PK>> When you start doing this, you will see the BIG improvement in
 PK>> all of our kids.
LP>>From reading your message, I now realize that that dad is not alone in
LP>>his blinkered delusion of just how much supervision I can exercise over
LP>>150 little people whom I see for just 50 minutes a day.  I can't believe
LP>>that you honestly believe that teachers have that much time in a day.
 RM> Since it DOES appear that Leona is a bit "stressed" at the
 RM> moment , please allow me to paraphrase what she said...
Appearances can be deceiving.  Stress?  I...think...NOT.
I'm damned mad & I'm not taking it.  Stress doesn't even enter the
picture, that was quite a few rest stops back on the highway.
 RM> Most teachers in elementary school have virtually zero time
 RM> available during the school day to do anything beyond what
 RM> they already do; this despite having to handle "only" a
 RM> group of 20+ students...  Add to that the time required to
 RM> plan and correct AFTER hours, and there really is little
 RM> opportunity for this type of personal contact on an ongoing
 RM> basis...
 RM> At the secondary level; ie, middle and high schools, a
 RM> teacher has SOME time during the day, but this is often tied
 RM> up with students also (extra help, makeups, etc)..  They,
 RM> too, must do a lot of the work after hours, and they usually
 RM> have in excess of 120 students to handle each day.  The
 RM> logistics of what you suggest, while seeming reasonable to
 RM> you, are really NOT reasonable when one considers the reality
 RM> of the situation..
Ron,
You forgot to add faculty, leadership, team, department & student
activity planning meetings, substituting for other teachers because we
have so few subs, preparation of designer curriculum for students on 504
or special ed Individual Education Plans, updating the current
curriculum, completing an inventory & ordering supplies, duty coverage
in halls or on the field or in the courtyard, documentary paperwork such
as the failure notices (mid-term progress reports) & ineligibility
notices, as well as the staffings (many of which I cannot attend, as
they are held while I teach, however I am still expected to provide a
report) & counseling referrals & administration surveys, in-services &
bureaucratic red tape.
That's just a brief summary of my past 6 weeks.
 RM> The best we can usually do is to keep on top of a couple of
 RM> kids over a short period of time, and let ALL parents know
 RM> periodically how things are going with warning notices, five
 RM> week notices, report cards, etc..
It's triage, Ron, pure & simple.  I run from one bleeding casualty to
the next.  I actually have a kid right now with 0%.  I'm not planning
on wasting any more time on him.  He has an uncanny talent for showing
up on days when we are either doing non-scored work (such as reviews for
quiz) or on quiz day (& since he knows nothing, he scores nothing.)
There is no phone in the home, so hopefully his parents are not waiting
anxiously for me to call.  I've already sent a failure notice for
midterm 1st quarter, he failed the 1st quarter marking period & I just
sent another failure notice for this quarter. If the parents can't catch
on from that, I just plain give up. Oh, & BTW, I understand he has been
cited at least twice under the city's truancy law, so he'll be in court
explaining to the judge soon.
Mr. Attitude Dad's kid still hasn't shown up for **any** extra help,
has dropped from 42% to 41%, is still turning in pages of gibberish for
classwork, not turning in homework & has this week shown a sudden
propensity for perky, smart alec remarks that lead me to believe that
the kid has been told, "Oh, yeah, kid.  I sure told that French teacher
of yours."
I'll bet dad didn't tell him that I hung up on him, tho'. ;^)
We can only do so much, & as I occasionally point out to kids who have
unreal expectations of teacher performance, "HEY, **I'VE** passed 8th
grade!  And then some."
Leona Payne
... I tried to drown my sorrows, but the little twits learned to swim!
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