IT AIN'T "MEATLOAF"!

You'll have to write to "carla" for the map.

Suzie... can you please post this as a main topic so all can see? I received this email and think all teachers should come out and show their support!

Dear Fred Burns supporters,


I would like to invite you to the Burns for the Board Tailgate Party & Fundraiser at USF's homecoming game against Cincinnati on Sat. Nov. 3rd. Bring family and friends to support Fred Burns and the USF Bulls! Food, Fun, and Fred Burns will be provided! We will be meeting prior to the game in Lot 3 (the North side of the Raymond James stadium; you'll need to enter through Lot 1. Please see attached map for exact locations). You will need to order your USF game tickets asap since they are going fast. Game time is still TBA. An update will be sent to you providing the tailgate time.

Contributions can be made by check or cash at the tailgate party. All contribution amounts are welcomed.

Please RSVP to carlacrabapple@yahoo.com with the approximate number of people who will be in your party by October 31st. Please feel free to forward this email to all interested parties and post on available blogs.

Looking forward to partying with you!

ExSqueeze Me? Is That My Arse Draggin'?

The Trib carried a front page story on the effects of the additional period and schedule change. The cyber-side contains comments from readers. Its quite an array of opinions. I still can't believe some folks think we get paid for our summer vacation. It's as though high school never ends: there is always that percentage of people who are always "behind" and sometimes my patience with them wears thin. For the record: Hillsborough teachers get paid for 201 days of work. We are effectively laid off and must plan for it.

I have a friend who regularly uses this inflation calculator to see how he's doing. Try it but be warned that it may be the "straw".

Anyone who has read The Wall and followed the links to other blogs KNOWS that everything mentioned in the story was expected. Anyone who watched or attended the board meetings knows that everything in the story was expected. In fact these results were spelled out in a thorough and professional manner by high caliber teachers.

Anyone who watched or attended the board meetings knew that everything mentioned in the story was also ignored.

I have been so totally exhausted trying to keep up that The Wall has suffered. I'm also running full throttle and urinated. It is April in October and I see no relief.

I'm ready to do something.

I am including a comment from the cyber-article by a first year teacher (cheerfulstorm) that mirrors what was said by a veteran teacher at one of the board meetings.

As a first year teacher, I have to say, I'm dragging. Not only because of the 6 classes (I don't know any different), but because I don't have a classroom, I often don't have the materials I need, the few kids who are more than disrespectful, the parents who think that I should spend an hour more time a day with their one kid out of my 160, and the six classes of papers I have to grade.

So say I have one essay a week for my kids...at six minutes a piece, I spend approx 15 hours grading only 1 assignment. Plus it takes about 2 hours a week to plan, and I lose my planning period to running around the school signing papers or answering the 50 emails in my inbox from parents and administrators or even to the kid who needs some extra help or make up an assignment.

Yes, we work 40 hours a week - 7am to 3 pm - with a paid lunch because most of us have to perform a 15 minute duty for the school during that time. So that's 18-20 hours of MY OWN TIME not spent in front of the kids every week. Not to mention, when the kids have the day off, the teachers are generally working. I'll be attending a mandatory professional development day on Friday while the kids are sleeping in.

In addition, I'm working toward my own Masters' degree to be able to teach my students even better. So...60 hours a week, and a salary that tops out at $65K if you've been teaching for 30 years.

Gotta say, I'm moving to a state with a stronger union once I finish my degree, because no one but teachers can really look out for teachers. Everyone else takes a crap on them, looks like. And people wonder why 50% of new teachers don't make it past year 3. Good thing I like the kids and want them to succeed, or I'd be joining them.

-from eloguentmind

MYTH 1: Teachers only work 300 minutes a day.

Most work a 12 month yr. in 10 months.
My average weekday:
5:30- wake
6:45- work
7:15- Pay Day/School Begins
10:23-12:03- planning/conference/meetings/grading/duty/lunch
3:00- School Day Ends tutoring/grading/meetings/phone calls/emails/paperwork/test make up/letters of recommendation/trainings (Pay Day Ends)
4:45- Leave
6:00-9:00- Grade essays, projects, homework, data entry, emails, planning, website
I work a 13-14 hour day. I work ¾ of my Sunday. That’s about 70 hrs. a week. I’m not the only one. 38 wks x 70 hrs = 2660 hrs, whereas in the “real world” 52 wks x 50 hrs is 2600 hrs, and vacation time is often paid. We may work as much as, if not more than, the “real worlders”.

MYTH 2: Teachers don’t want to work, but they want to get raises.

