tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post5841298004315100995..comments2021-07-16T10:04:11.480-04:00Comments on and gladly teach: I Herd ThatRoy Starlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08998376320870001861noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-48694029017598182532015-06-06T23:02:30.081-04:002015-06-06T23:02:30.081-04:00Kathy, I'm really happy that you were able to ...Kathy, I'm really happy that you were able to leave. I started to feel like the older faculty couldn't leave soon enough to suit those in charge. So . . . I am a very happy retired man, but very disappointed that it turned out like this. Thanks for your great comment, and my best to Allison.Roy Starlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998376320870001861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-85444066896945684382015-06-06T20:45:35.632-04:002015-06-06T20:45:35.632-04:00What a great post! At your former school's cro...What a great post! At your former school's crosstown rival, we always received our shirts on Thursday of Pre-Plan (a truly senseless label, I agree) and were told to wear it the next morning for our individual yearbook photo, the faculty photo and the department photo. We also had to wear it the first day of school. Why? So that students would know who the teachers were. Really? Wasn't it rather obvious?<br />And, if you think your shirts were bad, you should have seen ours. I thought the one for this year looked like black, white and grey camouflage of some sort, but was told it was more like the video game Minecraft. One year, they were an awful gunmetal grey. Most of the time, the shirts chosen were men's shirts and the women just had to put up with the poor fit. When they did find a women's version, the sizing was so terrible, we were forced to choose shirts 2 to 3 times larger than normal. Any woman can tell you how depressing that is. Most years, I never wore the shirt again after the first day, because the style or color was just so bad. I cannot tell you how happy I was to fold them all up two weeks ago and deliver them to the media center for use by future teachers who are hired in the middle of the year and need their photo identification made.<br />You see, I, too, retired on May 29, and it was 4 years earlier than I originally intended. When the administration informed me a couple of years ago that they were phasing out German, I took it as God's way of telling me to phase myself out. Last year was so stressful with Marzano, the evaluation system, changes in the Geometry curriculum ( yes, I taught that, too, and was in charge of the Honors program), having a class of German II, III and AP all at the same time, parents, etc., that my husband finally looked at me and said, " I hate seeing you so unhappy in something you've devoted your life to."<br />I made the administration an offer for the 2014-2015 school year and they accepted it. I taught just one class this year which was my German III/AP class, so that they could get as far in German as possible before the subject was killed off. Due to the block schedule, I only worked Monday and Thursday until 9:02 and Wednesday until 8:10. The students were grateful to me for coming in just for them and I have been much, much happier. I've been able to take care of myself by taking 3-mile walks in the morning and have seen that I have lots to keep myself occupied.<br />The payout for sick leave and the prospect of earning more retired than I did this year on 1/7 of my regular salary are definitely cheering thoughts. Of course, I am grateful to my husband for being so happy at UCF, that he won't be retiring any time soon.<br />After listening to my daughter, Allison, rave about you, even 8 years after graduating,I'm sure that being away from your students will be hard for you. I know that is the one thing I'm going to miss. However, as I told the faculty, when they gave me my plaque for my years of service at the end-of-year faculty luncheon, "Enjoy yourself while you're here, but don't stay until it's too late. Leave while you can still enjoy yourself out there." You and I didn't stay until we were totally embittered and couldn't remember the good things about teaching. Plus, we are still physically able to be active in retirement.<br />Now that I have time for reading whatever I want, I look forward to reading more of your posts.Frau Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11882564830650355740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-90839675678622637022015-06-06T12:09:43.825-04:002015-06-06T12:09:43.825-04:00Me too!
