I'm baaaaaaaaaack

There has been a lot of chatter online and in what conservatives call the mainstream media (which the rest of us simply call "the media") about a study released when I should have written this post at the beginning of March that puts teacher job satisfaction at it's lowest point since I was 9.

Obviously there's been a lot of gnashing of teeth, and plenty of people on both sides of the aisle trying to score political points from this. Normally I would get in line to both gnash my teeth and try to score some political points from this kind of story (seriously, read the first parenthetical aside in this post), but I just can't bring myself to do it. Why? Because I think this deserves a serious look at why teachers I work with (and have worked with) are not happy with their jobs.

Also I think that this will be pretty easy to write, what with my history of job satisfaction.

And my wife is watching Dance Moms and I can't stomach Abby Lee Whatshername so I've sent myself to the office to write, and this is what came to mind.

So, with the worst intro in the history of this blog, and perhaps writing in general, here we go:

The study shows that teachers aren't happy because they don't feel like they have the same job security that they once did. They're also feeling attacked, because so much of the reporting is about bad teaching, and so all teachers begin to question their own teaching abilities. Add in the increasing focus on test scores (which, for the vast majority of students don't indicate much in the way of learning), more and more intrusive parents, and all of the usual pressures that go along with changing lives for the better or worse every day and it's no small surprise that teachers aren't very happy with their jobs.

I can't speak for every teacher out there, nor would I try to (at least until I get invited onto some talk show where I can be an educational pundit), but I can tell you why I'm not very satisfied in my job.

1. We hear a lot about good teaching and not-as-good teaching, but I'm not observed enough or given enough feedback to know which category my teaching falls into. I'm in my first year of teaching at a new school for me in a new state. I'm going to get two formal observations. I will also get some much less formal "drop in" observations. That's not enough. If society and school boards of education are going to put more pressure on teachers with more tests, then I want more and better feedback about the work that I'm doing.

1a. The observations I do get are bureaucratic crap. There are forms to fill out and jargon to check off. (Good lord is there jargon. When I first made a joke about the "random catchphrase generator" I was taking a cheap shot at education experts. Now? I'm trying to figure out how to put one on the side bar of this website. Might as well have it out there) The evaluation won't provide very much in the way of good suggestions, mainly because there isn't another classroom teacher involved. Listen, there are plenty of good administrators who were good classroom teachers, but they generally haven't been in the classroom recently enough to understand the new era pressures teachers are facing.

I would love an evaluation format that did two things that very few evaluations do today. I want it to happen far more often (but each one would carry less weight) and I want my peers in on the process. I want other teachers to see my class, see what I'm doing, and offer suggestions. You know what I don't want? A form that has been checked off by my evaluator and comments like "You know what you're doing!"

2. Teachers are disgruntled because there is a culture war in the profession. There are plenty of union-loving, worksheet-giving, book-reading, jean-wearing, 2:25-leaving lazy jerks in this job. They will do everything they can to prevent having to work hard. They are doing the job, but they aren't doing it well. Far too often, because they don't get upset about actual education, these people stay in education for a long time. Since education tends to reward seniority, these people then have more sway over the way a department or school is run.

The opposite of this are the teachers who never teach the exact same lesson twice, who bust their collective asses grading, planning and teaching. Even in systems with good merit pay systems (yes such things exist) there isn't really enough money to really differentiate between the lazy turds and the life-changers.

Worse yet, the passionate young teachers burn out fighting against the status quo maintainers, and end up leaving the job. The end result is that nobody is happy. The bad teachers are unhappy because they feel threatened by the ideas and work ethic of the good teachers, and the good teachers want to punch someone because nothing is changing.

3. I for one am tired of the public discussion of schools always being about what's wrong. You know what, cable news talking heads? There are tons of GREAT tings happening in schools. Sure there are problems, but every segment of society has problems. People who see doctors die. People who go to the dentist get cavities. People who use lawyers go to jail. Yet teachers feel singled out for criticism when their students fail high stakes tests.

