Objecting to Objection

Context:  After a year of negotiations the Teachers' UNION declared IMPASSE with a school district unwilling to work with and compromise with the professionals doing the daily work in the classrooms with the children of Clay County.  A special magistrate was called upon to intercede and foster compromise.  The superintendent of Clay County, Charles Van Zant, Jr.,  refused to accept the magistrate's judgement based upon the following (excerpted from his officially issued document "Employer School  District Of Clay County's Objections to Special Magistrate's Recommendations):

1     1.       In rejection of the union's position that annual contract teachers be granted job security after three consecutive highly effective evaluations Van Zant stated  “The threshold to receive an effective rating is a 60% on the evaluation system which is an artificially low standard established by the Clay Assessment Committee of which union representatives constitute the majority." 

The problem with his analysis here is that the 60% percent is not an artificially low number.  It is feasible to rate ineffective teachers below this number.  In fact, union representatives have approached school administrators in the past and expressed concern regarding working conditions because of an excess of walk through observations, both informal and formal, for teachers who continually produce results, supported by test scores, classroom data, and prior evaluations.  In addition to myriad other obligations, quality teachers were feeling overburdened, undervalued, and unappreciated. They felt as if they were being watched over as a parent with a child and morale was low.  When administration was approached regarding the issue, union leaders suggested that quality teachers be observed less frequently so bad teachers could be focused on, given due process, and dismissed if necessary.  Administration response was to claim the observation document was too verbose and complicated and they didn’t know how to utilize it effectively to run bad teachers out.  In other words, it was too hard for administration to identify bad teachers and help them improve, as superintendent Van Zant claims is the purpose of the evaluation document.  Continuing with this line of thinking, it would also be even harder to establish a teacher’s faults and prove them following the protocol of due process.  Essentially, the Clay Assessment system isn’t artificially low, the ability of county hired administration isn’t capable of doing the specific job they are tasked with in this regard.  A site-based analogy for those playing at home and unfamiliar with educational terminology would be akin to teachers being unable to fail incompetent students because of the teacher's inability to identify the meaning of the diction used to formulate the content specific standards they are tasked with implementing on a daily basis. 

Secondly, to blame the weakness of the evaluation document on a committee “of which union representatives constitute the majority” is a not only a boldfaced lie but also a loaded statement with a political agenda.  The union is NOT a majority on this committee and the culpability implied by Van Zant does not lie with the union as his statements would lead one to believe.  He is intentionally distorting the truth to fit the narrative spun by his daddy and other like minds in the Florida legislature. 

 Furthermore, the teachers on this committee are likely to earn an average of about $45,000 annually and are tasked with planning, teaching, and grading daily lessons.  The majority of this committee is made up of principals who make close to six figures if not over 100,000 per year to not only supervise but also utilize said evaluation document as their main daily priority. In addition, the committee is led by the top ranking administrators in the district second only to the superintendent.  These committee members are getting paid in excess of 100,000 dollars per year and are tasked directly with the evaluation of personnel and instruction.  Essentially, their job revolves around this tool that the superintendent deems "artificially" substandard. If they can’t manage to lead a committee that creates an evaluation system that does not have “an artificially low standard” then there are some serious questions to be asked.  The logic does not follow.  The superintendent can’t have it both ways, either the document is flawed because his appointed staff is unable to do better or his refutation of the assessment system is unacceptable.  

2     2.       In rejection of the union's position that annual contract teachers be granted job security after three consecutive highly effective evaluations Van Zant stated “…each annual contract would automatically renew if the teacher receives an effective or highly effective rating for three years.  Such automatic renewals clearly go against the intent of Florida Statutes…”

This is simply not true, 27 of Florida counties already have this in place and there has been no attempt by the state to go after districts for willfully breaking the law.  Van Zant goes on to say that the legislature “deliberately removed PSC language with intent to limit teachers’ entitlement to continuous automatic employment.”  First of all, the use of the word entitlement is both insulting and intentionally provocative.  The right to have a secure job and steady means of income for those who consistently receive high evaluations and work “miracles” with groups of children most adults would flee from after only minutes in charge is not an entitlement.  It’s been earned.  Going back and noting the fallacy of  Van Zant's position on point #1, most teachers in this district are legitimately, not artificially, highly effective, and it’s not "continuous automatic employment" to keep a job that’s been earned and is consistently done with eminence and diligence.  If Clay County is an “A” district, then the teachers who have done the actual work in the trenches have earned the right to keep continual employment, not question where the next meal or mortgage payment is coming from.  Teachers don’t need to manipulate election laws to secure employment, rather they do hard work and work hard at it. 

