out of the classroom!

I'm in professional development this week, getting trained to use my program. Exciting! It's a five-day training with three days of follow-up over the rest of the school year, and if today was any indication, there will be enough material to comfortably fill about 1/3 of that time. The worst thing about it, apart from the length (for which my years of schooling have more than adequately prepared me), is the veteran teachers. Some of them are wonderful. Others are bitter, angry, prone to derailing the conversation, incapable of turning off their snarky running commentary, and generally much worse-behaved than I would tolerate from a classroom of teenagers. Additionally, one gentleman who has been in the profession for "30 or 40 years" is given to asking things like, between English Language Learners and monolingual English speakers with extreme difficulty reading, "which ones are dumber."

It's horrible to say, but I am glad not to be at school, the reason being that my long-term position will not be there when I get back. Long story short: A-track, being closest to the traditional calendar, is very popular and thus generally overpopulated. My school attempted to correct for this, and in fact corrected for it so well that there are now "too many classes" and "not enough students," necessitating the speedy removal of seven or eight teaching positions. My sub spot, as an unfilled position, is an obvious target, as it involves no actual firing. So it is back to day-to-day for me. Sigh.

Problems with this scenario:

• "Dehired" teachers likely to leave for other schools in frustration rather than shifting to still-unfilled B and C track positions
• Not sure how a track with "not enough students" still has classes where students must sit on the floor
• School is still aggressively trying to OT students who were late on the first day of school, regardless of their attendance, behavior, and work habits in the meantime
• Day-to-day blows

Clarification: "OT" means "Opportunity Transfer" which means "we are sick of yo' shit and are shipping yo' ass to another school." An opportunity, theoretically, to start fresh, as though you're not blacklisted from the minute staff realizes you're there (which is the second you set foot on campus.) I have heard of students being OT'd at least six times.

It's not like these kids are all hard cases with one too many strikes against them. Two case studies in the educational burlesque that is the OT:

Shaun, a junior, member of the varsity basketball team. Sits by himself when his teammates do groupwork so he will not be distracted; asks for comprehension strategies and reads with silent, ferocious determination. Says, unprompted, that his biggest goal is to be the first in his family to go to college. Takes extra time to explain the assignment to Jamaal. Is in his seat, on time and prepared, every day.
Jamaal, another junior, also on the team. A SpEd student who loves to make people laugh and who has trouble with comprehension of verbal instructions but who checks himself when he gets too distracted and will not let you leave until he understands what to do. Also in his seat, on time, prepared, each and every day.

Last week both of these boys had looks of real distress, and when I asked them what was wrong, they told me the same thing: They're OTing me. I was late on the first day.

I told them, call your mom. Go get your coach. Get all your teachers - anyone who will fight for you. Nothing - nothing - makes me angrier than an educational system that works to weed out students who are desperate to learn.