Wednesday, February 8, 2017

From Alphabet City to Midtown

I'm writing from the 5th school I've been placed at in my ATR rotation, the Facing History School on West 50th.  Too soon to tell what it will be like, but it seems alright.  Not like my last school which had its own building, this one shares space with several other schools.  Based on past history, that can be a mixed bag.  Time will tell.

Trying to be optimistic though, so far things have been fairly positive.  I would think there are better ways to use my time than having me hang in the teacher's lounge and surf the web all day.  I'm hoping I can meet some of the other Social Studies staff and see if I can hang out in their rooms on occasion.  Someone with my experience, and I have a bit, could be useful in a classroom.  If anything, as ATRs, this is one area where we could be useful.  Helping to grade papers, co-planning.

It's not ideal, obviously, but it's better than nothing.  I know that idea is tempting to some.  Who wouldn't want to just come to school and relax?  I get it.  It's fine for a few days, but after awhile it gets boring.  While I won't say I miss planning, I do kind of miss having my own class and getting to know the kids better.  Now that this DeVos thing is over with (which we all saw coming) I just hope that the activism on the part of people in education doesn't fade away.  On top of that, I hope people realize that the real battle is still here.  Cuomo still hates us, De Blasio still doesn't seem to care too much and schools in NYC are still beset with awful principals (not all) who regularly abuse teachers and try to end careers.

On top of that is the UFT who doesn't seem to do much of anything.  Though I suppose doing nothing is something.