Ruben decided to call his opus, "Occam’s Razor And My Tenure." Between gulps of our pancakes we called it other things, but we all agreed that Ruben came across as a whiny botard. Let's have a look.
Ruben started off whining right away; It always seemed strange to me that one could be granted tenure after only three years of teaching.
Oh boo-hoo. It seems strange to me that you and your minions became teachers after only 5 weeks and 50 hours of training. In fact Ruben, did you know that NYPD police officers are off probation after only 18 months? And these people carry guns, can make arrests, carry tasers. Think about it.
....most teachers are still in the process of learning and establishing themselves as professionals in the midst of their third year. So, to give someone tenure before this third year has even finished always seemed odd.
But don't you find it sad that in your fifth year of teaching you have yet to learn and establish yourself as a professional? Besides you have fact incorrect. You get tenure after 3 years and 1 day. But you are way past that 3 years and one day, actually you are at 3 years and 366 (instructional) days. A good friend of mine that is not a rat like you received tenure after three years. What is wrong with this picture?
Nonetheless, in a system that does little to recognize performance otherwise, tenure represented a rare milestone of merit, and I wanted it when I was eligible.
Recognize performance? Do elaborate? You want validation? Attention? Are you making up for something that you did not receive as a child? But of course, you wanted it when you were eligible? So you have a sense of entitlement?
I was disappointed then when my principal informed me last year that my probation would be extended.
How come you never shared this with the 6 people who read your blog as serious education reporting? Or the people who read and then mock your writings at Gotham Schools? But didn't you take a hint then?
I accepted this, and when I later heard that, per our superintendent’s directions, tenure was especially difficult to earn for teachers who were new to a school.
This seems what I once told an old girlfriend at the White Plains Diner, "It's not you, it's me." And just like you, the old girlfriend didn't get the hint. But, and this is a big but, what truly happened to you at PS 33? You claim you were excessed. I think you lie.
...at a panel on value-added data run by Educators 4 Excellence in November, Sandra Tacina, Director of Talent Analytics for the DOE, informed the audience that in the previous year, teachers who scored lower than 50 percent on their Teacher Data Reports were red-flagged in tenure decisions. I wonder if she realized that this applied to at least one member of the audience.
Less than 50? Notice how you were screwed? Uncle Joel and Uncle Mike swore up and down that TDR's would never be used in tenure based decisions. But like the little mindless whore and shill that you are, you advocated just this in October. Oh, and I am sure that Ms Tacina knew about you, and the others like Little Evan and Princess Sydney who failed to meet their TDR.
I could sense from the tone of observations and informal conversations with my administrators that my confidence was misplaced.
The skids were being greased. Did you seek out advice from your chapter chair, or have you ruined that relationship? Did you start seeing help from the UFT on how to better present yourself and your portfolio so you can receive tenure? I do recall hearing how the UFT was offering such workshops. However, it would have been to fraught with irony for you to seek help from the very union you are seeking to circumvent.
In addition to student growth data, I submitted evidence of collaboration with my co-workers, parent communication, artifacts from my work on the school’s data inquiry team, and print-outs of the six DonorsChoose projects I’d had funded in the past year.
Which co-workers? You little friends, or the veteran teachers that you should have sought out from day 1?
I was frustrated then when my principal and assistant principal informed me about a month later that once again I would have my probation extended. However, I wasn’t surprised.
You shouldn't be surprised. You are a botard through and through. But, have you ever given consideration that your blog and your contributions to Gotham Schools screwed you? I mean if I were your principal and read how stupid, indecisive, and whiny you are I would have second thoughts about you.
Had I poisoned my relationship with my principal? Was something written on my blog misconstrued as critical or unprofessional? Was I still red-flagged by the DOE?
Yes, yes, and yes!
I thought and I thought, until I came to an important realization: I wasn’t ready for tenure.
Wow, what an honest guy. You move me Ruben, you truly do.
My principal told me she saw a “disconnect” between what I understood and how I put it into practice in the classroom.
Ruben, have an out of body experience one day and read your dribble.
I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in the past four years. I know I’ve improved a lot as a teacher and that I’ve learned to create a classroom community where my students feel safe and excited about learning.
I am sure you have, and that is what good teaching should be all about. But you couldn't leave it at that......
I also know that in one key area — the progress of my students — I must improve.
This is something you have no control over. Students go home at night, their reality, their world takes over. Yes, we can do all we can at school, but once they are out of our reaches the harsh, cold reality of each student's home life take over. Ruben, I coached baseball. I had a kid on my team that could not throw the ball. I practiced with him personally at each practice. I had him work on throwing drills at practice and told him, and his dad what to do at home. Not once did he do these drills outside of practice. Was I a bad baseball coach?
I started my son with professional baseball training when he was in Kindergarten. He has been playing ball since T-ball. I practiced with him outside of his training, I picked up what he was taught, he also had the athletic ability. Guess what? But I can't, nobody can, teach him to pitch like Koufax, to hit like Ted Williams, or to field like Ozzie Smith. Some kids are just average. Stop whining!
In practically every profession, people are subject to the judgments of their supervisors before they are considered for advancement. Sometimes they disagree with these assessments. Why should tenure be different?
All tenure does is give you the right to due process. That is all. That is all it will ever be.
Had I stayed at my previous school, I have little doubt I would have received tenure, because many principals are willing to rubber stamp their teachers for time served.
See, this is why you are thought of as you are. Give me, give the world, examples of where you know for a fact that principals rubber stamp tenure. And again, what happened at your previous school. Try the truth for once.
But, my principal gave tenure to some teachers this year, and extended probation for others.
But you didn't get it. Are you 100% sure the reasons your principal did not give you tenure are what she said, or is she being arbitrary and capricious?
But now the question Ruben is are you returning in September? Yes or no? Were you discontinued?
In a way Ruben, I hope you stick around. The fodder and amusement you give will not be easily replaced. But you need to cut this Nancy act out. Stop being a little whiner, start being a man and stop thinking and start doing.
Ruben, it is so ironic that you are whining just the opposite of what you and your ilk have been advocating. Karma is a bitch. Right, Ruben?
Your last question is a great one. To be honest, I always thought that if you weren't tenured after your extension year, you were discontinued. Perhaps that has changed, but it seems odd that Ruben's principal can't make a decision after 4 years. Clearly he is NOT one of the teaching superstars he thinks every child should have.
ReplyDeleteBy every measure Ruben and E4E claim to stand for, Ruben has failed, and I find it disturbing that he feels that the rules he would impose on others should not apply to him.
I think it is interesting how he thinks that things are entitled to him. He wanted to make the requirements more rigorous and attacked the veteran teachers who currently work in the system.
ReplyDeleteWell, he was screwed from all of this. Honestly, it could have been so much worse for him. Imagine if the principal was really 'arbitrary and capricious' and went into his room constantly scrutinizing every little move. I wonder if he would get it in his tiny little brain how important the 'due process' for teachers are in school systems.