I work harder than many people. I am also the yearbook advisor and tutor two week nights, on the weekends, and all summer in order to make up for the salary. Our “8% raise” was not a raise. Some teachers only received a 6% increase or less. Our day was increased by 20 min., 2 holidays were removed from the schedule, and one must factor in about 2 % for inflation. Doing the math, one learns that the “raise” is actually JUST compensation for the extended days.

MYTH 3: Teachers only work when they are with students.

In the “real world” most people sit behind a desk the majority of their day. They call this work. Do they not? If so, then please tell me what it is called when a teacher does the same thing? I’m a high school English Honors teacher. I have 150 students. When I assign a small paper, of 500 words on Civil Rights and Martin Luther King’s influences on our social consciousness, it takes me about 10 min. to grade, assess, and comment on each paper. 10 min. x 150 papers is 1500 min. My paid planning time is only 50 min. It takes me 30 planning periods, or 6 weeks of school, to properly grade one high school English assignment. I have at least 150 papers of various length and content to grade a day.

I would have NO PROBLEM working the way I do if the community, school officials, parents, and students treated my craft/profession with dignity and respect. An earlier writer said that teachers are raising the students because many parents are not, and they are exactly right. I have been pushed, hit, cursed at, threatened, etc. But, I stay because I LOVE the craft of what I do. I hold onto the hope that America will open its eyes and see that we need to make a change in our cultural values. We are the wealthiest nation, yet our public school system ranks 20th in the world. I can’t give up on what I was called to do just yet. Give us less students with more support and respect, and I promise you, you will have a happy teacher, which results in happy students! Our children deserve it.

"What we're seeing is what we expected," said David Steele, the district's general director for secondary education.

Let's see how that comment plays when the FCAT scores come in. Copy and paste it somewhere. I'm thinking a T shirt design.

Later. My arse is draggin'.

LEGAL THINGS TO HELP YOU COPE

I started this a while back and just recently rediscovered it.

VOTE "NO" ON THE CONTRACT. (yeah, I know: too late)
SCHEDULE YOUR DOCTOR VISITS or MEDICAL TESTS on a THURSDAY during school hours.
APPLY FOR A YEAR LONG SABBATICAL.
POLITELY DECLINE ALL EXTRA ACTIVITIES.
LEAVE ON TIME.
DO ALL SCHOOL WORK AT SCHOOL.
VOTE OUT THE INCUMBENT - except April - jury is still out on "Salsa". Go to "Burns For The Board" link.
WEAR DIAPERS - (actually thought about this one since going to the bathroom has become a scheduled activity)
DO NOT EAT BRAN or FIBER and LIMIT YOUR COFFEE (see above)

Dedicate the first 10 - 15 minutes of every class to subject-specific current event silent reading. Randomly give +/- marking to those who brought something that they read-see your Reading Coach, Specialist for newspapers or other materials. Pick one student (or allow volunteers) each day to give an oral summary of what they read and how it relates to the subject they are in. That student receives an "EXTRA credit grade" based on a simple rubric you designed.

Find a subject relevant video to show while you correct papers or do grades.
(see other teachers who teach the same level and coordinate show times and subject matter- bribe your media specialist - chocolate is universal)

The WALL is now open for creative suggestions. Please consider humor, educational acceptance, and curriculum relevance in your postings. You get bonus points for FCAT related skills and reading related activities.

RANDOM THOUGHTS 9-6 Board Meeting

Candy Olson is preparing to seek a way to prevent current employees from running for the School Board?

I hope I misunderstood. If she wants to wall off Candyland to employees who are teachers AND a sitting Board member, I can sort of see what she's trying to do. If she is seeking to wall off Candyland to any current employee from RUNNING for School Board while being employed, then you can see her intent quite clearly. THIS SHOULD NOT BE. No one should have to quit their job to run for the Board. It clearly limits competition. Speaking of competition:

Susan Valdes wants every employee to get MAP.

My God Mrs. Valdes did you NOT understand when one of the Assistant Superintendents said: By statute the legislature created a competition? By definition, competition results in a limited reward. In other words ma'am, your request that every teacher receive MAP is a contradiction in terms. How'd you miss THAT?
If you want every teacher to get more money, may I suggest you just PAY US MORE?!

Everyone needs to watch the meeting via Stream n Scream.

Start about 1 hour into the video and pay close attention to that MAP discussion. Do this before you "pre-test" your kids.

Thanks to all for the comments on the previous post. I heard it got passed around a lot. While blogs are mentioned again at the meeting I have to wonder if the board members can read the comments when they are logged on to the network at ROSSAC. I can't from my work site!

