Pros
- First and foremost, the kids. They are the reason I wake up at ungodly hours in the morning, put in the extra hours of work, take my work home, and change then re-change my lesson plans. Everything we do is in service of the kids. Sometimes it's easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of work (understandable, and something I do on a daily basis) but you have to ground yourself in something greater than yourself, or your sleep, or your extra Netflix show: these kids deserve better, they deserve a top notch education, and it's our responsibility to give it to them - At my school specifically, the LT is incredible - Sense of community within my team - Genuine commitment and alignment with the AF mission (all kids deserve a great education regardless of race, class, zip code, religious beliefs, etc.) - Regularly scheduled PD sessions to help teachers grow - A network that is committed to the successes of the kids
Cons
- Onboarding. New staff onboarding is incredibly overwhelming and it feels like sometimes the returning teachers and management forget that things may need to be spelled out to the new-comers. New staff onboarding must be fixed so that there are clear, actionable steps of what needs to get done and the time frame that it is expected to be done in - Long work hours. Tons of super late nights and very early mornings - 10-15 emails per day (can feel very overwhelming, especially over weekends - if you can manage to have a weekend) - AF's behavior management system. This is something that I really struggle with. I am on board and appreciate the "warm and demanding" culture that AF holds teachers to, but the eating silently, walking silently, hands folded 24/7, no eyes wandering for even 1 second, and regimented steps to do simple tasks like exit a lunch table etc. feel like the behaviors that are expected in prisons or the military. Schools should not be comparable to those two things. While I think there is merit in arguing that systems like these help keep our kids safe physically, I do believe that AF's current system is way too rigid and overwhelms kids into a culture of DOCILITY and SILENCE