One of the F16s that went down has responded to my question as to whether it was mechanical failure or what. Here is that interchange over the past two days:
ME: SO I know it’s not my place to ask but how did the storytelling thing pan out over the year? I ask really bc I feel that the training available is not doing the job. The forces against what we are doing are simply too entrenched and our training is not sufficient. Really what I want to know is why you quit the PLC.
HER: I am not teaching now because I was not renewed. I was overwhelmed by the responsibility of being the only language teacher in a charter school for gifted and talented students with a 30 % turnover rate. Everyone is required to take Spanish, and I was admonished to differentiate in classes that were not leveled for past experience. Promises were made by the administration that any 8th grader, who demonstrated 1st year competence, would receive 2 Carnegie credits for the year by finishing 1st year by Christmas and having year 2 in the spring. Then the administration recanted. Some students were leveled by ability and others not. The teaching environment became hostile and the administration too. It was too much for me.
ME: I wrote a blog article about people not continuing with CI like you. If you want to read it it is on the resources “What’s in the PLC?” link, entitled F16s.
HER: I took the time to find the blog you wrote and I am tearful. I feel your support and [your] love of the students and teachers who engage in language acquisition. I am looking for a job for the fall with clipped wings. I am only interviewing for part time elementary school positions. I got a call from a high school principal and turned down the interview because the position was full time. I feel like I need time to learn and get proficient at CI before I can tackle a full on assault, again.
ME: Your answer gave me goose bumps. I suspected it.
HER: I would like more training, but being unemployed did not feel like I could afford the conference in Las Vegas this summer.
ME: National conferences are not that great and very costly. Bryce and I are thinking of doing some regional intensive two day trainings – 11 hours per day – next summer where we come to you and demo and model and then coach, with the focus on coaching and teachers standing on their feet and working. Bryce and I have been talking about working together for over ten years now and we realize now that the time is next summer to offer additional training to what is out there now.
HER: I would like to add that a positive, trustworthy and safe environment is of utmost importance in TPRS. The students stopped believing me. I was unable to deliver what was promised. Count me in on regional training.