I probably should have been less cryptic in my last post, but I was being very ambiguous because I wasn't sure about what was going on/what had been said/what was true.
Here's what happened. I felt like a failure. I have had the assistant principal in my room most of last week during my last period class. They were my worst kids. On Thursday the AP came in and tried to put words in my mouth, then made 2 severe accusations against me. Severe because these are 2 of the top reasons that teachers can get fired/transferred/first year teachers are terminated. She then went on to tell me things aren't just working out and Friday was my last day as a long term sub. When she told me these 2 things I took them very seriously. I first told my parents. My parents didn't believe it. My mom believed there was an alternative motive. Driving to work Friday I was in a bitter mood. I was hurt that these accusations had been made and I hadn't heard about them prior. The principal should have been talking to me if that were the case. Driving to work Friday I had a revelation. I knew who my replacement was, and it was all suddenly clear. The sub who is taking over for me is buddy buddy with the principal and needed a job. She has a different credential than me and could easily slide her in my place. Friday afternoon I talked to Linda and told her the story. I told her the accusations. I told her the replacement. It all made sense. Replacement is drinking buddies with the principal. I asked Linda her thoughts on the accusations and she dismissed those. The more we talked about it the more it seemed how implausible these accusations are because of the things that I did do- I reached out to parents in English and Spanish- I did many other things that made me more skeptical. We talked for over an hour. We talked to the office manager who told us what she was told. Basically it comes down to politics- this gal is well liked and there was NO reason to get rid of me (other than now they don't have to pay me long term sub pay and they save a lot of money for that ~$500), but to make it seem like there was a problem the principal and assistant principal made up these allegations. When the principal saw I was walking his direction on Friday at lunch he darted into a classroom as quickly as he could. Basically finding out what I did from the office manager did put my mind at ease, but I do want and need to talk to him, and have an appointment hopefully tomorrow to confirm that these allegations aren't real.
So basically in breaking down the last post-
I tried- I tried my best and came up with lots of creative activities to help the kids.
Its one of those things that until you see both sides, you should not judge. - Principal didn't come into my room and was making up this stuff, and if it was the basis on my bad class you were choosing to dismiss me, then you should really see what is going on in there.
You should have been the one there trying to help- that is your job. - If I had an accusation about something against me, you, as principal have it in your best interest to help/confront me. That will help me grow as a professional.
If you had a problem, why not come to me? It is about professionalism.
Maybe I should have spoken up, but given my position it was not the best thing to do.There is always risk in that. I was not given a ton of support outside of friends and family. It is hard to spoke up when you are not a tenured teacher. Subs are disposable. I was truthful, but maybe should have been more vocal. I really wanted a job at the school. Now, I'm questioning whether I want a job there.
I did exactly as I was told. I did exactly as I was supposed to. I even added my own ideas to ensure success. I question what I knew going in and whether this was part of the plan, and if I was used in that way, then it was very wrong to do it that way. - I took the resources that were left for me to run the class, I added my own ideas so that it wasn't all just worksheets. I added supplemental materials, videos, Powerpoints, and internet websites.
10 comments:
It is clear that you did nothing wrong. You MUST hold on to that fact if nothing else. Sadly, there are always politics at work in the education field. Most outsiders don't believe that, but I can attest to that fact.
It is times like this that make people question the "professionalism" of educators. Why can't we be considered a profession? It is because of morons who give our profession (and it is a true profession) a bad reputation.
Keep your chin up, my friend.
Oh politics. It leaves such a stain . . .
Mike!
I'm sorry to hear about this.
Clearly this has left you hurt and frustrated.
You should've punched that AP right in the face! HA!
Okay, maybe that idea might not work out well.
But I think you're doing everything right.
Even your reaction seems healthy. Questioning whether you'd even want to work there after what happened sounds wise to me.
Continue to search elsewhere where your talents can be put to better use.
(((HUGS)))
-Dean
Mike: I'm so sorry that this happened to you, politics happens everywhere and it sucks. This is so unfair. The did not have the decency to just wait until your temporary appointment was up.
You probably cannot undo this since the administrators have the upper hand. What you should try to do though is make sure these false accusations do not appear on your permanent record.
With this bad taste in your mouth, you probably would not want to work for this principal anyway. Still, you don't want something put in your personnel file that is false and that could influence future hiring decisions.
Mike: I thought about this some more, is there a grievance process you can file? It's totally unfair for them 1) not to give you any feedback about the fake problem and also 2) they did not give you a chance to address their concerns. See what rights your union has because you could drag this out if can file a grievance (for example, they are not following their usual termination policy).
The best you can do at this point is to get them to let you finish up your temporary posting - the position would then naturally open up and so no bogus accusations are needed or would enter into your personnel file.
Surely they can't just make up these accusations and then fire you in the same sentence.
Like FOC said, isn't there a grievance procedure that needs to take place.
I would look into getting to independent advice.
*hugs* Keep me updated on the situation, ok?
@ Joey: Thanks for the kind words! :)
@ Aek: Crimson red.
@ Dean: Thanks for the hugs!
@ fan of casey: There is no grievance because I am temporary and easily disposable being a substitute. They can get rid of me for any reason. Substitutes are also not a part of the teachers union. I was trying to meet with the principal today and district to make sure nothing was being left in my file.
@ Mind of Mine: I've been talking to all of my teacher friends.
@ James: Thanks, of course!
This sucks! I am so sorry! All you can do is your best, and hope that karma catches up with this principal. God, such people are in charge of schools and tomorrow's generation, yikes!
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