A side note, but one worthy of mentioning here, is that teachers on annual contracts don’t speak up, fight back, or shout down bad ideas.  They go along.  And when you go along with a bad idea, you are doing a disservice to the students and local populace.  Job security is a must if you are to do your job well because dissent can prevent failures from occurring before they happen.  And perhaps, people who want to keep others on edge, timid, and afraid might have the sort of  intentions that they don’t want brought to light. 

3 3.      In rejection of the union's position that annual contract teachers be granted job security after three consecutive highly effective evaluations Van Zant stated "The anecdotal evidence the special magistrate referenced in support of his recommendation on this issue related to the Teacher of the Year that moved to Alachua county is arbitrary, at best.  While no one except that teacher can cite the rationale for his leaving, the School District notes that renewal in a “PSC-like” fashion as the union has proposed would effectively negate what the Florida Legislature intended in 2011.”

First of all, the teacher of the year, David Fields, has specifically stated at a school board meeting  that he feels that Alachua County can better provide job security because they offer such protections to their teachers.  When deciding between Alachua and Clay, Dave and his wife Kendra felt that Alachua was a far safer district to work than Clay with pending children on the way.  If she came to Clay, rather than him going there, they did not feel confident that she could maintain employment in a district that doesn’t value nor respect its professionals.

Secondly, to ensure future recipients of the Teacher of the Year award doesn’t prove to be a liability for the political careers of the Superintendent and certain members of the board, the process for selection and determination of the recipient has recently been changed so that certain voices lack a potential platform from which to speak harsh truths most seek to avoid and ignore. 

4   4.     Van Zant rejects the notion of teachers getting in-service credit for re-certification if they do not implement strategies from the in-service and follow up with paperwork and evidence of implementation. Van Zant states "In this regard, the School District believes that the Florida Department of Education protocols require that follow-up documentation should occur after implementation in cases in which the teacher is to use a new skill or strategy as part of the ins-service training.  It only makes sense that the effectiveness of the strategy can only be measured after it is implemented. “

Logistically, there are so many things wrong with this statement.  If it “only makes sense that the effectiveness" of anything “can only be measured after it is implemented” then all bad ideas would have to be put into practice before issuing judgement.  Telling my 11 year old son not to jump his bicycle over a pit of hungry alligators before actually attempting it is not beyond the pale.  Implementation isn’t always the path to determining impotence.    This sort of weak reasoning would preclude the existence of all management and supervisory positions. If all ideas need to be put into practice, all workers could just fling whatever they wish at the wall anytime they'd like and see what sticks.  There would be no need for planning and refining, just trial and error....always. 

Furthermore, to say teachers must implement a strategy in order to be awarded the points for re-certification (125 hours every 5 years plus a non-reimbursed fee approaching $100) is insulting and detrimental.  If a college educated, experienced, classroom professional determines that a day-long mandatory in-service training is nothing other than balderdash, they should be awarded credit for time served.  What’s the reason for making them implement a bad idea that will just subtract another day (days) from instruction? Competent people can smell manure when thrown in their ugly mugs, there’s no need to feed it to the kids to ensure it is indeed ordure. 

5  5.        In his objection to the practice of "leapfrogging" (the practice of outsiders coming into the district coming into the district with credit for all experience while veterans loyal to the district are refused full credit for experience the superintendent states "The School District …has had difficulties in recruiting individuals in hard to fill positions, such as speech.  “

This is an absurd connection.  There is one reason why speech THERAPISTS do not take jobs in the county.   Salary.  In the private sector, there is more money to be made, significantly more money.  Furthermore, occupational therapists and physical therapists in Clay County are on a separate pay scale than speech therapists.  The speech therapists are on the teachers’ pay scale (even though they also require a  70-100 credit Master's Degree along with state licensing and completing a certification of clinical competence which entails over 400 clinical hours and requires an annual renewal fee). The other therapists on the separate scale make about $25,000 per year more than speech therapists.  A speech therapist currently working IN Clay County Schools makes 70,000 a year working for a private contracting company.  Simply put, that means that the district is paying private speech therapists more than they would have to pay their own employees if they would just pay their current speech therapists on the therapist salary scale.  

