RL issue that is just plain BULL$#!T!!!!

[XMEN Ashaman DTM]

Okay, my gf is a teacher in Palmdale, CA. She's got a general ed credential and was trained as a general ed teacher in WA state for K-12 teaching. Since last September, she's been teaching sixth grade special ed. She's got kids that flip out and tear stuff up, kids that tell her they hate themselves, one down's kid, and several that seem regular enough but are behind.

She's had an EXTREMELY rough week/month/year and this will be her first real break after learning that her principal doesn't want her at the school next year. Only she (principal) didn't say ANYTHING about any problems prior to thursday. And she won't tell my gf why she doesn't want her around. It's stupid.

I'll tell you what, DO NOT EVER let any of your teacher friends think about going to a teaching job in Palmdale, CA. They do things like take a first year teacher, who has a general ed credential, and put them in their first classroom as a special ed teacher, yet they don't give you any ideas on what to teach, who to talk to, what to do, and if you have a problem kid, it's special ed. Deal with it. If I were in my girlfriend's shoes, I would have told my principal to @#%$ off since she's not giving a reason why she's terminating the contract at the end of the year. And I would have definitely given her a piece of my mind. CA state law says she doesn't have to, but the woman doesn't even give the courtesy to state what Katie is doing wrong.

The problem is that if Katie's principal is saying that she doesn't want her at the school next year, and the termination goes on Katie's record, then she'll have to explain that to future employers. AND I don't see how Katie will get a letter of recommendation from her current principal if she doesn't want her to teach there next year (and by the sound of it, if she had her way, Katie would never teach in Palmdale again). Talk about #$##ing BULL$#!T!

I know for a fact that Katie is not a bad teacher. She's a first year teacher, so she'll have some jitters. She's got zero experience teaching special ed students, but she's got them almost to the level of a general ed class (these are retarded kids, down's kids, kids that have severe emotional problems, and kids that just don't care). Katie puts her entire heart into her class (I know... I often don't get to spend too much time with her even though I live with her!) It's taking a lot of my patience to stop myself from writing a letter to Katie's principal and telling her she's full of @#%$. Especially since I know that the woman has NEVER once offered any support... Katie has been assigned a class, told to teach, and then that's the last thing you hear from any sort of management or supervisor. And they expect her to know everything? And when Katie asks, they're too busy to answer; or too much like a teenager sighing after they're told to clean their room!



So most of my time has been spent supporting my gf (pretty much every day). I don't mind, but for her principal to basically say that Katie sucks as a teacher, when it's quite the opposite, really, I mean REALLY pisses me off.
:x

[insaneferret]

i've heard so many horror stories about tightwad school districts ans special ed its insane, my aunt is in the same situation, teaching special ed with no formal training, its essentially an excersise in crowd control. Problem is the school districts dont give a damn about the special ed classes, they dont take exams so the school wont get ranked well off thier exam statistics, but they have to teach them, despite the fact that most of them are un-educatable and little more than drooling morons, so they slap anyone they can find on the class to keep them under control and thats that. not to mention the turnover rate of these teachers is extremely high as they go insane and quit.

this is horribly insensitive, but its a funny read and should cheer her up somewhat that shes not alone with this, a blog by a special ed teacher chronicling her adventures: http://www.tard-blog.com

[Ghryphen]

Special Education just hit the news here http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sit...ry/html/185714