Advice regarding GF's teaching job

[Get Smart]

so, my fiancee is a first year teacher right out of getting her credential. She got placed into 8th grade and happened to get the worst group of kids this school has ever seen, from grade 1 until now. 1/3 of her class is failing and they are unruly and don't listen or do their work.

She just found out today from her principal that she isn't getting renewed next school year and is out of a job as there are no lower grade positions available. The principal stated that she doesnt feel 8th grade is something she can handle (which has some truth to it) and she'd be better suited at a lower grade level. Needless to say she's really upset about it all, esp as her school is literally 5 minutes away from home.

So, my question is, when she starts applying for a new job at different schools, how should she express why she was released from her current school without making it sound like she can't do the job?

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by Get Smart

so, my fiancee is a first year teacher right out of getting her credential. She got placed into 8th grade and happened to get the worst group of kids this school has ever seen, from grade 1 until now. 1/3 of her class is failing and they are unruly and don't listen or do their work.

She just found out today from her principal that she isn't getting renewed next school year and is out of a job as there are no lower grade positions available. The principal stated that she doesnt feel 8th grade is something she can handle (which has some truth to it) and she'd be better suited at a lower grade level. Needless to say she's really upset about it all, esp as her school is literally 5 minutes away from home.

So, my question is, when she starts applying for a new job at different schools, how should she express why she was released from her current school without making it sound like she can't do the job?


Maybe that she was working in that grade and there were no openings for that grade and higher?

 

[modsquad]

It sounds to me like something along the lines of "Grade eight wasn't right for me and I'm better suited to to teach younger kids" would be fine. Then push the interview in the direction of why she'd be so great for elementary school kids, not what went wrong with the class she had this year.

 

[MrRogers]

This is the third time I have heard this same scenario. First year teacher given a difficult class/grade that they work with for a year and then look elsewhere. No offense intended to your fiancee get smart but most education training is seriously lacking in regards to behavioral interventions to keep a class "in control". Some of my work is in inner city classrooms where the kids just terrorize the teacher who inturn has zero control over their students.

I can't offer any advice RE: how to sugarcoat her experience in future interviews as anyone in the know is going to know what type of experience she had and why she is no longer there. Since the school year is only 1/2 over I'd advise you to encourage her not to give-up and to investigate methods to regain control over her class. It'll be more difficult now that they've been pushing her around for 1/2 the school year, but its certainly possible. Only being able to teach early elem classes will also limit her opportunities for employment in the future.

Good luck

MrR

 

[Quirk]

Sorry to hear she's having a tough time, but hopefully she can make the rest of the year into a good learning experience. Are there other teachers who can help give her some guidance on how to handle these kids? Also, if they're recognized as a particularly incorrigible group, why is the principal so disappointed? Sounds like a jerk.

 

[Tck13]

Why not just say something along the lines of

"I have experience but prefer grades k-5" (or whatever).

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by modsquad

It sounds to me like something along the lines of "Grade eight wasn't right for me and I'm better suited to to teach younger kids" would be fine. Then push the interview in the direction of why she'd be so great for elementary school kids, not what went wrong with the class she had this year.


this looks like the best answer to me.


by the way - I think that a large number of teachers drop out after this first year "initiation". my brother in law, who claimed to have wanted to be a teacher all his life, did. so your GF is way ahead of the game that she is willing to push forward. good for her.

 

[LARon]

What she says will largely depend on her audience. For example, if applying to schools with a similar student population/culture she should emphasize her enthusiasm about molding younger, more impressionable minds where pre-teen and early teen-year pressures have not yet become distractions.

If applying to schools with different populations (i.e., with reputations for fewer disciplinary issues), she should re-affirm her enthusiasm for 8th graders (if that is in fact her preference) but note that she has found her influnce/teaching style to be most effective with kids who evidence strong parental involvement/support or who themselves have a passion for (or at least an interest in) learning.

In either case she's telling the truth in a positive way and not dumping on the prior school (even though the second spiel clearly is a backhanded reference).

 

[lawyerdad]

GS:
I'm sorry this happened, that's not a fun situation for anyone to be in - especially at the outset of her career. From all I know, it would have been harder to find a tougher assignment for a new teacher.
I agree with the advice others have given about what to say while discussing it. I'd add one thing: assuming she has at least some level of trust with her current principal, I'd recommend she ask the principal what - if anything - the principal will say when other schools ask for a reference or inquire about why she was not renewed. That will help to ensure that if potential new employers do "check up" on what she's telling them, they won't hear something that sounds inconsistent. In fact, if the principal really wants to be helpful, he/she and your GF may be able to agree on a way of characterizing what happened that is consistent, as positive as possible, and still truthful.

 

[GQgeek]

If I was a teacher I'd apply to private schools. The kids are a lot more respectful there. I still maintain relations with some of my teachers long after I've left.

 

[Quirk]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

If I was a teacher I'd apply to private schools. The kids are a lot more respectful there. I still maintain relations with some of my teachers long after I've left.
Or a charter school.

 

[Get Smart]

thanks for responses.

It turns out that the principal (who was only recently re-assigned to her school and has only been there since last october) may have overstepped her boundaries in telling my GF this news without her union rep present (which is supposedly the protocol). Her BITSA mentor also felt she was blindsided and not given proper due process so it's all sort of under some debate now.

re: teaching Private...I agree the environment is better but it pays far less and there are oftentimes no benefits associated.

I also agree that new teachers are not properly trained in how to deal with an unruly class. Nowadays it's almost a given your class will be roudy, so I don't get why the credential program doesnt dedicate an entire course to provide proven methods of dealing with your students in a way that's appropriate to school policy. Nowadays teachers are given nearly no power to exercise any discipline.

Worst case scenario, she has a decent chance of being re-assigned to another school in the same district next year if this decision by her principal stands, assuming positions open up. And even in her current school one of the early grade teachers is planning to retire who's taken Cathie under her wing of sorts, so she could recommend that Cathie replace her next fall, since it's primarily an issue with her (in)ability to handle 8th graders that's the case, not being an effective teacher as her observations have been ranked highly.

 

[itsstillmatt]

my wife has a teaching credential and also a masters in special education (helps with the husband), yet she has never spent any time inside the classroom. Many of her friends are teachers and relayed the horror stories of working in the CA public school system to her while she was in her masters program. She primarily does testing and assessment, some remediation and works as an advocate for families trying to get services in schools.

Nowadays, there is no need to get a masters to do this kind of work. All that is really necessary is the training that your GF already has, and possibly a CET if she has any interest in testing. The hours are very light. I think that she works from about 2-5:30 each day and sometimes more when she is in the middle of several assessments. The pay is pretty good. I think that without breaking too much of a sweat, she can make 120k which makes up for a lack of benefits.

My point is that there are a lot of people that hate dealing with the school system. Many of them are parents and they are looking for people who are willing to supplement what the schools don't give and help with what they are having trouble with.

 

[Quirk]

Originally Posted by Get Smart

re: teaching Private...I agree the environment is better but it pays far less and there are oftentimes no benefits associated.
Are you sure about that? I suspect that's an oft-repeated generalization that quite often doesn't hold true, at least to the degree one might think. Of course markets will vary, but she should be sure to investigate that situation thoroughly.

 

[Get Smart]

yes, my GF interviewed with 2 private schools and they both offered far less in terms of salary and benefits. I think a reason for that is because you don't need to be credentialed to teach private school. I also have a friend who taught private and she made very little as well. I'm sure there are exceptions but this appears to be the norm, which goes against common sense since privates offer a "better" education and you'd think they'd pay more to bring in a higher caliber of teacher.