Me too!<br />Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02866290961649114688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-33304647148183924442015-06-06T11:29:22.726-04:002015-06-06T11:29:22.726-04:00Wish I could've read the original!Wish I could've read the original!Roy Starlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998376320870001861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-84612276842019695242015-06-06T11:28:46.440-04:002015-06-06T11:28:46.440-04:00Thanks for the backup! I retired 2 years before my...Thanks for the backup! I retired 2 years before my time, too, so we'll just be livin off luv for a while.Couldn't take it anymore!Roy Starlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998376320870001861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-41190002591796056652015-06-06T11:06:53.885-04:002015-06-06T11:06:53.885-04:00You go, Roy! I was stunned to learn that your scho...You go, Roy! I was stunned to learn that your school administrators would have the nerve to require their professional staff to conform to such a petty and idiotic dictate. This "team-orange-prison-tshirt" thing is an insult to not only their ( your) dignity and autonomy, but belies their and your professional standing. I thought we had it bad here in P-town until I read this. This lack of regard and many of the factors you mention in this post are the reasons I retired early- even though it meant I'd have to continue to supplement my retirement for several years to come.Kathy Inoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-58070369770059190882015-06-06T10:09:25.973-04:002015-06-06T10:09:25.973-04:00I just spent 20 minutes writing an awesome comment...I just spent 20 minutes writing an awesome comment, which disappeared when I clicked "Publish" and had to sign into some account or other. So, just "ditto."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13924651363499734738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-90304703509636191382015-06-05T20:04:39.818-04:002015-06-05T20:04:39.818-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Roy Starlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998376320870001861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-87754408502043524862015-06-05T20:03:45.413-04:002015-06-05T20:03:45.413-04:00They might, indeed.
They might, indeed.<br />Roy Starlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998376320870001861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-48474069471391097282015-06-05T19:51:43.340-04:002015-06-05T19:51:43.340-04:00For many years, I've wondered how teachers man...For many years, I've wondered how teachers manage to come to work each day, facing the obstacles that have been put before them. The main issue you've mentioned, however, is the attempt to force you all to conform to a specific uniform to encourage you to identify as a team. As a teams researcher in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, it bears mentioning that teams are defined as "social entities composed of members with high task interdependency and shared and valued common goals (Dyer, 1984)." While the main goals are the same (provide students with a good education), there is little to no interdependency between teachers and, as such, would not qualify as a team. It is frustrating to see administration require such ridiculousness and, while their hearts are (hopefully) in the right place, they might want to do some reading on increasing cohesion, morale, motivation, etc. before implementing policies like this.I/O Savagenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-77134101933013218312015-06-05T19:02:40.968-04:002015-06-05T19:02:40.968-04:00Initially, after learning of your decision to reti...Initially, after learning of your decision to retire, I was saddened and a bit jealous. The jealousy has since vanished - I know my day will come. Strangely, though, the sadness at your leaving has vanished as well. You may no longer be in a conventional classroom (if every yours was thus), but you continue to teach. Maybe we haven't lost an amazing teacher, but have instead gained a powerful voice. Please continue to share your observations with the world beyond the school building walls - hopefully helping to break through some of the bovine droppings that currently litter the educational landscape. Thanks, Doc!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14319131851454612364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-15120749028738496362015-06-05T19:02:32.087-04:002015-06-05T19:02:32.087-04:00This all sounds very familiar, sadly. I was really...This all sounds very familiar, sadly. I was really sorry to be so happy to leave.Roy Starlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998376320870001861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7746275271956999377.post-67864038762709499332015-06-05T18:57:36.290-04:002015-06-05T18:57:36.290-04:00And didn't we all look ridiculous in the yearb...And didn't we all look ridiculous in the yearbook? Row after row of orange shirts like prison garb in "Orange is the New Black". I was embarrassed. But I did it. I notice that, over the past few years I have conformed to the many changes that have come our way. I lock my doors. Always. I keep the blinds closed all the time in case of a drill because I'm worried that I will forget. I keep the learning scale poster front and center. I am constantly writing and erasing from my board learning goals and objectives (and I still don't know the difference). I don't let students converse with each other in the happy manner that they used to, but require they raise their hand to be called on. I accept late work, and later work, and still later work for fear of parent backlash with no admin support. I don't allow students to leave the room for ten minutes after the bell rings and ten minutes before the bell rings. I don't smile unless it's in my lesson plans. I don't laugh unless it is data driven and shown to be an effective teaching technique. There is a former student, who will be a senior this next year, who visited me every day during lunch last year. Toward the end of the year he said to me, "Mrs. Savage, you don't laugh as much as you used to. You're not as fun this year." and that hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been complaining to my husband over the course of the last two years or so that there are more and more students that I dislike. I used to love all of my students. In 20 years of teaching I couldn't really think of a student that I didn't like. But over the past two or three years there were more and more of them. I would puzzle over that and try to think of what had changed. How had the students become so dislikable? It wasn't until reading this blog, today, that I realized it wasn't the students I didn't like any more. It was me. I have seven years left. I'm not sure what to do with that information. Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02866290961649114688noreply@blogger.com