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bcb · 02-27-2009, 05:22 PM

I am also a first year teacher and can tell you a couple of things I've learned:

1.) The 1/3 of Alberta teachers leaving the profession within the first five years were not simply "bored".

2.) The time the teacher physically leaves the building is not proportional to how good a teacher he or she is.

3.) In order to get tenure (that's a nasty word, isn't it!), the majority of teachers will have to sub, take temp contracts, go through 1 full probationary year, then get tenure. This generally involves a minimum of 4 classroom evaluations by an administrator

4.) A tenured teacher can be fired for incompetence or misconduct. Does it happen everyday? No. Like most other professions, teachers (who haven't committed an egregious act of misconduct), will work with administrators to improve their performance before they are simply fired.

5.) Lets suppose 5% of teachers in any given school board are incompetent: Do you actually believe that in any given large corporation downtown, there aren't 5% of employees slacking off/leaving early/ taking advantage of benefits, etc?

It is my belief that people who are most critical of teachers could never stomach an authority figure presiding over their lives 200 days a year. (They also probably never got along with their parents much either). These people will only be satisfied with one concession from teachers...Work for free, at a private school, 365 days a year.

02-27-2009, 05:22 PM	#131
bcb Scoring Winger Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Calgary Exp:	I am also a first year teacher and can tell you a couple of things I've learned: 1.) The 1/3 of Alberta teachers leaving the profession within the first five years were not simply "bored". 2.) The time the teacher physically leaves the building is not proportional to how good a teacher he or she is. 3.) In order to get tenure (that's a nasty word, isn't it!), the majority of teachers will have to sub, take temp contracts, go through 1 full probationary year, then get tenure. This generally involves a minimum of 4 classroom evaluations by an administrator 4.) A tenured teacher can be fired for incompetence or misconduct. Does it happen everyday? No. Like most other professions, teachers (who haven't committed an egregious act of misconduct), will work with administrators to improve their performance before they are simply fired. 5.) Lets suppose 5% of teachers in any given school board are incompetent: Do you actually believe that in any given large corporation downtown, there aren't 5% of employees slacking off/leaving early/ taking advantage of benefits, etc? It is my belief that people who are most critical of teachers could never stomach an authority figure presiding over their lives 200 days a year. (They also probably never got along with their parents much either). These people will only be satisfied with one concession from teachers...Work for free, at a private school, 365 days a year. __________________ “The fact is that censorship always defeats it's own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion.” Henry Steel Commager (1902-1998)