Sunday, September 20, 2009

Mr. Ego, team teaching, following the rules

Mr. Ego continues to bury himself. He has now told his students that they should come to him and he will tell them, confidentially, why they don't want to visit the rest of us for tutoring. I guess he doesn't realize they are telling the other teachers what he says - or he thinks he can turn it into a he said, she said situation. Unfortunately, he has been asked to stop saying these things and persists, so the administration will have to get involved.

I had to meet with the admin over the special ed teachers because one of the ones I have will not meet with me and will not honor the accommodations we have for special ed students. Apparently I had a reputation with the admin for being unreasonable, because I watched her change her opinion as I talked with her. Last year, I kept trying to explain that they had given me a social studies teacher who didn't know math and kept trying to teach anyway. A really sweet woman, grandmotherly type, but she'd teach them wrong and it is almost impossible, without completely undermining her effectiveness, to reteach it correctly. And I think I succeeded in undermining her as a teacher in that class.

Did you know that (2x + 4)/3 = 2? I didn't, but that is how she taught things. I kept asking her to do administrative stuff (like the roll) or discipline and leave the teaching to me, but she kept teaching them wrong.

Now the teacher knows the material (I think - I have kids telling me she is telling them to add the checks and subtract the deposits on a check register) but will not meet with me and thinks the kids don't need to be pulled out for a test EVEN THOUGH THEIR IEP SAYS THEY HAVE TO BE because she doesn't want to walk them to her room. And I usually pull half the class so as not to single anyone out.

So now, we have to have real meetings with real agendas and documented, because she was unwilling to meet with me for 2 minutes a day and do her job.

I was told that she seems to be more interested in the curriculum than in the students. I can appreciate that, but I am not a special ed teacher and don't want to switch roles for this class.

I try to do the best for each student and differentiate, but I have a general ed position NOT the special ed one and I shouldn't have to be the one to leave my room to take kids Godknowswhere in order to fulfill their IEP.

It's going to be a long year. Thank goodness the other 2 are reasonable, decent professionals.

2 comments:

Pissedoffteacher said...

I don't even have a special ed teacher with me yet--they did give me ten kids that need one,though.

Got to love the NYC DOE!

I hope we get cited by the state for being out of compliance.

Ricochet said...

I hope we do as well so that Mrs. Idontdobathroompasses gets cited.