Whirlwind Wednesday
Today is a Wednesday and what a whirlwind. Administrative hoop jumping is really preventing me from doing what I like best about teaching. That is, to teach. It seems like now the worst parts of the job are magnified. While in shelter-in-place, many of us special education teachers are lockstep in a virtual goosestep. In my school district, the district office is taking cues from legal counsel regarding special education. Teachers like me with advanced degrees, have little say. It feels like its not about our students anymore, but rather to secure funding for our school district.
Before the school closures, the students were released early on Wednesdays. It was a day where teachers met with their job alike teachers collaborated together. Sometimes as a special education teacher, we would not be able to meet because we each had so much paperwork to do.
Special education teachers administer academic achievement assessments to students. We administer the WIAT-3 and the WWJ. We write reports to give to the school psychologists who are often swamped too. We do these assessments every 3 years for triennial IEPs.
We develop academic, social-emotional, and communication goals for each student based upon their needs. We also meet each year for an annual IEP. In America, IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) are legal documents. Today I had 3 IEPs via the Zoom platform (along with teaching, planning, compiling the purgatory packet, conferencing, and training as well). I have been teaching since 2003, usually we only have one a week or every couple of weeks. This year I have 32 students on my RSP caseload. My caseload is over the number of students we are suppose to have via California Ed code. Usually, the district office will let payroll know and we will be paid more for each student. However, they did not do this at my school district. I have been afraid to speak up and advocate for myself and my time because in California non-tenured teachers can be non-renewed for ANY reason. If you don’t fit in the clique, that’s it…start looking for another job.
It almost feels like a sorority. With that, when you are new to a school there is often an amount of hazing for new teachers. Most teachers that I know are linear thinkers. They are okay with the pedagogical factory. They don’t upset the apple cart. In college, I was in a sorority. I know the pressure of conformity and how mean some girls and grown women can be.
Fast forward, my advice to misfit teachers is to stay true to yourself and why you went into education in the first place. You will find your tribe. When I shared with my husband the news that the school district said they are not rehiring me he was supportive. Thankfully! Whew! He is so sweet. He encouraged me to start my own virtual school. We played out the scenarios of how it would be and what funny cutesy names we would give the school. He made me laugh and I am grateful.
He has been wanting me to get out of traditional education for a while now. He sees me working late into the hours, weekends, getting up way early and thinking about it even when its chill time. As a teacher, when you have a good idea for a lesson or are thinking about a student and wondering if they are safe and okay it is sometimes hard to compartmentalize.
For now, that is what I need to do. I need to compartmentalize. I need to breathe a sigh of relief.