The reason for the speech shortage isn’t because of “leapfrogging” but rather because Clay is lacking vision, coherence, competence, and community in its upper organization scheme. 

6   

   6.      The impasse led to the district absorbing the magistrate’s fees for composing this report that the superintendent has rejected.  The school board will likely vote to reject it.  The teachers will likely refuse to ratify the school board’s rejections.  That takes us back to square one, negotiating a contract for the 15-16 school year, one that is essentially already over.  Hundreds, if not thousands of man-hours wasted.  This translates to dollars because time equals money, right?    So, essentially, this year ends with absolutely no progress between management and labor at a significant cost.  Therefore, it will be the 16-17 school year before negotiations pick up steam again and at that point it will be EIGHT (8) years without any pay increase.  Not a raise, just a pay increase.  No cost of living, contracted step increase, nothing…nada.  Just an ever increasing inflation and  rising cost of health insurance…adjusted for real dollars, the people doing the work in the schools of Clay have absorbed a net loss over the past decade of work while new positions and raises have been given to those in the ivory tower.  It’s unjust at best.  It’s indescribably profane for sure. 

A Day in the Life (of a Teacher)

A Day in the Life (of a Teacher)...

**note.  this was originally posted on another blog back in 2011.  I am the author.   

Today I decided that I'd start logging in all of my activities while at work and home. During last year's legislative session, the messages on the news bombarded the nation with this and that about "lazy teachers" living with their "fat pensions" and "cushy hours." I've been at this for almost 15 years and I'm good at it. I like it. And I hate everything about it that's not involved with classroom instruction with students. Everything else it involves is total and complete nonsense.

And how did we get here? That's a long story for another time. My current focus is on what goes daily in an ordinary high school classroom in a public school. Somehow, since everyone has spent some time in a classroom they think they can teach. Or at least tell teachers how to teach.

All of the public accolades go to police and firemen. I'm not saying they don't deserve it but if teachers were unable to reach as many students as they do imagine how many more people the police would have to deal with. Ignorance is at the root of so many social ills and being an educator, a truly driven and motivated teacher, can be the solution to this all-encompassing problem. Dealing with the problems after they have already become problems is not a solution. It's the same with American medicine, we wait until someone is sick before we try to cure/fix them. If we could change lifestyle and eating habits before a patient becomes sick, we've cured the problem before it even comes into existence. So why all of the negative press and lack of attention to the truly inspired and effective teacher? Aren't we trying to extinguish society's ills before they begin to form?

Police, firemen, and professional athletes are heralded as champions of our society because their deeds are far more dramatic than the teacher's. Even when we turn to fictional characters we find the flawed everyman embodying heroic values through the occupations of firefighting and policing. Look no further than Jimmy McNulty or Tommy Gavin, characters from The Wire and Rescue Me. They have the stuff main characters are made of. Integrity. Honor. An ability to cut through nonsense and do the job the way the job is meant to be done. They butt heads with bosses and bureaucrats. They ignore horseshit policy in the name of common sense and doing what's right.

Even though these gentlemen are fictional characters, they are the embodiment of my fundamental beliefs. They are archetypes who have a true sense of right from wrong. Honor lies in doing the job well, not for money nor glory but rather because doing something well is a reward in and of itself. That's something these nincompoops in Tallahassee and Washington know nothing of. And what's the price a man has to pay for trying to wade through oceans of excrement in order to stay afloat and do the righteous thing? As art so often imitates life, we find our protagonists frequently self-destructing. In Hollywood this provides drama and allows for empathy. But in real life the disconnect between what is and what should be is so often disconcerting and it has to be dulled some how. Some people turn to god, others to doctor's prescriptions, and we Irish tend to self-medicate.

As this is drifting off into philosophical pondering not originally intended, I'll end that here and give you a glimpse into a single day of my life a teacher. There's nothing extraordinary here. There's nothing exaggerated or embellished to make it more dazzling or eye opening. Just straight up 1st person narrative of a single day. A day that runs in direct opposition to everything we heard last winter/spring regarding the failure of America's "lazy teachers."

