With all this talk about ending seniority rights, no one is examining the power that principals have. When Educators4Excellence published their manifesto a few weeks ago, with such calls for laying off teachers who recieved a U rating within five years, found guilty in a 3020-a hearing, charges were found to be substantiated by OSI and CSI, or even in the ATR system, it shows how abuses will be rampant. In fact more so than they already are.
What is to keep a principal from bringing a teacher up on professional misconduct charges? It is very easy for a principal to give a teacher a U rating, in fact, a U rating can't be grieved. And Chaz the blogger has shown us how a CSI or OSI investigation really works.
So now the New York State Senate has passed its version of repealing the seniority law and it will have quite a draconian effect. But I wondered to myself one evening while rubbing my chin, what if this law had been in affect since 2006. How would this have affected me?
Venegful, retaliatory administrators? What a shock! Well, it seems that I have come across some in my career. I would like to share, $#*! I have been written up for, or almost written up for.
In June 2007 I witnessed two intruders at the back door of my building. I gave chase because one of the inturders resembled a student. I notified school safety and my principal. Instead of thanking me for doing the right thing, my principal was furious I left the school (during my prep) and called in the LIS (local instructional superintendent) and wanted to see if she could jam me.
At this point I requested to speak to the LIS alone and spilled my guts about my principal. The next day I received a letter in my file for something I said 6 months earlier. Also, the next to last day of school I dismissed my extended day class a minute earlier. My principal had a meeting with me and my CL on the last day of school. Sometime during the first week of July I got a registered letter in the mail with a disciplinary letter for me to sign. The letter promptly was moved to the cat litter.
I received a letter in my file for dropping the $#*! word on the Friday before Labor Day in August 2007. No kids were in the school. It was a bunch of teachers just sitting around talking. This letter was put in my file in October of that year.
The following happened when I was reporting once a week to OSI the corporal punishment inflicted by Numb Nuts.
In the fall of 2008, I got written up for reporting to OSI corporal punishment by Numb Nuts. The new principal, John Deacon interpreted Chancellor's Regulation A-420 as that corporal punishment must be reported to her first.
Also in the fall of 2008 I got written up for reporting to ACS a 5 year old K student that was masturbating in class while shouting, "bite it, bite it!"
I got written up for yelling at a student in the cafeteria, even in which the students said I didn't yell, but was talking loud because of the noise level.
I got written up for corporal punishment for asking a 5th grade student for a french fry. Yes, a french fry. It was deemed corporal punishment. I was joking with the student, I had known him since he was in K, and am very tight with the family. Numb Nuts told the student they were out to get me and coached him how to write his statement. This was revealed after Numb Nuts left the school. In fact, the mother found out and was outraged that she was never informed of this, that her son was being used as a pawn.
I was brought up on professional misconduct charges of having a coffee cup in my hand. Numb Nuts inquired to if I remembered carrying a hot cup of coffee in my hand two weeks earlier. I told him no. My CL asked how did he know what was in the coffee cup. Did not got written up for that one.
And again, in March of 2010 I got a letter in my file for continuing to report corporal punishment inflicted by Numb Nuts under the same pretenses as I mentioned above.
Yeah, I see this new law never being abused. The $#*! will be hitting the fan like never before.
They tried to write me up when a girl whom I had never met in a class I was subbing stole a peanut butter cookie from my personal belongings and got an allergic reaction. (This when she knew she was allergic to peanuts ) . . .
ReplyDeleteThey DID write me up for keeping my door open because the heater was too high and we were suffocating in the heat and stench . . .
They DID write me up for not wanting to speak with a mother about her misbehaving son in the presence of a second offspring, who had no business with me and no business being there in the first place . . .
They DID write me up for showing instructional parts of a feature film that had some bad language in it -- even though I had previously gotten written permission from the AP to show the film . . .
They DID write me up for supposedly not doing work the last period before a Xmas break -- even though I showed the work to the AP during that class and discussed with him the purpose of the lesson. He had even complimented me for the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, and by the way: I don't remember giving a "free" period in the past 15 years . . .
So, YES, vengeful, retaliatory administrators — expecially to known union activists.
The principal is wrong in writing up a teacher for following chancellors regulations, in fact teachers many times are written up for failing to follow regulations. If I were in the situation detailed in this accounting I would have informed the principal and chapter leader and covered my actions. Still the fact that many of the principals especially from the leadership academy have little knowledge of or interest in complying with rules and regulations. Hang tough.
ReplyDeleteFormet chapter Leader
My BX principal is also a vengeful, spiteful, horrible person. I have countless letters in my file about attendance, all under 10 days. Some of those days were taken under the direction of a doctor after I fell down the stairs of OUR SCHOOL and injured me back. You know, marble stairs with no treads on them. Hey wait...isn't she responsible for the safety of her staff and students? When I asked for an approval of "in the line of duty" injury, so the days wouldn't be taken from me, she denied it and then u-rated me because I went over by 1 day, while the days were medically-treated.
ReplyDeleteThis is only ONE story about her. I could write volumes. Our whole school is micro-managed, she plays favorites, is severly underweight, drinks coffee constantly, and smokes 2 packs a day. Her voice is so scratchy I have to stifle laughter every morning during the pledge.
Thank you for posting your blog. It is informative, funny, and, best of all, I can identify. I am not a veteran teacher, I have a total of 7 years in the system, I resigned and came back stupid me) It appalls me to see how verteran teachers are treated at my school, It is a crime of discrimination.
PS---I have a blog, too, about teaching in the Bronx, here on Blogspot. "America's Future: The Inside Story" I need to update it but I'd love it if you checked it out. Thanks!!
ReplyDelete