I have not blogged in several days because I really needed to think about what I was going to write before I wrote it. One of those "think before you speak" kind of things happened to me on Thursday before break, and I quite honestly haven't come to terms with it.
I arrived to school and found an email from the principal. No subject, no greeting, no "goodbye"... just a note that said "please stop by my office today."
Being the very intuitive person that I am, I knew exactly what it was about. A few months ago, my coop chair and I decided to put in a request to add a Spanish 5 class into out Spanish program. We lose a ton of kids at the upper levels because they don't want to go on to AP Spanish due to the "AP" name... and because a lot of those upper level kids are the same kids taking 4, and 5 AP classes in one year. I also have an AP class with 6 students who will have absolutely nothing to do Spanish-wise next year, because our school no longer offers AP Spanish Literature. So we have this gap, and yours truly saw it and instead of staying quiet, she thought it would be a good idea to set up a class called "Spanish Culture and Literature." Get it approved, and all...
That was in October. Fast forward to March. We are losing an entire human being from our department, our classes will be bigger, AP will now be 34 students next year (from 18 this year). Tons of changes. We are told a few weeks ago that the class was declined, so we inform our students that it is no longer happening.
Fast forward a little bit more and all of a sudden I am being called into the principal's office to be forcefully volunteered to teach the class next year. Mind you, if I said no, I was told "Everyone else's names will just be put into a hat and we will figure it out that way." I have picked up a new prep every single year I have been at my school. I have done everything from chaperoning dances, to doing PLC facilitator meetings for two years. I have joined student government and represent an entire class. I have put together homecoming and am about to put together prom for next year. I teach AP, and I am getting my masters.... but somehow after having a good idea, I am now being punished because it looks "bad" to only teach 21 hours... I am, after all, not "OVERWORKED." She actually put it in air quotes.
Never have I ever wanted to 1st) PUNCH someone and 2nd) walk out on a human being so much in my entire life. How dare she question my efforts at the school, or my coworkers' efforts for that matter?
How DARE she demean our department as a whole and compare it to science? How DARE she tell me I am not a core class, when I am a college entry requirement?
I wasn't going to let her screw over anybody else in my department, because that was simply not fair. So I sat there, listened to her passive agressive argument, picked up my shit and walked out. Went to my room and looked for job postings in other school districts.
This is at least the 4th encounter I have had with my principal where something (anything) I am doing isn't quite right.
This is the first time in my life I ACTUALLY feel that someone doesn't see me as a professional. And this is my own principal.
God save me, and let me find a way to get through this.
4 preps, 6 classes... happy 2012-2013 school year, bitches.