4. It's the money, stupid. There isn't enough money in schools. For a change, I'm not talking about the money that goes into teachers' pockets, either. No, there simply aren't adequate funds for facilities, books, technology, or training. School districts have become bloated at the administrative level (a function of the increased emphasis on testing and data) and as a result less money is getting to the student level. I realize that what we're asking for is a monumental amount of money, nation-wide. However, I think that it's worth the cost of a fighter jet that probably won't ever shoot down another plane to help do things like have enough classrooms and books for kids.

5. We're tired. Really really really tired. In the past ten years, I haven't gotten any additional time to plan and grade. However, the amount of paperwork, calls to return, and meetings to attend has increased by a huge amount, as have the number of kids in each of my classes. I started with classes of 16-20. Now, I have classes of 38 across the board. More kids come with paperwork (IEPs, 504s, BIPs, and contracts) and that paperwork often has legal ramifications if you don't follow the accommodations laid out within it. Parents want to know what and why you're doing. The stress level is astronomical.

There was always stress, but the job used to be fun. You got to teach something you loved. Now, with high-stakes testing, you don't ever feel like you can do that. I spend my days trying to fill every minute with educational activities. I don't want to have a 3 hour long party while watching Dirty Dancing, but I also don't want to feel guilty when we watch Elvis and the Beatles in class instead of filling out review sheets, outlines, and guided readings.

That, boys and girls is the big lesson. Teaching isn't as fun as it used to be. And that's why teachers aren't as happy as they used to be. Low pay, long hours, dealing with idiots; all of that was ok as long as the job was fun. When the job got serious SERIOUS the rest of it started to suck a lot more.

But hey, that's not a good talking point, so none of those talking heads will be talking about it on the news. Instead, 90 seconds will be spent glossing over the idea that 7.2 million people in this country are less happy than they have been since the Soviet Union was still a viable entity, and then we'll be onto talking about more important things; like who's in a feud with Kim Kardashian. 

With that sarcastic closing, the BlazeBlog is back, babay!
 

The Social Network, er, ah, classroom?

Because I'm vain, I run analytics here on the BlazeBlog. (actually, Google runs the analytics, I just look at the information they give me). It doesn't provide an overwhelming amount of information, since I don't really do this to make money or drive traffic to the site. Quick commercial: Click an add, and Google gets paid, and then they pay me. Everybody wins! Anyway, when I look at the information on where you all come to the BlazeBlog from, I'm not at all surprised to find that many of you come here from Facebook.

Why would it surprise me? Everyone and their mothers, literally, seems to be a member of that and the now ubiquitous "social media" sites like twitter. I think I make possibly the understatement of the year when I drop this thesis statement on you: Social media has changed our lives. It has also changed how we teach and how kids learn.

I'm pretty sure it's been a change for the better. Pretty sure.

The Internet is full of stories about teachers who get in trouble over something they posted on Facepagetwitterspace. Students who go without access for even a matter of 10 minutes begin to convulse, they look like crack addicts.

Before I get into a largely arbitrary listing of the positives and negatives of the social media revolution, I think you should be privy to the ways I think that social media has changed our culture and by extension our schools and students.  (admittedly, you could of course just google and figure it out for yourself, but it's my blog, and I do what I want, so I'm going to spell out exactly how I think this revolution has changed our lives.)

1. Social media is, more than anything else, about constant contact and feedback. I think that some sociology pH.d will write a dissertation in the next decade about how the like button changed the world, and I think that dissertation will probably make a lot of good points. Think about it. Sure, social media provides constant contact, but that isn't a huge game changer. Realitically, it just means that you hear from people more often. However, if you think about it, when you were in high school you were in pretty constant contact with your friends: you rode around in cars, you hung out in basements, you made 3-way phone calls. Social media simply serves as an amplifier for those activities.

However, the feedback (be it the like button, the retweet, the whatever google+ has) is what has really changed us as a society. Sure, social media started out as a way to share what we had for breakfast. Now it has morphed into an way for us to get instant feedback on what we do. Don't lie. You like it when that little red box in the upper left of your Facebook lets you know that people are liking and commenting on your words, pictures, or links.  That's human nature. We all want to be accepted and liked. 

