NYC Ed,
I'm still struggling to understand this hall and bathroom patrol that teachers do. Shouldn't teachers be working with kids, grading papers, developing their lessons, calling parents? Can't we find someone with fewer qualifications to patrol halls? The DoE Quality Review for my kids school rates the school on how well teachers work together to address student needs. I don't see how you do that standing guard. I realize these are dumb questions but for those who are not familiar with the history, how can we understand how we got to this situation?
In our building, we have a few teachers doing that. But there's no difference at all, and the kids couldn't care less.
Mr. Sullilvan,
If the school hired people with fewer academic credentials to stand hall duty or potty patrol or lunch duty, it would cost money. Teachers are salaried, and so we can be told to do any doggone thing someone thnks of, and it won't cost anything at all.
This year, our school day was extended by over 25 minutes with no increase in pay for anyone. The School board Chairman said in the paper that he thought it was, ". . . genius to figure out how to extend the day with no cost to anyone."
i still wonder about the qualifications of hall monitors, too ...
Patrick
Under the 2004 UFT contract, there was no hall patrol, or any such nonsense. We'd bought our way out with various zero percent raises, cleverly negotiated by the UFT. I always have three or more classes, and my assignment used to be preparing my third lesson.
The 05 contract cut my prep time in half, and I have no time to meet with teachers or work with them at all. I haven't given up phone calls home, although I know people who have.
Ah! Another point I'm happy I don't have to battle. We have two hall monitors and a police officer on our campus. It doesn't seem like much, but at least it's not my job!
I must say, though, that it is inane conversations like the one in this post that make me feel like I've had a few minutes of my life stolen from me. You should be thankful to be a lowly teacher...
You have a dress code? Boy, I feel sooo lucky! M.
If I didn't know better, I would say you fabricated this story. However, I teach in a school filled with kids like the one you just described. To be blunt about it, they don't give a damn. Anything is more important than getting to class on time.
The lies are really not very good. Most kids can do better.
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