. Now the boy doesn't want to do homework anymore because he used to always do his homework with his grandfather.

I don't suppose anyone thinks that these siituations might affect their ability to learn in my classroom? And, of course, any lack of learning is merely a reflection of poor teaching, right?

[fractalfeline]

I guess you're right. I mean, I can't be bothered to post regularly anymore in these forums now that the credits system is down. If I cared about the community and not about the credits, I would post even if the credits system is down. But I don't really... until the credits are back up, why put extra effort and time into formulating an thoughtful, discussion-stimulating response?

[bradym]

So today one of my 6th grade girls is sitting in my homeroom while I'm trying to explain to the class about how the buddy pictures work, and how you have pre-pay for them, and how everyone in the picture has to pay 10.00, and the whole time she's sitting there holding back tears. And I'm thinking, "ok, I got to get to her, but I don't want to make a spectacle and embarrass her. Maybe it's just boy drama." So I turn to enter the attendance in the computer, thinking that as soon as I get that done, I'll pull her out in the hallway and see what I can do. When I turn to the computer, she gets up and comes over to me and tries to talk, but she can't because she's all choked up. So I get her outside, and she completely falls apart. Tears everywhere! "The kids are making fun of me cause I'm dating the boy that I'm living with, cause my mom's in jail and we went on a field trip and everyone else bought something and I didn't have any money but someone bought something for me and then everyone wanted some of it, it was a bag of cookies and my mom's in jail and can I go see Mr. D (the counselor) and my mom's in jail and I JUST CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE!" So I give her a big hug, tell her it's all going to be all right, and then write her a pass to guidance, cuz I got 26 other kids behind me in the room wondering what in the world is going on.

But when she does poorly on her standardized test, it'll be the teachers' faults for not spending enough time with her and providing her with the appropriate educational opportunities, right?