For students, this means that they want feedback on what they've done, and how they've done on it RIGHT FREAKING NOW! That's fine, but as long as class sizes stay large it's almost impossible with traditional assessments, unless you're willing to give mostly multiple choice tests, which are very easy to grade quickly (but which tend to do a very poor job actually measuring what students know and have learned). I think we need to move to more innovative ways of assessing, methods which can provide quicker feedback. I think that projects are a great way to do this. The final project can be presented, watched, or read relatively quickly (if teachers are willing to allow formats other than essays), and thus final grades for those efforts can be presented quickly.

Moreover, those projects (again if we're willing to allow for formats outside of the traditional essay structure) can be assessed very quickly in the draft formats. Indeed, teachers can even use social media as a tool to do this. I have in the past assigned facebook pages for famous figures in history. If students friended me with that profile, I would comment or message them with suggestions as they worked. It was a double win: they got that all-important quick feedback, and they fixed problems, leading to better scores. However, there is a concern that all of this positive feedback (the "no dislike button" problem, if you will) causes students to be adverse to hearing negative feedback, which leads us to my next belief about how social media has changed our, and our students' lives.

2. I've written about the problem of everybody getting a ribbon before. Really, most of this post is a rehash of that post. But I think that social media tends to emphasize positive feedback while minimizing negative feedback. If I block someone, or unfollow them, they don't get an email, their news feed doesn't change. However, if I get liked, or retweeted, or get a new friend, I get an email, my news feed changes, I find out. I think that this is an even bigger deal for kids. They are at an age when being accepted is a number one priority. They are very sensitive to criticism. As they live their lives shaped by their interactions with social media, I have found that they are less open to negative feedback. Their either ignore it, declare it to be untrue, or shut down when faced with negative feedback. (Some students take it and make positive changes, but they are rarer now than they were even ten years ago when I started teaching.) Why? Well, I'm not a psychoanalyst, but I suspect some of that comes from the lack of negative feedback they experience every day. I could be wrong. It happens.     

3. Social media is all about sharing. I think that it has caused us, as a society, to be more open to sharing our beliefs and feelings. It has also given us opportunities to share how dumb we are (you're a liar if you don't see some things people put on their facebook pages and judge them. You do.) Because of this, we're all (if we have a relatively open "friending policy") exposed to people with different beliefs and ideas than we hold dear. I think this is great for kids, since it's showing them how to be open minded. Also, this sharing has led to a little something one of my former students put in his facebook feed. He said that no one can be a stripper anymore, because all of our history is public.

It makes a lot of sense. There was a time when you could do work below what you wanted to do. Perhaps not stripping, but maybe a stint working as a Wal-Mart cashier. Maybe you hauled trash. Whatever it was, you could keep it secret from your peers at your professional job. Now? Not so much. How does this apply to schools and students?

Accountability. If you're friends with me on Facebook, you've probably seen the 18 minutes of me teaching in the classroom. That's great. A little embarassing, but great. I'm accountable for that. Kids are the same way. They do something dumb and post about it; people call them out. They can share their creative outlets; bands, shows, writing and people can provide support and critique. Everybody can grow if they really share on social media.

Anyway, about 990 words ago, I promised you an arbitrary list of the positives and negatives of the world of social media from a teaching standpoint. Let's hit it.

The Downsides:

A. Teachers who forget that they're teachers. If you're a teacher, and you're going to act the fool on Facebook, you better lock that puppy down. Because no matter how much you want to channel Charles Barkley, you are a role model. What you put on the interwebs will be found by your students. I've had students present me with letters I wrote to the newspaper when I was an undergrad. Most of those stories about teachers getting fired are when they do something really dumb.

B. The days of your private life being private are gone. If you're on social media sites, you're a public figure. It used to be that kids were shocked to see you shopping for groceries. Now? They probably know much more than that about you. Again, you can lock it down, but they're going to find out.

