And just at the moment I started enjoying myself, getting into the rhythm of a lazy, relaxing life...summer vacation is over. Tomorrow's my first day back.
I'll be spending two lovely hot August days in a high school in - I guess this place is in East Texas somewhere. It's by Balch Springs, which is really pretty far away. I feel sort of like those of us who taught at the Edison schools and these other low-performing schools are being punished by DISD.
- We get two fewer days of summer vacation. They could have kept us two hours late a few times and covered the hours we'll be spending doing curriculum training over the next two days.
- Just having to go to training is punishment. Staff Development/Training in the district is so pathetic I don't think it warrants even having that title.
On that subject, though, before anyone is going to start treating teachers more professionally, we're going to have to start acting the part. During these training sessions, teachers eat, drink, leave to take mobile phone calls, draw, talk, pay bills, really anything to avoid listening to the boring presenters and looking at countless sub-standard PowerPoint presentations. I am not saying I'm not guilty of this, because I certainly am. I already have plans for what I'll do to kill time tomorrow [draw pictures].
Maybe now that I've thought this out I won't be rude and will pay attention to the presenters. Maybe they'll present the information in such a way that is neither condescending nor sleep inducing. Maybe that's what it'll take for schools to improve in this town.
Where was I?
- Being made to drive out to Balch Springs/Seagoville/Whereverthisstupidhighschoolis. There is no way that more than half of the people going tomorrow live near this place. I live in the center of town and it's still at least a 30-minute drive for me. I can't even imagine how long it will take for the teachers who live in North Dallas, Lewisville, Plano, and other cities. I can't understand why there's not some central location somewhere [I think this might be what Nolan Estes Plaza was supposed to be] where all training can take place.
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