IT'S ONLY ROCK and ROLL - But I Like It

Let's Get Together Yeah, Yeah, Yeah We Can Have A Real Good Time

I grew up surrounded by and immersed in rock and roll, rhythm and blues, Motown, and Woodstock.

I had a booth at the Psychedelicatessan, dining on Blue Oyster Cult soup, a salad bar with Motley Croutons, Blood Sweat & Tear sandwiches with a slice of Todd Runion, while wearing my John Mellencap.

I slept with my first love at age 8: a 3-transistor radio with an 8 section antenna that I held against the pole lamp as I lay in bed, earplug snugly in my ear, trolling the AM band for new songs.

I still remember hearing "Its Only Love" from Rubber Soul when distant airwaves, aided by the atmosphere, bounced off something and got caught by the pole lamp. Nobody I knew had even heard about Rubber Soul. I was a grade school phenom!

Why this excursion in Dr. Peabody's Wayback Machine? The recent hullabaloo during our school board's team-building workshop has me thinking about rock and roll bands. It always seemed as though some band was embroiled in tension during transition.

Group creativity is not about consensus. Creative consensus brought us The Bay City Rollers!

Any group worth their salt had fights. Some fights involved fists, broken whiskey bottles and blood. The Davies brothers (Kinks) were known to fight onstage between beers. The Beatles fights were more "snippy" - Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth had some beauties that are still difficult to scab over - ask Sammy Hagar. Remember when Ozzie left Sabbath ?

Some fights were so brutal that the damage was believed permanent. There are still people who go to an Eagles concert in anticipation.

Remember the Chuck Berry / Keith Richards stare down in "Hail, Hail Rock and Roll"?

All this has been swirling around in my head since our School Board went into the studio for a preproduction session. This is where the band and the producer get together, decide on what songs to put on this year's release, in what order, who sings lead, who sings what harmonies - if any. Later, with the record company, decisions like: who gets the royalties, who does the promo interviews, what is the album's title, etc., will be addressed.

While "fans" everywhere were aware of some growing tension among the band mates nobody was expecting just how quickly the boiling point would be reached.

Apparently "Meatloaf", "Grace Slick", "Diana Ross", "Melanie", and "Sheryl Crow" wanted to continue mining the same vein the group has been for the last 10 years. They contended that their fan base wasn't ready for anything new or innovative and sited the dismal failure of their nationwide search for a new manager and fashion consultant.

New members "Salsa Spice" and "Chrissie Hynde" had joined the group with the intent of updating the sound and image. ("Chrissie" was a former rock critic before deciding she had enough 3rd person and figured she could do it nicely herself thank-you-very-much.)

Both felt they were not only losing their fan base but also were becoming complacent, dated, and approaching caricature. A fan blog set up by "Chrissie" provided a free flowing forum that allowed her to monitor the response to the group's changes. It even allowed the "roadies" and "support technicians" an avenue for expression. The crew could originally access her blog, read and send comments while on the job until management blocked the comments section. It wasn't like they had a lot of time since their job description was changed, their duties increased and their "break-time" cut in half. Most of the smart ones quit their union and are spending what they used to pay in dues at "happy hours" of their own making.

"Chrissie's" blog and use of technology as a two-way communication tool apparently began to piss off ( hey, this is a rock column!) some of the others who were having trouble adapting to the new technologies that were being introduced. "Meatloaf" was rumored to have completely destroyed a couple of laptops - out of anger over an Active Directory / S.I.L.K. conflict with his MySpace page. He is also believed to be the culprit who destroyed a few new flex-neck condenser mics with saliva salvos.

"Sheryl", who was in the middle of a divorce from "Lance", moved out of her region (in direct violation of her contract) into a trendy condo owned by a "friend" so she could cut down on living expenses, got caught lying about it, and was just aching to tee off on somebody before being fired or resigning. She didn't have to wait long.

There continues to be a lot of background speculation about the others being in on the secret of "Sheryl's" move. Their silence came with the expectation that when the manager's contract came up for renewal "Sheryl" would join them in supporting renewal, which she did.

"Chrissie" was "Sheryl's" target-de-jour. "Salsa Spice" would be collateral damage.

Anyone who knows "Chrissie" knows she won't back down. "Salsa" likes to play nice. "Chrissie" will take her Telecaster and bat your ass flat.

"Sheryl" was lucky, only words were exchanged. "Chrissie" decided she had enough. The studio door may have been damaged as she left.

Elvis would have "put a cap" in the TV.

How much damage was done to the members remains to be seen. Hopefully the others will finally recognize the "Winds of Change" blowing through the industry before it's too late. "Chrissie" will need to be sure-footed and determined. "Salsa" will have to get focused, succinct, and strong.

