Our principal is coming down very hard on primary teachers -- K and 1st. She basically told us that every single child in our class needs to be reading on grade level unless they have a IEP that indicates a learning disability. And if we have kids that don't meet grade level expectations there will be consequences - I think the word "teaching malpractice" was mentioned - which is a term I've never heard of. She was very direct and rather harsh with the K teachers - saying that there is NO reason why every child cannot leave Kindergarten knowing all of the letters and letter sounds and meeting all the dibels benchmarks. Ok some kids start Kindergarten at the age of 4 and have never had ANY literacy in their life.
I am freakin' out a little. I have 6 kids I work with everyday in g.r. groups and they are making progress but it very slow. I suspect 3 of them have ADHD but it is undiagnosed and the parents won't intervene and help nor will they consult a doctor.
In some of the cases the child gets no help from home at all but that really doesn't matter in the eyes of our principal. She believes it is our job to teach every child to read and if any of them do not learn all that they need to know then we are terrible horrible teachers.
Does this sound a bit extreme? Can a teacher get fired if their whole class doesn't meet grade level expecations?
Hmmm....This sounds a little harsh to me. To expect them all to be on grade level is a great goal, however having consequences if that goal is not met seems like a threat. I don't know what to make of it though.
Make sure you document everything that was said by your prince! Document time, place and who was in attendance when she said it! Make sure you document anything else that she may say in the future in regards to "teaching malpractice." Keep this notebook with you. Do not leave it at school. Make sure you keep good records of your kid's progress. Also contact NEA. I hope I don't sound too paranoid, but trust me, if you have documentation, you may be able to do something about it.
I would give your principal the many studies that indicate that most children are not ready to read until they are 8 years old! Some studies indicate that we actually do more harm when we push students who aren't developmentally ready to read. What about your ELL students? Having high standards and wanting your students to read in K is all good, but holding your job hostage over it is a bit over the top!
How many children have not been identified yet that probably will be in a year or two? I don't know about your district, but we have very few Kindergartners w/ an IEP.... Most children are identified around late grade 1 or into grade two.
I have always thought that one of the hardest parts of early primary grades is the fact that many learning problems have not yet been identified. Why should you be punished for that?????
I absolutely hate it when principals with no early childhood experience or knowledge of developmentally appropriate practice pull crap like this. Two schools ago, our principal decided that teaching one letter a week to kindergarteners was babying them too much and declared that we should teach all the letters the first semester so that they would ALL be reading by Christmas. Furthermore, we were to have them memorize 100 (ONE HUNDRED!) dolch words by the end of the year. As an "incentive," students who had not demonstrated mastery of all 100 sight words were not allowed to attend the spring field trip (our one and only for the year) to the zoo. In order to accomplish all of this, we were to eliminate nap time and snack time--because after all, it's not fair that upper grades didn't get that extra amount of "planning time." Furthermore we had to eliminate any center that was "just playing" and did not directly and obviously pertain to math or language arts--so out went the blocks and housekeeping center.
What a nightmare. Thankfully, we moved out of town after that year. Good luck to you. I survived, and so will you. As others have said, document, document, document not only what your principal is saying, but EVERYTHING you are doing to help your struggling students.
Yep, you're right. Your principal is really out there.
Teaching malpractice does exist, but I've only heard about it. Never had the guts to do even minimal research. I heard about it in the context of parents coming back on a teacher many years later, trying to sue, saying the teacher did not adequately teach their child. How's that for a nightmare?
As far as getting fired over this, do you teach in a charter or private school? The rules seem different for those schools apart from public schools.
Love many pieces of advice you've received: DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT. The best way to document is spelled out by "I am anon".
Likewise, noapplemugs! hits the nail on the head with children not being identified until late 1st or 2nd grade. Trust me, I know. Taught 1st graders for 16 years.
Kteach2 is also right about studies of children not reading until they are 8 or so. I would caution you from sharing this information with your principal, though. With the mode she's in right now, she's just not going to listen to a different viewpoint. She's on a mission.
I sure hope your district pays a very high salary. For the principal to be dishing out such threats, she better have a line of teachers begging to teach at her school. I for one would ride out this year and hit the road. There is no winning with administration like this. Things will not change, and you will spend your teaching nervous and worried, instead of loving your career with passion. Make sure your union dues are paid up this year. Your admin is an idiot!!!
Wow. My biggest pet peeve...administrators with NO early childhood experience or education!!!!!! Yes, your administrator's approach is very extreme. All kindergarten and first grade teachers understand that not all kids learn in the same way and on the same day. Learning to read is a progression that is often unique to every learner. I would have a very difficult time working for this woman because of her uneducated views and need for control. With that being said, I would document everything. I would also anonomously stick research articles in her mailbox on the topic of literacy...a little more education never hurt anyone! Try your best, keep careful documentation on all your students, and make sure that you have evidence of growth and learning.
Contact the Reading Specialist and have this 'discussion' with him or her. (get ready to hear raucous laughter because she'll think you are joking) Request that the RS has a conversation with the principal about realistic expectations for kindergardeners with regard to emerging literacy. AND contact your union rep. There is always a wide range of background experience for entering K's all of which will affect how quickly/slowly each child will acquire phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, the alphabetic principle, and concepts of text. To expect you to 'magically' make them all readers is beyond the scope of even the most brilliant reading specialist!
It is very harsh (as another K teacher I could totally get on a soapbox right now about developmentally appropriate expectations, but I'll save it for another day). It could be trickling down from the district. I think I would mention it to your union rep and ask him/her to bring it up at the next meeting, or mention it to your president. This past year we had some major concerns about principals districtwide dictating our daily schedules to us (not just specials, lunch, etc., but who does science when, reading, etc.) and it was brought before the union by the end of the year. This year they told us our specials, lunch time and reading block. The rest was up to us. Speak out to someone who might be able to do something about it. Hopefully you have a strong union who will fight for you.
11-20-2009, 05:09 PM
Simple View