C. Cheating. Social media has made it easier for kids to share answers. Staff at schools need to be on the lookout, but also to be clever. Don't use the exact same test every year. Change answer options from hour to hour. Better yet, evaluate with tools that neutralize social media cheating. It's hard to cheat on a presentation. Memorizing the order of 5 multiple choice answers is a lot easier.

D. If you have students in your news feed, you are demoralized by their grammar conventions and spelling/word choice issues. tHeY REElly LiKe 2 ShoW hOw uNFaZed bY GrammEr theY R. The good news is, since social media won't advertise you blocking / unfollowing these people, you can do so without damaging their psyches too much.

The Upsides:

1. Social media, as I talked about 1000 words ago with the "Facebook for the famous" example, gives teachers, if they're willing to enter the arena, a way to provide feedback very quickly. Every day you can find a new way to use not just social media but technology in general to provide lighting fast response to students. They can use their phones to answer poll questions from the safety of anonymity. They can email you assignments so that you aren't lugging around paperwork. You can use shared documents on Google docs to revise as they watch.

2. If you and your students are in the same social media circles, you can communicate with them at times that aren't in class. Require students to join a Facebook group, and you can share assignment requirements, due dates, notes, whatever. If parents want to join, even better. Listen, students are going to talk about your class on social media, you might as well facilitate the discussion so that you can see what they're happy with and what they're complaining about. You can be a better teacher by finding out what your students need, and this is the place where they will most honestly tell you.

3. Social media allows you to engage students on their terms. Though we as old people may not feel as at home here, teens can't imagine a world without twitter and tumblr. That's where they go, it's how they communicate. If you're there, and communicating, it lets them know that you care about them, and it also sends a message that they are being watched by "real" people. Maybe that can help them avoid "stripper" moments.

4. As a teacher, social media can give you valuable feedback and genuine warm moments. I didn't ask for a video of me running my yap to be posted on Facebook. However, it was. The comments showed me that I had made a difference to those kids. It also gave me an opportunity to see myself. Without Facebook the video would exist, but it wouldn't have done any good.

I suspect that's the takeaway from all of this. Social media has changed the speed and way we interact with each other. But the real value is in that it lets us share. And though I bemoan (to some degree) that sharing as creating the too many ribbons/no negative feedback culture the sharing can be really useful. So teachers, pick up that mouse, and start using your social media for good!

(that said, I still hesitate to friend students, but mostly I accept them and then just hide them from my news feed. It makes all of my posts better if I think that students may be reading them. If I need to complain about kids, I can always fall back on a teacher's best friend).

On Wisconsin! On Wisconsin! Touchdown USA!

Let's talk about Madison, Wisconsin for a couple of minutes.

No, not as the home of Bucky Badger and the 5th quarter.  No, let's talk about Madison as the state capital of Wisconsin.

Madison is a nice town, full of somewhat lovely people. But I don't think you read the BlazeBlog for our insightful travel writing (coming next month, where to spend your Spring Break!) You read it to find my grammar mistakes. And to see what we have to say about education. That's why I want to talk about Madison. This week Madison has become a hot-bed for education discussion and debate.

Teachers, and other public sector employees, have turned out in droves this week in Madison, not to drink beer and eat cheddar, but to protest. They're protesting a bill proposed by the Governor Scott Walker (elected as a fiscal conservative) which would, he claims, "repair the budget of Wisconsin". In reality, his proposal wants to use the current economic woes, caused by tax-cut-and-spend Republicans, to take away the power of public employee unions to collectively bargain (except for wages). I don't know if you've seen the news, but the Democrats have actually left the state to prevent a vote on the bill. (here's a summary).

Now, if Governor Walker actually wants to solve the budget problem, and not just break the union, he would come to the table, since both the Democrats and public sector unions have said that they would take an 8% pay cut, along with increases in payments by their members to both health care costs and pension contributions, which would clearly help solve this crisis.

But Governor Walker doesn't actually want that. He wants to break the public sector unions. Now, I've said before that I don't love teachers' unions, especially when it comes to making it hard to fire bad teachers. But, I do strongly believe that public sector employees must have the power to collectively bargain for all aspects of their jobs, especially benefits.

