First, some background.
I am teaching remotely. It's myself with two other teachers and a darn good para. We split the class into three groups. I have the highest, and there is a middle, and the lowest. The lowest group are students with lowest reading levels with a few having IEP's. One student went from the middle group to my group. Now, God's Favorite Teacher wants to put student in her group because in her mind (As well as the Daily News in 2018) God proclaimed her the only human being on Earth with the ability to teach special ed.
I texted unto her, "Just a minute there God's Favorite Teacher! On whose authority is this being done? Should we not check with the parent and the administration?" I was met with silence.
Now I am a firm believer that the cream rises to the top.Yeah, this student's reading level was a bit off, but gosh darn it, look what the frig has been happening the last year!
You play to the level of your competition. I do believe that if you put a weaker student with other strong students that weaker student will improve and equal the strong students. But it works in reverse. I saw this with my son when he played baseball. Most of time when he and team played weaker teams they looked like the 1962 Mets. When they played stronger teams they looked like the Yankees of any era.
So God's Favorite Teacher asked summoned me to meet with her the next day at 8:20 AM. Fine I said. I was in for a rude awakening.
At our Meets meeting, she undid the shackles of believing that she was God's Favorite Teacher, but came to believe she was God herself. Exhorting me from an imaginary pulpit from on high. When I said to her that she is not God and only God himself, or Moses, can talk to me that way she; LOST HER SHIT! Seriously! Lost. Her. Fucking. Shit.
But soon the meeting somehow returned to normal. And I was being showered with the Fontes and Parnell reading scores and everything of every students except for one students. I kept asking why, why, am I seeing others other than the one student.
But then she stopped holding back and reminded me of what she actually thinks of me.
"You are an ATR. Your job is only to support what myself and the other teacher want!!!"
I said, "Exceese me? Says, who?"
She blabbered, "Sayeth the administration!!!"
I proclaimed, "Let's hear it from them."
She called for back up to the really cool AP who I was able to tell didn't give a shit about her insane inanity.
She returned.
"We are here in this school for good. We have to get rated. You don't!!!" she wailed from on high.
"I do get rated."
"We have to be here next year, you won't be here next year. We care about the students!!!"
"So do I. And who says I won't be here next year?"
"I know!!!!"
So good to know how a colleague of mine feels about ATRs. Guess what? She was thisclose to being one once.
I have been an ATR since December 2015. I have been called the sub, the ATR, other things, more of ignorance than insensitivity. I have had maybe one teacher give me the proverbial middle finger in the last five years.
I know of one SBSB groupie that goes out of her way to treat ATRs well. She has always welcomed ATRs into her classroom and offers them a place for their stuff. She does what she can. I can attest personally to others who have gone out of their way to assist and make me feel at home.
We are in this together. No teacher outranks another teacher (though some might think they do). As for as I am concerned, you don't rat out another teacher, you don't treat others like shit, you're good.
Some teachers need to say,"there but for the grace of God go I." Think about it. We're all one step away from losing our job or becoming an ATR. Even if you think you were put on this Earth to teach by God.
How dare God's Favorite Teacher treat me, or any teacher like this? How dare God's Favorite Teacher not truly put the best interests of a students over her own? How dare God's Favorite Teacher walk around as if her fecal matter doesn't give off an odor?
Times are tough. We are in this together. It's worse on the students. God's Favorite Teacher doesn't need to have a complete meltdown on Meets.
God's Favorite Teacher needs to learn humility.
