There came a moment in December or so when a person confided in me that he was "stressed, exhausted, and wanted it to all be over..." I wouldn't have thought much of it were that person not my supervising administrator. I was shocked, as his dedication to the job is unparalleled. Now, three months later, I can safely say that I understand, and that I agree with him 100 percent.
The reason that I am giving CCSD one star isn't so much because of anything deplorable and evil, although you may be callously reminded that you are a waste of government funds in a state that does not set aside much money for education. The system is closer to "Elmer Fudd" or "Mister Magoo" than it is to "Ursula," but working for Elmer Fudd is no easy task, especially when Elmer Fudd is the 5th largest school district in the entire nation. This is a system that, without intent, can set you up for failure.
For me, my experience at CCSD is best summed up in a conference that I attended in the fall where a board member gave us an exercise that led us to surmise that she was talking about a Kangaroo eating an Orange in Denmark. Unfortunately, it wasn't for another several months that I got to attend a workshop on classroom management, which should be given before you even step into the classroom. As I have learned, without classroom management, there is nothing! And "find what works for you" is not enough advice; not in this time and place. Kangaroos eating oranges in Denmark will not teach you all that much about classroom management.
You quickly learn why there are so many new teachers at orientation, which is very enticing and almost bewildering as it is held in one of the city's largest casinos. This district, like many others throughout the country, has a very difficult time retaining them. Look at the statistics: 35% leave after the first year; 50% within the first five. Some step into an uncontrollable situation and wind up with an "unsat" and are non renewed, others resign due to burnout, and for others it is a combination of both. There is no tenure in this district. You are either probationary or post probationary, and when you are probationary, you need to watch your back at all times (As a probationary teacher you may, in fact, burn out from the sheer, never-ending act of covering yourself, which is part of what happened with me). YOU HAVE ONE YEAR TO GET IT RIGHT; NOT 2-3 LIKE IN ILLINOIS; ONE!!!!
One of the problems in this country as a whole is that teachers have become a disposable commodity. They are seen as "semi professionals," whereas in places like Finland or the Far East, teaching is really seen as a true "practice" on par with that of being a doctor or attorney. You see billboards all over Las Vegas for "Go Lightly" or "Get Glenn." The day that we see a billboard that reads, "Come to Mr. so and so's class" could be the end of Western civilization! Frankly, the pay issue is, to me, a moot point. Contrary to stereotypes, it isn't about money for a lot of us, but about respect and dignity.
If you are offered a job in this district, don't do what I did. Do your homework. If you do your homework, you will soon realize the following:
a) You need to join the union immediately; if you do not join the Union, you may as well paint a bulls eye on your back.
b) You need to know what an investigatory interview and Weingarten Rights are. Memorize them as if they were your favorite childhood book. They don't tell you about these things at orientation. It's a lot easier to wind up in an investigatory interview than you think....While on your way to the interview, you may even see a Kangaroo eating an orange....in Denmark! Come to think of it, educator's malpractice insurance is not a bad idea, either. As one of my colleagues said, "Without it, you can lose your home..."
c) Everything that goes wrong in your class is 100 percent your fault. Just ask the federal government. Your best is never enough. And, mark my words, things can and will go very wrong indeed. Your class may have 30-40 children in it, and the older they are, the higher the chance that things will go wrong.
d) Test scores and data are everything. Yet, I find that a six hour school day (with 4 and a half hours to teach the content) makes student achievement that much more difficult to attain.
e) You have no right to even an unpaid leave of absence as a probationary teacher, so if something serious happens, your three choices after you use up your sick leave are to resign, face discipline, or go to work (which, if you are in the hospital recovering from a serious illness, is not possible). Worse: the district does not pay for maternity leave, so you may well have to work throughout your pregnancy depending on how much leave you have accrued.
f) If you are hired the week before school starts, realize that, in some situations, senior teachers have chosen their classrooms. Hint, Hint: It is not going to be easy.
g) Save up for new pants; you may well run out of time to exercise and put on weight.
h) DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT!!!!!
You will also learn quickly that, if you have a common question, which should be pretty easy to answer, you will speak to six people (who are usually very friendly, by the way) and get six different answers. Hence the "Mr. Magoo" analogy.
This district has all the problems of the other big five. My experience has led me to decide to leave the district for an area of education that couldn't be more different. Next year, there is also a new standardized test coming, and 50% of all teacher evaluations may be based on it. I feel terrible for the administrators, as well. By the way, don't be surprised if, outside school, you run into your administrator, you start talking about school, and your administrator tells you, "It's the weekend; don't talk about school!" With all the pressure they are under, could you blame them?!?! Low test scores=less money; less money=disaster.
But I should note that I gave either 2 or 3 stars to central management. Frankly, I have liked the majority of them as people. The problem is, if you need to make a phone call, you will get bounced around quite a bit. For example, just this past week, I asked a contract related question. The nice lady in Human Resources forwarded me to contracts. The nice lady in contracts forwarded me to instruction. The nice lady in instruction forwarded me to the Union, where I finally got the long-awaited answer. I was surprised, again, that no one told me to look for that Kangaroo eating an orange in Denmark!