Public sector employees are routinely better educated and more poorly paid than their counterparts in the private sector. They accept roles in society which are little respected, other than in political lip service. They do this for two reasons. First, they want to help. They are generally genuinely civic minded. They want to make the world a better place. Secondly, there is an unspoken bargain: less money, but good benefits and pensions. Delayed gratification, if you will. It's the same deal members of the armed forces strike with the federal government. Not the greatest pay, people shoot at you, but if you stay in long enough, a great retirement package, and free medical.

People like Governor Walker can't stomach this. They want less pay and less benefits. Oh sure, he says that he wants teachers to be well paid. In fact, a 30 second Google search turned up this quote from the Governor.

We will also create a new class of highly qualified, well-paid teachers who will be given the opportunity to advance in their career. These highly qualified teachers will be called on to mentor other teachers, while still devoting most of their time to classroom teaching.

Don't insult us, Governor Walker. Don't speak in code. You want a "new class" (non-unionized) of teachers. Of course, you want them to be well paid, but they'll have to negotiate everything else, right? I bet every year, they'll be told, "sorry, there just isn't money"; and without the power to negotiate other things, this new class of teachers will be powerless to actually change anything. They will in fact be bound to any plan which you propose. They will be doubtless be stuck with your George W. Bush inspired education philosophy.

Further, don't tell us you want teachers to be "highly paid". You don't. You want teachers to become independent contractors. You're a liar. You can lie to the electorate, they're pretty dumb. But teachers are more educated that the electorate. They are going to see through this. That's why they're at your statehouse. They're sick and tired of you, and the rest of the union-crushing right telling them that they are important, and valued, and then letting your actions reveal your actual feelings.

So, where does the BlazeBlog stand? In solidarity with the teachers of Wisconsin. Even as the state level unions encourage teachers to go back to the classroom tomorrow, we secretly hope they won't. By staying home, they demonstrate how important they are to society. This is about more than just one bill, this is about telling elected officials to back up their verbal support for public employees with action. This is about reminding society that we are all in this together, and that teachers are tired of being trod upon, simply because we choose to work with children and young adults instead of pursuing the almighty dollar.

This is about, as Aretha put it, R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

A blog about a teacher who blogs.

Editor's note:
Today's blog may contain some language which is best characterized as vile. The words aren't mine, but they were written by students towards a teacher / former teacher. I think that it is important to understand what these students said, so I've left them mostly in there.

Recently, a teacher in Bucks County, Pennsylvania named Natalie Munroe has made all kinds of news for writing a blog.

Here're the details

So, she was blogging on all kinds of subjects, but sometimes she talked about work. Since her work was teaching, when she talked about work, she was doing the same basic thing I do. She was talking about students in a totally anonymous way.

Now, she was angry (being a high school teacher, I can sympathize), and 8 months pregnant (which I cannot sympathize with, but I'm guessing might make you grumpy and emotionally unstable). She said some mean things about students in general. She also said some very funny things, I think.

You know what; I don't know why I'm trying to explain what she said, since the Internet keeps EVERYTHING you ever put out there. That's why you shouldn't text pictures of your naughty bits, kids.

Instead, I'll let her work speak for itself.

Here's what she actually said

If you didn't read that cached version of her blog, please go back and do so, because this my post won't make much sense if you haven't read her blog. Or, you could stop reading this blog entirely and go play FarmVille.

Is the design the same as the BlazeBlog? Yes. Is she mean? Not to any one student. Is she funny? Kind of. Is she profane? A little.

More importantly, did she do anything worthy of being fired? No.

Well not for what she wrote. Maybe for how she wrote it.

You see, my complaint isn't about what she said, but that she said them poorly. She misspelled belligerent. She has a list of funny comments, but doesn't put them in a particular order, so the comedy value isn't what it should be. For example, I would have divided the list in two principle ways: academic knuckleheads and social knuckleheads. Then, I would have used the ones that are opposite of each other (about siblings) next to each other. This is basic composition. Admittedly, she has a 3 year old at home, but if that's hurting her composition skills, perhaps she should use a technique I'm sure she asks kids to use: draft, revise, publish. Just because you can post right away doesn't mean you should. 

