Teaching Tips & Tricks, Uncategorized | Jun 11, 2010
Switching grades: teacher needs vs. school needs
By Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
Switching grades: teacher needs vs. school needs
By Angela Watson
8 little words can invoke panic in the heart of almost any teacher: “You’re moving to a different grade next year.”
Changing grade levels is a big topic of conversation in June. In some schools, nothing’s been decided yet, so the rumors are flying and everyone’s unsettled. Other principals have already dropped the bomb: I’ve heard of one school in which a kindergarten teacher is being moved to 7th grade, which means the 7th grade teacher is being moved to 4th, so that teacher’s moving to 2nd, and the 2nd grade teacher’s going down to kindergarten.
Why the huge shuffle? Because one teacher is the weakest link, and the principal’s playing a game to make sure he inflicts the least amount of damage on students.
Situations like that infuriate me. It’s one thing when a drastic move is necessitated by budgetary reasons; for example, when a position must be cut due to decreased enrollment or funding. I can also understand moving a teacher into his of her field of expertise or preference. However, causing a chain reaction of switches for no reason other than to shuffle an incompetent teacher is a tragedy.
I’m amazed at how often this happens. Sometimes the principal is trying to run the teacher off or force early retirement (and it often works). But many times it’s a matter of placing ineffective educators in non-standardized-testing grades, as if children who don’t get scored by the state one particular year are of any less value or don’t deserve a top-quality education.
Another grade-switch reasoning that bothers me: This teacher’s been in the same grade for too long. He’s getting stale and stuck in a rut. I’ll move him up two grade levels and he’ll have no choice but to change with the times!
Wrong, wrong, wrong. He DOES have a choice: to get really angry, shut down, and try even less. He has the choice to take his frustration out on the kids and everyone around him. And chances are, if he’s the kind of teacher who refused to try new things in his former position, he’s not going to be too excited about learning to work a SmartBoard now that he has a whole new curriculum to figure out.
I’m not excusing the laziness and incompetence of certain teachers. I’m ascertaining that moving ineffective teachers to another grade level doesn’t fix the problem by itself, and it can make things worse for everyone else affected.
Most teachers have an increasingly limited amount of autonomy in their jobs, and I believe that choosing the age level or subject area they’d like to devote their career to teaching is a reasonable expectation. An unhappy teacher is never going to be as effective as a happy one, so shouldn’t a principal honor a teacher’s wishes whenever possible?
Not everyone agrees with me on this, I know. Whether you do depends on your feelings about a few fundamental questions:
- What is a legitimate reason for forcing a teacher to switch grade levels?
- Are administrators obligated to make any switch that will benefit the maximum number of students? If so, how can those potential benefits truly be gauged in advance?
- Is it worth making a few teachers unhappy if it’s advantageous to the school as a whole? And when we refer to the benefit of the ‘school’, do we really mean the faculty, the students, or the test scores?
We can all agree that the purpose of school should be to meet the needs of children, but teaching is a professional career choice. I don’t think anyone should be stuck teaching something they’re not passionate about.
So what’s more important in your perspective, the good of the ‘school’ or the good of the teacher?
Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
Discussion
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I found out that next year I was going to switch from fourth to second grade. I have taught k, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th grade. The switch isn’t the problem, so much as not having a part of the discussion. Just being told that the changes in grade level is what is best for the school, seems somewhat hollow, as I thought I was part of the school. Also I switched grades once, so an less experienced teacher would not have too. It is so NOT about moving grades; I just want to be heard. Not to mention, what do I do with the materials I need to leave behind and the materials I own. I have so much work to do now and so few school days left to do it. Frankly, I am losing sleep over the stress of the move.
I have been at the same inner-city Brooklyn school for the past 13 years. During that time I have taught 4 different grades and changed to 6 different rooms. Only twice have the changes been voluntary. Even when I have the privilege of staying on a grade, all but three of these years have involved learning a new math or literacy curriculum, not to mention changes in social studies. I am sorry to report that my story is not unique in my school nor in other schools in the area based on accounts from teacher friends elsewhere in the city’s struggling schools. Of course, the first few months of the school year are spent fumbling through new curriculum, and trying to feel settled in a new room full of things the previous teacher didn’t take or throw out, leaving the new teacher-in- residence to do the work. Did I mention that we are tight on space (NYC), have rodents and bugs, and little to no closet space, so having a surplus of resources In the room is no easy feat. With the constant change in curriculums, materials from old curriculums pile up fast, but we are told to save them “just in case.” Case in point: the children really suffer as their teacher struggles to make the best of a difficult, exhausting, situation. I have stayed past 8 or 9 pm many times over the years, and was by no means the only teacher in the building. Most of us are hard-working and dedicated, despite how the media may portray us. So as another commentator mentioned, these are more reasons why children in disadvantaged urban areas get “the short end of the stick.” Administrators can continue to show such disregard for teacher satisfaction, but it certainly shows up in student performance and staff morale. This is the only reality of teaching I have ever known.
Disregard for teacher satisfaction is spot on! If we are happy, our kids are happy, bottom line. When you force teachers into a position that can be avoided, your students will be the ones to ultimately suffer.
I was forced to teach a higher grade level in Math, which I did no want to do. I was a founding member of my school and was very happy teaching at the level I was at. My Principal put me there because he said he needed a ‘strong’ teacher there. He kept hiring teachers who would not last at that grade level, for 2 years in a row he had 2 different teachers quit, yes quit, before Winter break.
I felt I was being punished because I did my job well. I was separated from my co-worker who we had collaborated with so well for over 12 years,?always finding new ideas and revamping together.
I became depressed and withdrawn; he could care less what my desire was. I was put into a position I never wanted, never applied for. He then blocked me from going to another school at the level I wanted to teach.
This, to me, is one example of poor leadership. His job was on the line because of his ‘scores’ and people quitting, but I’m the one paying the price. It has been so difficult I can barely bring myself to go to work, the joy of teaching has been sucked out of me.
I have taught 26 years and I am the teacher that is in my opinion, the “easy move” In that time, I have taught everything except first grade. I have probably been moved 8-10 times. Once, even in the middle of the year while I was away for surgery. This has happened now with my fourth principal. I was in love with my job and had just received a very exciting teaching award. While that was posted on the computer screens for the district I was asked to moved next year. Then, covid hit. I did not get to even come back to my kids after that decision was shared with me. I am grieving and looking for positions outside the district as well. I keep turning it on myself and thinking something is wrong with me and it has ruined my self-esteem. I am extremely creative but teaching doesn’t allow that anymore. The grade level I am being moved to is the one I’ve taught the most and that is not energizing to me. When I got moved I did send an email explaining my feelings to my new boss of one year. My new team has been less than welcoming asking, “Why were you moved?” I had already told them the reasons given were just blanket statements. I have asked for a recommendation from my supervisor for an outside of teaching job. There was no reply to my email. Really struggling here, any suggestions.
Do you that… if you are a High School teacher, teaching 4th grade and the principal decide to make you teach reading in first grade it is because they think you are not doing well in 4th??