If you you google this subject, you find that the UK is mired in this mess- maybe more so than her former colony.
When my principal used to call me into his office to let me know the latest allegation, he'd say "Why do you think they are doing this?" It took awhile before I replied "Because they CAN." It's a control issue. When they see their buddies doing it, they can't wait to join the feeding frenzy. Shame on the administration for using it to drive a teacher out rather than doing a real investigation.
why the epidemic?
vast majority of these allegations are considered false
Showing posts with label unfounded. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unfounded. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
UK report: half of the accusations aganst teachers are unfounded.
Let me say that abusing a child or anyone else is not to be condoned. Second, it is understandable that the nature of such incidents probably makes it hard to prove as it often involves 2 individuals in some private area. Having said that, my own experiences with accusations have made me realize how loose children and some adults can be with the truth and accusations of impropriety. There was usually an element of truth in most instances where I was accused of something. Sadly, the emphasis has now been focused on simply allowing oneself to be put in a situation where allegations can be made. "You kept the girl in at lunch?"
"Yes...she didn't finish her classwork. Actually she never even started it, so I kept her for 5 minutes at lunch."
"You were alone with her in your room? You are not to have students in your room alone any more."
I am sorry but I am sick and tired of walking on eggshells in order to do my job. I am tired of documenting what looks to be some sort of ambush by students and parents. They are often able to do it anyway "the customer is always right."
Read "Guilty until proven innocent" where the lawyer representing various accused teachers assumes around 80 percent of the teachers he defended were not guilty. That's pretty low odds when one considers that those are the cases that went as far as going to trial.
half of abuse cases appear unfounded in the UK
"Yes...she didn't finish her classwork. Actually she never even started it, so I kept her for 5 minutes at lunch."
"You were alone with her in your room? You are not to have students in your room alone any more."
I am sorry but I am sick and tired of walking on eggshells in order to do my job. I am tired of documenting what looks to be some sort of ambush by students and parents. They are often able to do it anyway "the customer is always right."
Read "Guilty until proven innocent" where the lawyer representing various accused teachers assumes around 80 percent of the teachers he defended were not guilty. That's pretty low odds when one considers that those are the cases that went as far as going to trial.
half of abuse cases appear unfounded in the UK
Saturday, November 26, 2011
student inventor projects 2
I was placed on administrative leave the following day for doing this. There were 5 parent complaints. My union appointed lawyer was little help. The word of the students (guess which ones?) were taken at face value while my defense was ignored. Some parents were so rabid about this video that the district went to the local police. Typical of the district kangaroo courts where admin plays judge and jury and often have a vested interest in a teacher leaving.
TEACHER HUNT
There any number of reasons a teacher might need to vent in this day and age: apathetic students, low prestige and pay, being overworked, too much red tape, etc. This blog was created to chronicle the various ways that students, parents and school administrators have rendered many teachers helpless in the face of unfounded accusations. I left my position as a junior high school teacher two years ago as I could no longer take it.
The administration uses the necessity of investigating each and every complaint as a wedge to drive the teacher out. And why not? The system is largely broken and operates as a baby sitting service where overworked administrators spend time putting out fires. What employee wants to spend more time in this disagreeable situation?
I would like to think some changes in policy can be made where unsubstantiated, vindictive and vexatious complaints against teachers are minimized. Under the present system, students and parents can accuse all they want with next to no consequences for false claims. Furthermore, the emphasis on grades has rendered the real reason for school, less important. Many indulgent parents want to believe their child and also have an axe to grind when memories of their own dislike for school/ teachers comes up. In my twenty years in education, I see things getting worse all the time. Memories of my last year are little more than a recurring string of visits to the principal's office following hearsay from some disgruntled pupil who didn't expect anything lower than a B- for showing up, and received a C instead.
One could argue that the sad state of our educational system is in part, due to the often hidden and nuanced dynamics where today's student often hopes to maximize their grade while keeping energy / time expenditures to a minimum.