So, to recap: she shouldn't be fired, not for what she said; but as an English teacher, perhaps, because she's not very good at writing (or at least at revising). Tangentially, I also didn't like her comment about the bell meaning the "end of class, so leave", because I think that you should talk to kids when they need to talk. That being said, as soon as I read it, I immediately thought of one kid who it would apply to in my Civics class, so I get where she's coming from.

Following her suspension, she tried to disappear the offending posts, but did post about the situation. She defends herself as an educator, points out the rush to disseminate only the negative she said, and points out that either parents or students went digging for the blog so they could use it to attack her. Even in this blog, she substitutes a 0 for an O at one point. Since I blog on blogger, I'll point out that there is a spell-checker, and that it's very good. Also, blogger has a button that allows you to preview your blog, as it will appear online. Again; draft, revise, publish.

In an interview with the Bucks County Courier Times she notes that it seems that there is "less accountability on students while (teachers) are forced to explain everything they do". I think she's right, and I applaud her for being a truth-teller. I think she's saying things that almost all educators, especially in middle and high schools, would support (even if they don't like the original things she said).

Anyway, lets get back to this blog of hers, shall we? I think the students who are out to get her (and who are dumb enough to comment on the blog), actually prove her point about entitlement (and poor grammar).

Some of my favorites with commentary:

Jokes on you because this link is being cycled throughout the students of CB East via facebook. Have fun applying for unemployment. Sincerely, "cooperative in class."

Um, wrong "Jokes" big guy. I think you meant "Joke's", as in "Joke is". Well played, genius, well played.

Then this piece of scat. I've edited the nastier bits of misdirected anger:

ConcernedStudent said... Why would you waste your time blogging about how we are belligerent f*cks (you spelled belligerent wrong dumb*ss)? You should be spending your time helping out students instead of insulting them on here. You have cheated, screwed, and under-cut every single one of your students this year. And i speak for everyone when i say you were a douche to all of your students in class and made no effort to help any of us achieve our academic goals. Maybe you should learn to teach and be compassionate with your students. Respect goes a long way, and the only way people will respect you is if you respect them (too late). Have a nice life. Good luck with the inner-city sh*thole they call a school in philly.

Where can I begin? So many things to comment on. You know what this calls for? A numbered list of criticisms!

1. The parenthetical thought is awkward because it is a statement, but it follows a question.
2. You know that "I" is a capital letter when it stands alone, right?
3. The assumption that she will be fired.
4. More capitalization problems; "philly" also needs a capital letter.




I've saved the "best" for last. Sorry about the length, but I think Mr. Shoolbraid's thoughts are just too good to avoid. Actually, you know what, I think I'll break his thoughts up, so we can really pick apart his thinking.

Dear... you, Hey, I remember you. This is Jeff Shoolbraid talking, just so you know I'm not hiding behind a computer screen and just randomly bashing you.

Good start, glad that you're not randomly bashing. Bashing is better when it's not random. I would take issue with your assertion that you're not hiding behind a computer screen, since that is just very nearly the only place from which you can comment on a blog.

I'm not sure if you remember me, but you were by far the worst teacher I've ever had because you were simply a c*nt.

You're a bad teacher not for any given reason,but because of what you are. Classy, and well reasoned.

Turns out my assumption was correct.

What assumption?

Though, if I just sit here and call you names and such it really doesn't prove any points and makes me essentially as unintelligent as you.

And you have proven your own point.

It also doesn't really solve too much, but now that it's out of the way, here are my just as pointless two cents: Students can be a pain, but it's your job to deal with them. So this means it's your job to deal with the assholes, weird kids, drama queens, quiet kids, and so on.

I actually agree with Mr. Shoolbraid for this part.

The students, on the other hand, don't really owe you anything. You see, as a teacher, the world should not revolve around you. You should revolve around the students' lives. Sure, maybe kids treat you like shit, or don't give a shit in general as far as the class goes, but you have to remember the demographic here.

