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Report from the Field – Steve Ford
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13 thoughts on “Report from the Field – Steve Ford”
February 24th is Monday. Let’s get some more feedback to Steve on this. Steve what does this mean –
…I was given the choice between accepting a non re-elect or resignation….
This is the time of year when teachers start to get forced out, usually – I want to say almost always – by some strong old guard political force within the building which puts their will into the minds of weak administrators. Is this happening in your situation Steve?
Ben, That is exactly what is happening. The department chair, who has been in my classroom once in two years to observe me, wants to keep the program based in 1991. The false advertising in the department is maddening. I took the job specifically because they claimed to use TPR/TPRS. As I mentioned in the post, I felt as if I had the support of the principal but last Thursday he and the head of HR took me into a room. As the HR guy made the announcement to me, the principal didn’t make eye contact with me. He just stared at the table.
Wow, Steve, that is maddening.
To me, this looks like the principal is acting on orders from elsewhere. If it were genuinely his decision, he would have told you himself (unless he is a total milquetoast, and he didn’t sound like that in your post). His one act of assertion may have been that he refused to be the one who told you and forced someone else to do it. If it is coming from higher up, the administration generally has no problem finding someone who has no stake in the situation to do that for them. Even the option to resign instead of an outright termination may have been his attempt to help you out.
Not that this makes the situation any easier to bear or any more fair, but principals often take the heat for decisions that are made higher up the food chain. I agree with Ben, this is a clear signal that you are better of somewhere else; someone apparently sees you as a threat and would constantly undermine anything you do.
Steve,
I am so sorry to hear that you are going through this. But….on the bright side, it is your opportunity for a change.
I don’t know about the west coast, but here in the East, there is always a question on teacher applications that asks if you “have ever not been renewed” and if so, then you have to say why.
However, if you resign, then the ball is in your court – you resigned for growth opportunities — you have the chance to put a positive spin on future job interviews, instead of explaining why they didn’t renew your contract.
UNLESS……they say they are RIFing you (Reduction in Force)
Jeez! that really sucks! (sorry, it ticks me off that they did that you!)
mb, I know those “Have you ever been terminated from a previous job or resigned to avoid termination?” questions very well. If I were to be honest, I’d have to answer, “Yes”. And I usually (note: “usually”) answer “Yes,” and say something vague about how the administration had a new vision for the school. It’s funny how little this termination/resignation issue ever comes up in an interview (and be assured that I’ve gone through the interview process several times over my 11 year teaching career… having worked in Chicago through this era of school-closings). So, Steve, I wouldn’t worry much about how resigning, or even getting terminated, would effect your chances of picking up a job in the future. It happens to so many people for so many different reasons. More important is having references who can speak glowingly about you.
This doesn’t make sense to me, Steve. Your administrator previously liked your teaching to the point of wanting you to talk with your department about it, but now is unwilling to offer you a contract? Phew.
What language do you teach, Steve?
Hi Diane, I am surprised. I really thought I had the support of the principal. I teach Spanish. I also have an authorization to teach Economics.
…we do TPR for three months….
Dude. I would be running away from that building as fast as I could. Three months of TPR. I’d rather have a ten root canals.
You may actually have had the support of the principal, but he was loyal to someone else. Anybody have a Spanish job anywhere?
What Ben said. (See my comment above)
There’s a middle school Spanish position open for next year in my district, the St. Joseph School District in St. Joseph, Missouri, but I wouldn’t come here for Spanish–especially in middle school–unless I was ready for a fight and another possible move in the near future.
The thing about job insecurity is that it is so emotionally difficult. One day there will be departments in which we can not feel threatened by those who think differently than we do. There are some now, but not too many. Most of us are out there roughing it, picking up on thebad vibrations. But once it turns, as it has here at Lincoln, it turns completely and those who think and teach the old way shrivel up and blow away, and that happens fast. Please keep us posted on how things develop this spring, Steve.