So what is the usual root for complaints? low grades or being disciplined: the student's failure to meet expectations.
Most complaints against me started with a pushback after the above mentioned occurred. Sometimes the complaint/s came months after I had done something but now the student had a low grade. Teachers realize that politics is a part of the game they must play but, unfortunately, politics supersede academics in many places. The attempt to head off any sort of retaliation by students and parents pushes teachers to:
1. inflate grades
2. overlook disruptive or unproductive behavior
3. dumb down lessons (frustration creates disruption)
4. behave as if teaching is a popularity contest rather than teaching.
Almost every teacher surmises that whether or not students are learning, keeping their job is a matter of keeping complaints to a minimum. Many principals, who were never good students to begin with, make judgements about teachers based on complaints rather than assessing them on their ability to teach. What we have increasingly is an attempt to create the illusion of learning rather than the real thing so that when an administrator walks by the door, the kids are quietly engaged in some activity. The tendency to spoon feed students the answers keeps kids on task but it also keeps them from pushing themselves and keeps their threshold for dealing with frustration low.
I would suggest that posters not use their real names or mention the names of students, but getting the school's name, or geographical location might be helpful. A teacher wishing to contribute should enter 1. the events prompting the accusation, 2. possible motives behind the allegations 3. steps the administration took to resolve the issue 4. lessons learned, questions, etc. I will close this introduction by saying that I started my career with a masters degree, pride and idealism. By the time it ended I felt like I was practically powerless in the face of such stacked odds. I can't be only one to experience this.
The administration uses the necessity of investigating each and every complaint as a wedge to drive the teacher out. And why not? The system is largely broken and operates as a baby sitting service where overworked administrators spend time putting out fires. What employee wants to spend more time in this disagreeable situation?
I would like to think some changes in policy can be made where unsubstantiated, vindictive and vexatious complaints against teachers are minimized. Under the present system, students and parents can accuse all they want with next to no consequences for false claims. Furthermore, the emphasis on grades has rendered the real reason for school, less important. Many indulgent parents want to believe their child and also have an axe to grind when memories of their own dislike for school/ teachers comes up. In my twenty years in education, I see things getting worse all the time. Memories of my last year are little more than a recurring string of visits to the principal's office following hearsay from some disgruntled pupil who didn't expect anything lower than a B- for showing up, and received a C instead.
One could argue that the sad state of our educational system is in part, due to the often hidden and nuanced dynamics where today's student often hopes to maximize their grade while keeping energy / time expenditures to a minimum.
So what is the usual root for complaints? low grades or being disciplined: the student's failure to meet expectations.
Most complaints against me started with a pushback after the above mentioned occurred. Sometimes the complaint/s came months after I had done something but now the student had a low grade. Teachers realize that politics is a part of the game they must play but, unfortunately, politics supersede academics in many places. The attempt to head off any sort of retaliation by students and parents pushes teachers to:
1. inflate grades
2. overlook disruptive or unproductive behavior
3. dumb down lessons (frustration creates disruption)
4. behave as if teaching is a popularity contest rather than teaching.
Almost every teacher surmises that whether or not students are learning, keeping their job is a matter of keeping complaints to a minimum. Many principals, who were never good students to begin with, make judgements about teachers based on complaints rather than assessing them on their ability to teach. What we have increasingly is an attempt to create the illusion of learning rather than the real thing so that when an administrator walks by the door, the kids are quietly engaged in some activity. The tendency to spoon feed students the answers keeps kids on task but it also keeps them from pushing themselves and keeps their threshold for dealing with frustration low.
I would suggest that posters not use their real names or mention the names of students, but getting the school's name, or geographical location might be helpful. A teacher wishing to contribute should enter 1. the events prompting the accusation, 2. possible motives behind the allegations 3. steps the administration took to resolve the issue 4. lessons learned, questions, etc. I will close this introduction by saying that I started my career with a masters degree, pride and idealism. By the time it ended I felt like I was practically powerless in the face of such stacked odds. I can't be only one to experience this.
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