Um, you know how you're on a blog, complaining that this adult is complaining about you? You've kind of just proven her point.

You're teaching high school kids. These are the rebellious/self involved/self discovering times in there lives. They are transitioning from being kids to adults. So sorry if they don't exactly know how to go about being interested in a high school English class. You need to give them a reason to give a f*ck, and this starts with showing respect to them, which involves a little bit of extra work on your part.

Um, yes, respect is important. You need to respect her, and then she should repay that in kind. However, I would put forth the idea that Ms. Munroe did show respect in that she didn't aim her anger at any one student. Unlike you. Also, transitioning to adulthood is not an excuse for not using the right "there/their".

Though, if you're not willing to do that, I don't blame you. I for one don't know what it's like from a teacher's prospective like yours, and I'd believe you if you said it was tough. Maybe teaching isn't cut out for you though. It doesn't give you the right to virtually abuse your class via an internet blog, which is just tacky by the way. It also doesn't give you the right to rob you students of a solid high school education.

What doesn't give you a right to "virtually abuse students"? Is it that teaching is cut out for her? You know what, that doesn't make sense. Also, is there a blog that's not on the internet? You could also use a comma before "by the way". I'm just sayin'.

It's not a students' job to please you, it's your job to get a student an A to the best of your ability in a reasonable fashion. So sure, some students may still not give a shit. If so, give them an F.

Wrong you are. My job has nothing to do with getting students As. It has to do with teaching, and grades have very little to do with learning, except as a motivational tool.

Some students might still be assholes, but I had a pretty good relationship with Silverfox and all the principles at the school (not in a bad way) and I know they're all more than capable with dealing with those kids. And sure, some kids still might be drama queens (and kings, lets keep it pc) but hell, that's life. I also heard that this little stunt is getting your fired, and to all the students and parents that you've pissed off over the years, I'm going to take this opportunity to say good riddance! Sincerely, Jeff Shoolbraid PS. Presidents have something to do with politics, I hope you've learned this by now.

This is mostly inside baseball and drivel. However, I've bolded the bit that I think is the most interesting. You see, Mrs. Munroe had a problem with students and their sense of entitlement. She even took a shot at kids with too big an opinion of their own intelligence (like Mr. Shoolbraid). What did you do in reply? You proved her point.


I hope she taught these geniuses who commented on her blog irony.... But she might be a good teacher, read this comment. She's clearly taught this commenter something, even if they do play fast and loose with the rules of capitalization.

Real Classy Ms. Munroe. I just have to say that I am very disappointed by this. I originally didn't completely loath you like the rest of the junior class, but my feelings have now changed. I don't appreciate how in a previous post you stated that describing teachers and administrators with four letter words was inappropriate, is describing your own students with these same words acceptable? How's that for a rhetorical question? Also, how could you not have even thought to delete this? The worst of the posts are from a year ago, why didn't you delete them? It's understandable to want to talk about your day at work, but the internet, seriously? By the way, what is my "cooperative in class" comment mean? "A complete and utter jerk in all ways. Although academically ok, your child has no other redeeming qualities." well I don't believe an hour and a half a day for half a year can really lead you to a point where you can see a person's full character, you can't make those types of assumptions. "Asked too many questions and took too long to ask them. The bell means it's time to leave!" FYI your job is to teach. and the classiest "Rude, beligerent, argumentative f*ck." you tried to throw in a few "big words" but the final four letter word makes up for it. I am not going to call make up some "comment" to describe your teaching skills, personality, or character because I only spent an hour and a half each day for a semester with you. Just a small part of my day, and an even smaller part of my life. I can't judge you from just that... But your blog(this post alone) gives me a better and full picture. P.S. How was my use of ethos, pathos and logos?

Your ethos, pathos, and logos were pretty good. You could use some help determining satire. For what it's worth, I think 90 minutes a day, plus reading your writing (obviously a lot in an AP Lang class, oh that's right, I know you had her for AP Lang.), she can probably get a really good vibe on who you are.