S.E.eX: A Serious Educator's Ex-pose' + Survival Guide

By Frederick H. Gilbert

This book examines the daily issues experienced by teachers that were never discussed during their enrollment in the required education certification courses.You will enjoy this cathartic review of the experiences of a teacher with over forty years as an educator.The information presented will prove to be a valuable resource for your entire career in education.This book represents a review of real events that new teachers could never anticipate happening to them.This book is primarily designed to assist and inform anyone who is in the process of being recognized as a professional in education.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543944761

Book preview

©2018 Mr. Frederick H. Gilbert- M.Ed. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN: 978-1-54394-475-4 (print)

ISBN: 978-1-54394-476-1 (ebook)

S. E. eX

Serious Educator’s eXpose`

This reference guide will take you through the journey of an experienced educator. It will reveal some of the situations educators will be exposed to during their careers. Eventually, all of us start thinking about retirement. When your daily mantra has evolved into the statement, I’m done with this bulls--t, or it’s time to go, then you should probably evaluate your situation.

This text will help new educators understand their path, this will help teachers who are in the middle of their careers to anticipate and avoid a future ride down the rocky road. It will help seasoned educators, who have the energy to do a great job, see a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck! This informational pamphlet could help you retire on your terms with a joyful smile on your face and a twinkle in your eyes.

You will realize that the great late Gerry Garcia expressed it best in one of his song lyrics, What a long, strange trip it’s been.

Even the knowledge of my own fallibility cannot keep me from making mistakes. Only when I fail do I get up again.

(Vincent Van Gough)

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Section 1: To be or not be…a Teacher?

Section 2: The Teaching Profession

Section 3: Hindsight is 20/20

Section 4: Profiles and Styles

Section 5: Special Needs Education

Section 6: Emotions, Conflict, Learning and Chronic Stress

Section 7: Substitute Teaching Duties

Section 8: Sick Days…Really?

Section 9: The Quality of the Work Environment

Section 10: Conflict, Resolution, Emails, Contracts, Unions

Section 11: Poke the Bear

Section 12: Assessment and Evaluation

Section 13: When It is Time to Go

Section 14: Some Unfinished Thoughts

References

About the Author

Preface

About the title of this guide

When my brother-in-law Jack and I were walking on the warm sands of a beach in Naples, Florida, we began to discuss my retirement plans. One of my goals was to write a book dedicated to my years involved in education.

The book will center on teaching methodologies, the situations that evolve, and the reasons one would start thinking about retirement, I claimed. I realized how boring this must’ve sounded to him.

Jack was either listening to me or looking at the dolphins swimming by the pier. With a brief acknowledgement that I was probably spoiling a peaceful walk, Jack offered his careful, yet profound, thought on the matter, If you don’t write about sex, drugs, or rock n’ roll nobody is going to read it.

Thanks Jack.

2018

Teaching and the various applied methodologies required to perform at a top level are in serious freefall. Federal mandates, national testing, state curriculum guidelines, and clear goals and objectives have evolved into a process that requires local school boards to hit a constantly moving target.

Are we educating future scholars, crafts-persons, or a combination of both? Does the society want our plumbers and carpenters to acknowledge Plato and Socrates? Does the labor market need more teachers, chemists or chefs?

Evaluating and qualifying educational goals and objectives is both confusing and difficult. It is not an exact science. However, evaluating and measuring educational objectives with any rubric has always been a difficult task. As school systems travel into a paperless, digital, technological era, measurement of outcomes has become more complex to interpret. In 2016, the Boston Globe reported that 51 percent of the school districts in Massachusetts are preparing to implement digital learning with technological proficient teachers. ([e-mail])

Creative thinking and creativity via online collaborative learning are among the required skills of the twenty-first century. As we incorporate new methodologies into the system, the issues surrounding the closing of achievement gap and assigning homework are still being formulated and studied. Recently, charter schools are rocking the drifting boat of public schooling and seem to be opposed by the public schools’ teachers’ unions. As usual, one of the main issues involved in this question is centered on the collective bargaining of contractual agreements for the staff, and not the school choice and better learning environments for students. Perhaps we should re-examine how the local, state and federal tax revenues fund education before rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Self-directed learning is still the desired goal of all educational institutions. Some things are certain—the stand and deliver methodologies used in the past by classroom teachers is no longer effective in the modern learning centers of today; mediocrity and the status quo is no longer acceptable; the debates rage on; concrete answers and solutions are far and few between and the educational process continues to evolve.

"Some say my teaching is nonsense,

Others call it lofty but impractical,

But to those who have looked inside themselves,

This nonsense makes perfect sense.

And to those who put into practice

this loftiness has roots that go deep

I have just three things to teach:

Simplicity, Patience, Compassion.

These three are great treasures.

Simple in action and thoughts, you

Return to the source of being.

Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are.

Compassion toward yourself,

You reconcile all beings in the world."

My foundation for teaching has always been based on the principles established by the interpreted works of Lao-Tzu 551-479 B.C.E.

Dedication

Mae,

Beautiful you

You are my warm summer breeze

My sunrise and sunset

The song in my heart 24/365

Cherished and loved beyond words

OX

"The softest things in the world overcome

the hardest things in the world."

(Lao-Tzu)

Introduction

The song lyrics by John Meyer express it best by suggesting that the real world is outside the lines and those lines keep moving. Your perceptions are your only reality. Life’s experiences are invaluable. It is extremely difficult to transfer the intimacy of one’s knowledge of those experiences to others. This text is factual, yet an opinionated reference guide to be used by educators with caution. Some of the material in this book will enable your students to enjoy learning more. Your peers will once again realize that you are a pleasure to be around.

We are currently experiencing a social disconnect of historical proportions. This chasm is having an impact on our ability to communicate the value of achieving goals and producing quality citizens. This gap has fostered a distrust of our authorities. Educational institutions are entrusted to develop a better understanding of an educated citizen. An acronym used in this process is WIIIFM (What is in it for me?). This phrase can be used to reach lofty objectives such as:

Developing a bond

A transfer of knowledge

Establish the joy of learning

Develop meaning and deep meaning

A strong respect for life-long learning

A contextual relationship between actions and consequences

Understanding the responsibilities of being a citizen in a global environment.

Your core strength as an educator is based on the concrete foundations of the objectives listed above. I hope that this text will provide you useful information that may ease your current dilemma or make sense out of the unforeseen career situations that will affect you in the future. This guide is set up to be used as a desk reference to help you navigate over the speed bumps we all face in a career as educators. The informal structure of this guide will enable you to quickly access the key information that may ease your stress levels. Conflict is usually not served well by acting on an immediate impulse.

A careful rational thought process is critical in resolving conflict that has a personal historical context. Attempting to remain rational and grounded under applied pressure is essential for a resolute outcome. If possible, delaying a critical response while you gauge the effects of misguided emotional decisions could save your career. Avoid the negative effects of chronic stress. Chronic stress triggers should be avoided at all costs. My character flaws partially blocked my abilities to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Understanding the character traits inherent in your DNA will enable you to activate appropriate behavioral responses to your unique glitches. (see Enneagram character traits)

Your certified subject area of expertise and the environment you work in each day is only partially under your control. You