9/19/2011
As the day begins at midnight, I am asleep. This lasts until my 3 year old daughter wakes me and my wife up at a little after 1am as she's been having nightmares lately. We get her back to bed and find ourselves awake again in less than an hour. Another nightmare. This time it takes me over and hour to get back to sleep. I think about work for most of this time. I have a lot to get done this week including communicating the summary of my department meeting to my principal, ordering supplies for my department, leaving plans for my sub for Tuesday, grading papers, and getting union info out to schools in my district.

When my alarm initially goes off at 530am, I hit snooze. There's no way I'm getting up. I'm beat. The second time it goes off I hit snooze again. I get up before it goes off again though. Once up I get myself washed and dressed, let the dog out and feed him and then proceed to make my lunch. I pack several items into a cooler and then go up to get my kids up. Getting them out of bed takes about 2 or 3 minutes. They go off to brush their teeth. My daughter returns to me to ask for help getting toothpaste on the toothbrush. I help get their shoes on and help them tie them. My son can tie his own shoes but his laces are very short and he can't get them tied hard enough to make it last the day. His teacher won't tie shoes at school, so I help him with the double knot. My daughter puts her pants on backwards. I help her with them. I help my son wet and brush his hair. Again, he can do this himself but he has a terrible cowlick that he just can't manage. I grab my cooler and my backpack of clothes for the gym and put them in my car. I return to get my coffee mug and a breakfast bar which I will eat on the drive into work. I hug my kids, kiss them, tell them I love them and kiss my wife goodbye. It's 630.

On the 15 minute drive to work I again mull over the most important tasks of the day. I listen to music very loudly to get the blood pumping and come alive. But I mostly think about what I need to do when I walk in the door and mentally prioritize.

From 7 to 715 I check my email. There are 16 new ones. I respond to 2. While composing the second one a former student comes in to ask about a recommendation to the naval academy. After a few minutes I get back to the second response. I cut it short so I can send it off and move on to other tasks.

Around 715 I move out into the hallway to supervise student travel and keep an eye out for any "issues." At 720 class starts and I then begin "sweeping" students who are tardy. I jot their names onto an index card to be turned in to our In School Suspension Dude and write them tardy passes to 1st period. Today I only get two. There are more students in the halls but I also have cart duty that requires me to drive a golf cart around campus to secure two gates and check the campus for any suspicious activity and check student passes if they are roaming campus. I am also supposed to ticket illegally parked cars.  I do not. Our contract stipulates 15 minutes of duty during our planning period. I get back to my room at 740.

From 740 until 816 I grade papers, organize my desk and classroom, post assignments on the board, review the day's lesson plans/assignments, check my emails again, and complete a leave form for a professional development workshop I will be attending next week.

At 816 I have hall duty as students change classes. During this time I discuss a "chunking" strategy that was presented at the last department meeting and is a school-wide requirement to meet the goals of our school improvement plan and our response to intervention guidelines. A student interrupts discussion to talk about his weekend. He's new to the school and has no friends. I ask one question about his weekend and then send him back into the classroom to begin the day's work. I finish the conversation about "chunking."

I am back in my room at 821. While students are completing their grammar warm-up activity, I grade some more papers after taking attendance and putting it in the computer. After about 4 minutes when they should be finishing, I get up and pass out the week's vocabulary assignment. I then recirculate the room to put a stamp on completed grammar warmups. We then spend about 5 minutes going over the activity. I call on students to answer and praise correct answers and prompt students to explain why they answered how they did. When students were wrong I thanked them for giving a response but turned to others asking for corrections and explanations as to why the answers were wrong.

For the remainder of class we are watching a video on essay writing. It is a summary of the previous weeks' instruction. I remind students of the task at hand, comparing the video to my instruction. Their notes will be collected at the conclusion of the video. While the video is playing I grade more essays. I stop the video to discuss salient points at 845, 851, 856. I call a student to my desk to discuss his rough draft. He is a week behind. He finally has it right and I praise his work. At 859 I start putting grades into my computer. At 906 I check my email again. From 907-912 I conference with individual students showing them their grades and telling them what they can do to improve or praising them for great work and effort.

