This time it is about an affiliated charter school. While most
charter schools are independent, some are affiliated with the district. They choose to turn charter to be able to control the funds they receive from the state. Many of them
keep the school intact and continue to operate it as before, at least for a
while. Few of these ventures are successful, but many are not.
The charter school I had visited the other day used to be a
department of a big public school, one of the better ones in the area. Its
major part became an independent charter school, but some parts of it broke
into small, district affiliated, charter schools. This was one of them.
I have been there several times before, and never quite
liked it; there is always something unprofessional in these schools. The
Spanish teacher for whom I substituted several times back then had not been at
the school for a while, and it didn’t sound like she was coming back anytime
soon. This time, however, I was called for an English teacher
(that I later learned was absent a lot too), and since I have not been there
for a while I decided to give it a second chance.
The main office person who “welcomed me”, had asked me what I
was doing there. When I told her the name of the teacher I was sent for, she
told me that she had asked for someone else. I felt that the right thing to do was to
apologize for my presence, and I asked her if she wanted me to go away. That
irritated her even more and she told me to give her a break; it is too early in
the morning (as if I didn’t know that).
At last, it seemed apparent that the preferred special sub decided
to cancel his job, and I don’t blame him… It is just that he could have let the
school know. I would have…
That was how my day started. And it didn’t get any better…
The first period was relatively OK. They were doing an AP
test example. I didn’t think they should be working together, nor that they should
use their notes, but I tried, except in extreme cases, to stay out of it,
since I didn’t have any specific instructions.
From there on it went downhill; disrespectful students with
the confidence of not facing any consequences, flatly refuse to do what I told them to do,
and other students who would have been more cooperative had they had some real
assignment to keep them busty.
As a substitute teacher, I don’t have to return to a school
that I don’t like, but the permanent teacher has to face this reality every day
(no wonder he chooses to be absent). But this is not the real problem... The
real problem is for the eighty percent of the students, who could have done so
much better had the school had a real discipline plan. And further more, it is about those
few who really want to learn…
One of these students told me to get rid of those hooligans,
and I did… buy only for that one period…
However, it is not that easy to get rid of the hooligans.
They are part of the school’s resources. Every small, mediocre, school, depends
on every student on their roll, as tough as he/she might be, for the money from
the state. This money is not enough, though, for the school to hire additional administrator or a dean of
discipline to help with those tough students…
