End of the Year

It's crazy to think about it but it is the end of another school year. It is that time of year when substitute teachers have to watch out for misbehaving kids who are ready to fly the coop (school) and don't care if they are suspended or expelled as long as they get out early and start their summer vacation. Yep. Believe it or not kids think that way sometimes...I hear it year after year. "I don't care if I get kicked out because it is the end of the year." or "I don't have to work, I'm flunking this class and it won't do any good." or a new one today when collecting signed report cards..."My parents don't care if I get a D...they are great parents...they give me money whether I flunk or not," she announced to the whole class. (Later the same child was competing with the other kids to raise her hand and answer the warm up questions. I think she cares a little bit.) Okay, regarding that last one...I know some kids position themselves to get attention and maybe try to make themselves look a little lower than they really are so they think they can get in good with their peers.

It is about this time of year that the jobs slow down. May and the first part of June are when the teachers rush to get their 2 'free' days in or take their sick leave because they are really exhausted. That means that substitute teachers get lots of calls. For example, I didn't turn the computer service off while I was in Hawaii. I had 51 messages on my machine from the school districts. I can tell it is starting to slow down because I am only getting about 4 calls a day now.

Teachers are some of the hardest working people I know. They don't get paid for half of the things they do and should be paid more. I don't know of any profession that is required to keep going to school after they complete their degree and get another degree to prove that they are a good teacher. In fact I think teachers are one of the most mistrusted professions. They are blamed for kids problems that have nothing to do with them meaning the ability of each child in the classroom.

How does one gauge the work of an individual teacher? Their work is gauged by how well their kids can pass the test. I don't think that testing is the answer to find out if a teacher is doing their job or not because at the beginning of the year a little Russian Roulette goes on when children are placed in a classroom. There are kids of all abilities in a wide range and the test expects children to be in the same category. If an administrator wanted to they could fail the teacher they don't like by giving them all the kids who would make the teacher look bad because SOME KIDS CAN'T PASS TESTS AND OTHER KIDS HAVE THE TALENT TO PASS THE TESTS and before the year begins the records show who can and who can't pass the test that matters...THE WASL. So which teachers win? The teachers that have the advanced children. The teachers that have the 'at-risk' kids are put on the front lines of battle.