Ms_Teacher Sounds Off

This past week, I was privy to something that as a regular classroom teacher I probably would not have been been able to witness.

One of our school district administrator's admitted that the district will not fire teachers who do not fulfill the contracted requirements of an unsatisfactory evaluation.

In the past five years, teachers with unsatisfactory evaluations who have not completed their contractual obligations and in effect have been insubordinate for not doing so, have not been let go. In the meantime, young and energetic teachers who have wanted to actually teach in my district, probably one of the toughest anywhere to teach, have been laid off.

I was also asked by this same administrator what the "union" would do about teachers who were refusing to attend mandatory training due to a lawsuit. I politely informed her that if a teacher refused to do something that was mandatory, then again, that's insubordination. It is the district's responsibility as the employer of these teachers to let them know that by refusing to attend, then they were insubordinate and could be subject to being fired.

This administrator looked absolutely amazed by this information.

So, the next time that anyone tells you that teachers' unions protect bad teachers, please remember that some of the time, bad teachers are never fired because administrators don't fully comprehend what it means to be a boss.

Cutting the Purse Strings . . .

Artist Girl was instructed to pay for her car insurance for this month with the last check they she received from her holiday job. She received plenty of money to have about one hundred left to spend whichever way she wanted.

Instead she made the choice to blow this money on who knows what and I really don't want to know. I think she thought I would cover it for this month, but as I posted previously, the astronomical heating bill we received this month blew any "extra" I might have had.

I talked to her about being a responsible adult and paying your bills first before paying yourself. It was like talking to a three year old and not someone who recently turned 21. I told her that I wasn't paying it at all this month. She petulantly replied that she didn't care.

If she is pulled over for any reason and her car is towed, it is not my responsibility to get out for her.

One of these days I hope she grows up. Personally, it can't come soon enough.

Julia Child's in the Kitchen

My gift to my husband this Valentine's Day is to spend the day in the kitchen. This may not seem like much to those of you who actually enjoy cooking, but coming from me, it is a true gift indeed. And, it won't just be any ol' day in the kitchen either. My plan is go shopping in about an hour to gather up the ingredients for Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon.

Ever since I saw it in the movie Julie & Julia, I've wanted to make it. So, wish me luck. Let's hope that I don't burn anything or lose my mind in the process. Picture may (or may not) follow.

My job is to enforce the contract

and through this, I protect the right of due process for teachers. This is something that sounds so simple when put down in a sentence, but it is a far harder concept for those on the outside to understand.

Recently, a situation arose in which the contract was violated. It was an overt violation and will result in a grievance being filed. The very direct result will be that a teacher's right to due process is being protected and her job will be secure for another year.

To those on the outside, they might look at a situation such as this and loudly proclaim that the union is protecting a bad teacher because after all that's what we do.

However, every single meeting that I have had with school site administrators and district officials is that if they have any questions regarding something in the contract, they merely need to pick up the phone to call or send me a quick e-mail. The situation that I allude to above could have been resolved had the principal given me a call. It was very clear that she did not have a clear understanding of a particular article, which resulted in her violating this teacher's rights as defined by the contract. Her actions were not vicious and I do not see her as doing something intentionally wrong.

I see it as part of my duties as president of my association to also help administrators understand what is in the contract. I just get really frustrated because instead of seeing me as a resource, they view my role as a hindrance. So, I guess that grievances will continue and my role as an adversary to administrators will continue.