At 912 I am in the hall for the change of classes again. I discuss a failing student with a colleague who had her last year. He confirms my assessment of her. Smart but lazy. She will skate by with a D and be satisfied with it, as will her mother.

The start of 3rd period is much like 2nd: I circulate and grade and praise and go over answers and talk with one student quietly about her mother's recent recovery from a stroke. The student apologizes for falling behind. I tell that it's no problem and ask more about her mom. I tell her to take care of herself before worrying about classwork.

At 944 I put the video on and start grading more papers. Like last period I stop the video to discuss important points but this time I put a diagram on the board to illustrate. Every lesson improves after doing it once or twice. The best ideas usually pop into my head as I'm doing something else.

At 959 I am still grading papers and writing specific feedback on essays. I am still stopping the video from time to time to highlight points. At 1005 I call students up to discuss grades.

1008 -Hall duty for the change of classes. This time I discuss certification requirements with a colleague who has questions about a letter she received from the county office.

Fourth period is the same as the previous two until we start going over the grammar drill. These guys aren't getting it even though we've been doing it for almost a full week. As I call on students, they give incorrect responses. I have to give extra explanations while also calling out specific students to maintain attention. They are a chatty bunch more concerned with socialization than academic achievement and I have to refocus them at least 5 times. All of my classes are honors classes even though this class really isn't. They can't compete with the previous two periods. They are almost two weeks behind my other two English classes. It takes 15 minutes longer to complete a simple grammar activity regarding pronouns. I forgo the second part of the activity in an attempt to make up some time. Sometimes things have to be skipped or glossed over for the sake of time.

1104-11:11-hall duty. I skip it to grade a few more papers. I'm not even 1/2 way through the stack I have in front of me.

11:12 I give the instructions for my Speech class. They are to work in groups and finish the assignment we started on Friday. They have 10 minutes until they begin presentations.

11:13 I go to the bathroom for my first "relief" break of the day. I slip out and ask my colleague across the hall to keep an eye on my class.

11:15 I take attendance and then presentations begin. Between each group I provide immediate verbal assessment and feedback. At 1145 a student asks for a pass to guidance. At 1152 I have my 1st casual conversation of the day as our athletic director comes into my class to boast about his fantasy football victory over my team this week. Our conversation lasts 2 minutes. 1154 we are back into the presentations.

I eat my sandwich during the last presentation at 1158.

12;07 a student asks me to proof his college application essays. I confirm that I will but assert that I will need a bit of time. He leaves them with me. I put them off to the side of my desk. By the end of the day they are under piles of papers and books.

1210 I begin grading papers again as the presentations have concluded. I give my class 5 minutes of free time. 1212 I have to get students back into my room and close my door as they meander into the hall in hopes of leaving for lunch early so they can get to the front of the ever so alluring chicken nugget line.

1215 the bell rings for lunch. I have 30 minutes for lunch. I've already eaten. I grade papers as a student from 6th period pops in to drop her stuff off. She has an Individual Education Plan and is labelled as an Emotional Behavior Disorder or some such jargon. She talks and talks and laughs and I smile and nod but want to get my papers graded. She finally leaves.

1219 I finish with the work from period 3 and input numbers into the computer. I am finished with inputting at 1235 and proceed to pull materials to be scanned for department-wide "chunking" assessment. I scan the documents and then email. In the email I compose a directive regarding these assessments along with information about professional development. I solicit feedback for my future meetings with the principal and reading coach.

Students begin filtering into my room at 1243 for 6th period, another speech class. A boy wants to discuss the book he's reading. I ask him to wait until I am done with my email. He goes over to a couple of other students who lack interest and returns to me and begins talking. I continue my email and try to ignore him. He still goes on and I find my attention divided. I end the email without feeling it's complete but send it anyway. Check...something else off the list.

As class starts at 1250 I give the same directions as I did in the previous period. They work for 10 minutes while I circulate the room and provide assistance where needed. At 102 I return to my desk to check my email again and a student approaches with questions regarding my assessment of her last speech. We talk for a couple of minutes until her questions are answered. I receive an email from the YMCA regarding student youth in government. I have to meet with a colleague across campus to get her materials and discuss this info. I jot it in my appointment book and get back to class.

At 107 a student approaches for a grade correction. I fix it.

At 109 I announce we are going to begin presentations. I evaluate and provide feedback like the previous period until 136 when presentations are finished. I check my email again. I have 8 new ones. I respond to 2.

