I'm sorry

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Home : 2008 : March : 21

I'm sorry
By hrush

While agree that it is awful that your ST has no clue, perhaps you should set up a video camera to tape her teaching and then both discuss the lesson afterwards. It will not make what she does at the time better, but perhaps
she might see that the kids aren't learning.

I worked with a teacher several years ago that had no clue. I had to go into to her room often to solve problems for her. The principal, PDC members, and Special Ed. even try to point out things to help her. She would only focus on one thing at a time. That sounds reasonable if she had maintained the other things she had already

worked on. Some people walk through life with blinders on. I know that none of this may help, but at least you are there to protect your students. The class that this teacher had only had her until I worked on rescheduling so that all the extra push in programs went to her instead of the other classes in the grade level only to make sure that the students knew that there was someone there to count on. We were departmentalized and Sped. was push in. I worked it out that the ones that required in class help had to be split up for some reason I don't even remember now what it was. The Sped. teacher had come to me worried about her kiddos and I told her that I would like to split them so that we might be able to help the teacher as well as the kids. The principal and I spent hours trying to figure out different ways to help this teacher. I really think that some can't be helped and don't belong in the classroom, but some how they occasionally end up in a school system.

That being said I really think that sometimes see ourselves on tape can be help especially if we discuss what both see going on during the lesson. Oh, and if the principal accidentally came in and stayed to share some thoughts about what you are watching.

You may need to tape yourself teaching a lesson as well so that you can say it is something that I do from time to time to check myself. You could even teach the same lesson a few days later as a "review" and show what they did or didn't learn. This might drive home the point that they should have learned it when "she" was teaching. Okay, that was petty, but it would show her that you are not picking on her. It would also provide a better understanding that yes activity is great and wonderful if the students understand what they are learning, but movement for movement sake teaches nothing other then when I am at the front let's play. I know that you understand this, but I hate giving up even when it drives me crazy. Perhaps, everyone before you has figured that she would never get this far, because of one reason or another. I also know that some times you just have to shoot a lame horse, because there is nothing else to do. Just make sure that you feel that you did everything you could before you pass her on and can live with that. I know that sounds crazy but at least you took the steps to help and the principal can say that it was a team effort to help when she leaves the school. She will probably blame everything on everyone else, but you will have the knowledge that you made the effort to help.