Sorry I haven't had much time to post lately; work has been slamming me. Let's see, I've already put in 26 hours of work this week, and it's only....6 am on Wednesday morning. Eek.
However, I just have to share this reader email with you. A lot of the reader emails I get are from parents and teachers who want to vent; I understand why this is the case, and I'm always happy to be there as a shoulder to cry on. But I love to hear the success stories, too, and this particular email (which I know to be absolutely true, because I know the writer personally and heard a lot of details as they were ongoing) put a smile on my face like nothing you've ever seen.
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Around Thanksgiving this school year I was hired to replace a teacher who was a nice guy, but wasn't exactly teaching much. I came in with a full head of steam and high standards for both academics and behavior, and immediately began the hard work of getting these kids back on track.
Unfortunately, there is a very real phenomenon that sometimes occurs when one teacher is fired: the students may work on the hasty exit of the next teacher, especially if that teacher attempts to bring order to chaos.
As the months went by, I tried to make the best of the situation, and was making some progress with most of my classes. Alas, about mid-year, a sizable cadre of students had had enough, and the full-scale revolt began. They began plotting very conscientiously to get me fired, and spared no expense in their efforts.
Their plan was two-fold: first of all, to not cooperate with me in any way, shape, or form, most notably by not paying attention in class, not doing homework, not studying, and in a number of cases simply refusing to take quizzes (after glancing around the room to see who was 'in' on the boycott). This leads to the second part of their plan, which was to besiege the principal with complaints. They complained that I wasn't teaching them anything, that I wasn't answering questions, and that I treated them like they were retarded.
All this while (also because I was a new teacher in the school), the principal and vice principal made frequent unannounced visits to my classroom, sometimes sitting in, sometimes standing outside my door out of sight but within earshot. In all of these instances I was caught red-handed actually teaching my classes, and in one instance the principal remarked that mine was the best classroom observation he'd seen all week.
So much for the students' plan.
I tried to have a heart-to-heart with the rebellious students, explaining patiently that I understood what they were trying to do, but that their strategy (doing everything they could to fail my class) was a poor one: even if they succeeded in getting me fired, they'd still be responsible for knowing the material, either in their exams, or in future years' classes.
I wasn't successful in swaying a good portion of my students, who kept up the offensive to the end of the year. This caused the bell-shaped curve of my students' grades for the year to be centered over 'D' (as in "Darn close to failing"). Can't say I didn't warn them.
As for my firing? Well, the administrators took a different approach.
They gave me a promotion, naming me Department Chairman for the coming school year (along with a raise).
Seems my Karma ran over their Dogma.
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Yay! *does cartwheel*
Posted by kswygert at June 23, 2004 06:14 AM