At 140 students leave and I eat a snack at 141.

At 145 I begin typing up my directions for tomorrow's substitute as I will be at a committee meeting with the deputy superintendant, the director of human resources, and various other county administration regarding the development of the new assessment tool we created last year to comply with the Federal Race to the Top grant along with the new Florida Teacher Merit Pay Law.

I am interrupted immediately by the school's reading coach who requested a meeting with me on Friday through email. I told her I would find a time when things calmed down a bit. She apparently thought she should still come to meet me as English Dept. Chair in order to discuss future professional development. She talks for the majority of the 53 minutes she is in my room. I tell her honestly that the last strategy was a waste of time and we get into a philosophical discussion regarding the modern state of education. We discuss many notions and seem to agree on most. I ask why do we constantly rename and reuse the same old strategies with tweaks here and there and find no miracle cures and go on to suggest that maybe the strategies aren't flawed but perhaps it's the students who are flawed. It's the parents who are flawed. It's the testing that's flawed. It's the grading of schools that is flawed. In years past a good or bad teacher really wasn't the focus of instruction. Not in my day nor my father's. The onus was on the us as students. Read, study, do the assigned work, learn, pass the test. If not, there were consequences at home. Now, there is very little accountability for the student. It's all been placed up on the school and teacher. But once again, that's another discussion for another time.

241 she's gone and I check my email. There are 6 new. I reply to one about shoes and clothing donations for a needy student. The teachers at my wife's school have gotten her a bunch of stuff. I have to now get it to her teacher who originally inquired about a single pair of shoes because the girl didn't have any, just an old pair of busted flip flops.

At 252 I finish printing out my directions for the sub. I leave work and still have made absolutely no dent in any of the paperwork and grading awaiting me.

301 I am pulling out of the parking lot after being stopped by two more colleagues. One has questions about the new teacher evaluation system and the other confirms my pending absence tomorrow in order to check on the sub.

At 321 I am home. I get the mail, let the dog out, go to the bathroom, and change into my gym clothes.

340 I bike to the gym.

350 weight training at the gym

430 bike home

447 put bike in garage, hop in car, pick up kids from daycare. They talk ALL THE WAY HOME....my daughter cries twice on the ride. She's tired.

509 we are back in the house and by 511 I start dinner. My wife is now working at her second job. While the beef is browning in the pan, I usher my daughter into the shower. While she showers I wash the dishes from the morning/last night, empty my cooler and rinse its contents, and then have to return my daughter to the shower because she comes out telling me it's too cold. Less than one minute later she's scared of a bug and is out again. The beef is still browning.
522 I add the other ingredients to the beef...yea!!! hamburger helper in the skillet and a can of spinach drained and microwaved.

525 I wonder if I should make a cup of coffee or have a beer. I decide upon the coffee..it's the only way I'll make it through the night. A beer on a Monday would confirm the McNulty/Gavin syndrome.

534-my daughter has just said "Daddy" at least 15 times in the last 3 minutes. I set the coffee pot for the morning.

536 my son tells me that he "took a 12 minute bath" three times.

538 I tell the kids to stop talking or else I will have a nervous breakdown.

540 dinner is finished and served. I forgot to get their drinks. I pour two glasses of milk.

542 my daughter cries and says she doesn't like dinner.


544 my wife comes home

545 I sit to eat

549 I finish and begin cleaning up from cooking.

605 i am done cleaning. i help my kids video call their grandmother in NY.

615 they get to watch tv. I surf the internet.

630 we head upstairs for bed. I read to my son for about 10 minutes. Then I lay in bed with him and talk about school. He tells me about his tests and his work. We joke about stuff and I get silly and tickle him and kiss him goodnight. He hugs me and tells me what he tells me every night, "Please don't go, I love you so." I tell him that I still have to shower and shave and get ready for tomorrow.

I say goodnight to my daughter after playing "jump up and down. She then comes down out of her bed 3 times because she is overtired and crying.

By 715 I'm back downstairs and typing this up. I still have to recheck my school email for a couple of things and then I can shower, shave, and get into bed. it will be about 10 o'clock.

I just remembered that I forgot to marinate the steak that we're having for dinner tomorrow night. Off to the kitchen....