For "Meatloaf" it may be too late.
There is growing support to replace him with, who we believe is a New Kid On The Block: "Jordan Knight" -sporting a cleaned up collegiate look. Research into this is continuing.

"Chrissie" has increasing support from all segments of the fan base. Even those in demographics previously unknown to the group have begun to make themselves known.

Public appearances are still scheduled for Tuesday's at The ROSSAC which is more intimate than The FORUM but may still host a hockey fight, so get there early - it's festival seating.

The start time used to be 5PM. It has been changed to 3PM. Fan pressure could force a compromise. This time and format change was apparently made with the hope that critics will be caught in Crosstown Traffic - particularly "Lester Bang's" mom.

Lester (may he R.I.P.) was one of those critics who demanded every song, every album be the absolute best the artist could release - anything less and he would be mercilessly and justifiably scathing. He got the best of his mom's DNA. True fans loved and trusted him until he discovered cough syrup.

The performances are still broadcast on Channel 18. Sound checks are still done privately. Any critic must still sign up ahead of time and adhere to strict time limits. "Meatloaf" is still apt to trot out that tired demo "Your Time's Up" at a moment's notice. Ironically, the fans just might beat him to it.

Stay "tuned" fans!

IT'S ONLY ROCK and ROLL - But I Like It

JENNIFER BLEWIT

Does everybody remember those tedious teacher in-services we were forced to endure?

How about the one titled "Ethics Training"? How many times were we admonished with: "You are held to a higher standard." ? How often were we told that even if we were in a restaurant drinking, we never knew who was at the next table watching, listening.

How often were we told that we could be called to Professional Standards at the slightest, vaguest phone call, letter or infraction for reprimand or termination? "You are held to a higher standard."

Our board member Jennifer Faliero got caught trying to pull a quick one.

"You, Ms. Faliero, are held to an even higher standard."

You must be able to make informed unemotional decisions. The decision to move away from the community that elected you and then try to keep it "under the radar" belies that fatal flaw spouses succumb to during divorce. As an elected official that option was not available to you - period.
You betrayed your district with personal intent.

You can't raise a family of 3 on $40,887 a year? You moved to South Tampa's Davis Island for more affordable housing?

You have teachers with Bachelor Degrees who must be on Level 9 (not 9 years experience but LEVEL 9) who make almost that and never thought about South Tampa's greatest housing bargain! Really, did you think anybody in Tampa bought that one?

Why South Tampa? Did you use your position to intimidate the Plant administration into looking the other way when they enrolled your daughter? Oh, wait a minute, wasn't Ms. Elia's launching pad Plant High School? Was her evaluation influenced by this move? Were your required to purchase a pass to Candyland? I wonder how you kept this enrollment away from the queen of CandyLand? Did the South Tampa "powers that be" tacitly "allow" this quid-pro-quo? At what price? See how easy it is for the neighbors to talk?

Too bad you didn't take that "Ethics Training", or did you? In any case your integrity has been forever damaged. Every decision, every comment, every public appearance will bring this baggage with it. Every little thing will be measured by this decision to move out of your district. If you can't live on $40,887 a year how can you look at yourself knowing a third of your teachers make less!

Like they told us: "Ignorance is no excuse because you, Ms. Faliero, are held to an even higher standard."

Do the right thing Ms. Faliero:

APOLOGIZE TO US and RESIGN
- the sooner, the better.

$1000 BONUS SCREWS YOU

Last year we taught 5 of 7 periods = 71.4%
This year we teach 6 of 7 periods = 85.7%
This year we are being offered 8.3% for working 14.3% more with 50% less prep time!
***********************************************************************************************************
It is time for the "elders" to speak up. Maybe I can point out to them why they need to step up.

Unless you have switched your retirement plan from the defined option, your retirement benefits are based on your last 5 years salary. WAKE UP elders! The $1000.00 bonus in the proposed settlement DOES NOT COUNT toward your retirement benefit!

IF the district does this it will reduce the total amount of your benefits by $5,000 over the 5 years since it does NOT show up in the formula.

IF this becomes a standard ploy and they throw you this "bone" for the 5 years before you retire it will cost you $15,000 in your benefit formula.

If we allow this sleight of hand it will cost you ($1000.00 x 5 years = $5K) this time. PLUS $4000.00 ($1000 x 4) + ($1000 x 3) + ($1000 x 2) + ($1000 x 1) Total = $15,000

You will be "short" EVERY RETIREMENT CHECK FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.


VOTE IT DOWN! IT'S YOUR FUTURE!