Laying low

I’ve been having to lay low for a while while I divest myself of an awful placement.  You might recall that I applied for transfer to a senior high school.  They (the evil school board, whose staffing department is run by an incompetent ex-principal I used to have.  And who remembers me.  I shouldda kept me mouth shut) balked.  I pushed.

I pushed a bit more, and it was suggested that I keep the volume down a bit.  WHich I’ve been doing.

The Toronto school shooting should have proven blogworthy, and I may just yet.  Until then, just six more teaching days until summer.

And no, I don’t get paid summers off.  Although I am lucky, I know plenty of teachers who take summer jobs to connect the ends.

Broken

It’s been a long, tough year so far. March Break was eagerly awaited, and anticipated. I am currently enjoying it immensly, drinking far too much good red wine, and laughing upon the pile of marking that I have.

And catching up on six seasons of The Sopranos. Just finished season 2.

Unlike Tony, I will be back.

Bad Teacher?

My posts are signed “badteacher”.

I like to think that it’s along the lines of “bad lama”.

I actually think I’m a pretty good teacher. I’ve had kids come back to me a few years after the fact thanking me. One even told me she’d been accepted into the science program at university, which made her pretty happy.

And, of course, I know what I do. And how I do it.

But I’ll never win an award, that’s for sure. I guess I’m just too much a hard-ass. I tend to piss off teachers who do the grade creep thing, principals who are incompetent, and parents, when I suggest that their darlings are either lazy or simply not up to the task of academic work.

Anyhow, I’m not a bad teacher.

Having said that, you can reach me via email at badteachbad -at- gmail.com

Salutations world!

 

Greetings and salutations. I am Alexi, and this is my blog. It’s my forum to vent and otherwise discuss issues within the the sphere of teaching and learning.

Yes, I am a teacher. And yes, I have been labeled a “bad attitude” case by one or two of my colleagues. I’ve also been called brilliant. I wonder, sometimes, if either of those labels has gotten to my head.

To be very precise, I am also a science and math teacher. I’ve taught elementary (grades 5–6), junior high (grades 7–9) and even senior high school.

I’ve been meaning to do a blog like this for a while, but for various reasons I’ve resisted the urge to jump in. It’s not my first. I own and write for two very successful blogs out there on the InterWeb, and frankly they keep me busy enough.

But I also have a thing or two to say about this ejumacashun thang. And I wish to share them with whomever wishes to engage in an educated debate about such. Oh hell, if you want to get snarky about it then bring that on to, yo.

I have an attitude for a reason. I intend to use it, here.