mediocrity + incompetence = enragement

an open and pissed off letter to the leaders of my school:

i hate to be the teacher that points to the UFT contract every time something is asked of them, but are we forgetting, dear principal status quo and ap clarification needs, (yes, we need shorter nicknames), that you assigned me a 25 period/week teaching schedule. yes, that means that my preps are used, by me, for "preparing for my classes" and my lunches are used by me for "eating foods". this means, that i am not required to spend those precious 40 minute breaks between double and triple blocks of teaching doing things such as preparing web based progress reports for 500 someodd students, and assigning permission to 40 someodd teachers, or printing said reports. nor am i required to spend those precious 'preps' and 'lunches' repairing broken equipment, writing or delivering trainings for people who are not students, or distributing equipment to people.

some teachers may choose, out of the kindness of their hearts, to stay late, offer their time and service for free, and complete tasks because they want to. if time allotted, i would consider, but i have many out-of-school responsibilities and obligations that i am committed to, including a shoulder injury requiring therapy and full-time graduate program, amongst many others. if can finish my contractual duties by 3pm, then surely, i am free to go.

additionally, if i provide my professional opinion regarding the amount of time a particular project will take, please do not expect it to be 100% completed when you've only offered 1/5 of the amount of time stated. oh, and yes, it's true, i don't have a homeroom, but during the 12 minutes of morning homeroom, and 5 minutes of afternoon homeroom, i'd venture it's safe to say that not a whole lot of administrative work gets done, but i'll be damn sure to try.

sincerely,

appple