NYC Educator: Unmeasurable

NYC Educator: Unmeasurable

Unmeasurable

We all suffer through Danielson and her nonsense to one degree or another. Some of us have supervisors who aren't crazy, and honestly you can't ask for more than that. All of us feel the pressure regardless. Then there are the grades and tests. Not enough are passing. It must be your fault, says the supervisor. Well, it isn't my fault. All I do is walk around and pass judgment on you, so I have nothing to do with what those children experience.

It's tough, though. You want to be kind to everyone. You want to be kind to the boy who doesn't feel Fridays are an appropriate day for school. When he shows up to one of the two classes you teach him, you try to pay him some attention. The topic is what jobs are worth having. He tells you it doesn't make a difference as long as you make a lot of money. You tell him what if you wake up every morning and dread going in? Wouldn't that make you unhappy? Wouldn't it make a difference if you had a job you looked forward to?

You see him thinking. You've made a point he will consider. But he'll still cut your next class, because that's what he does. It's your fault. Sure you've called the phone number the school has, but it's actually his number. It's not like you have anything new to say to him about his attendance, and it's not like anything you say will alter his behavior. He may wake up and decide to do something differently at any moment, but it's likely not one coming soon.

Then there's the boy who used to be in special education in his home country. Who knows what they do in special education in that country, but every paper he hands you is either blank or filled with random words, likely as not CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Unmeasurable