Just in case I may have had a fleeting thought of staying in the classroom for one more year, there occurred an event this week that sealed the retirement deal for good.
We were called in to a series of SST and 504 plan meetings. Somehow the teachers are responsible for getting our classes covered to be able to attend these meetings. Do you think that anyone really wants to lose their planning period to babysit another class?
In one of the five meetings I had with parents last week, the mother had decided that the school wasn't doing enough for her child. Her child has an SST plan that says she has trouble learning math. Apparently this involves sitting down and giving her private tutoring while ignoring the other 36 students in her class. I suggested that she come after school for tutorial and that was out of the question. Apparently the child had not given her mother any progress reports and the school's parent portal which lists all grades in every class,never works for this mother. Now- I have never had a problem with this student. I had no idea that there was any animosity about her grade. She has a C in class. She isn't able to succeed on her tests. She gets good grades on any assignment that involves group work.
What has education come to? Shouldn't a parent be embarrassed by the fact that they haven't any idea what their child's grade is? Shouldn't the parent be embarrassed that the daughter lied about when progress reports were given? Should the parent and student bear any responsibility for the process of learning?
Well thank you Mrs. #######. You are able to reaffirm my decision to retire. I have toyed with the idea of staying one more year. There is no chance in Hell that I will be teaching next year!
