Maloney, Teach for America recruit, has been promoted and cuddled by former principal, and now School Support Officer, Xochitl Davila since the beginning of her career at Lee High School. Sadly, anyone that doesn't treat Ms. Maloney with kid gloves ends up on Davila's termination list. The fact that Maloney has no problem with "just changing a student's semester grade" is problematic ethically, is counterproductive to high expectations, and reeks of dishonesty and student favoritism. I was no longer at my campus partly because of ongoing issues with Maloney, and I had no access to my student's reports, or artifacts.... Continue reading

Maloney, Teach for America recruit, has been promoted and cuddled by former principal, and now School Support Officer, Xochitl Davila since the beginning of her career at Lee High School. Sadly, anyone that doesn't treat Ms. Maloney with kid gloves ends up on Davila's termination list. The fact that Maloney has no problem with "just changing a student's semester grade" is problematic ethically, is counterproductive to high expectations, and reeks of dishonesty and student favoritism. I was no longer at my campus partly because of ongoing issues with Maloney, and I had no access to my student's reports, or artifacts.... Continue reading

From: Wilson, Amber E Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2012 12:17 PM To: Eckert, LaWanda I; Subject: PLC Dear ELA Department, It has come to my attention that my expectations for Professional Learning Communities at Kashmere are not being met in the English Department. Due to the inefficiency of the ELA PLC meetings, there is no need to continue with this process. As a result, the PLC time will be eliminated and additional classes will be added into the master schedule for that time period. The ELA department will receive directives for instruction and curriculum directly from Ms. Maloney and myself.... Continue reading

The email below qualifies as cyber-bullying and harassment. The problem with doing something like this to your employee is that it completely defies logic, human decency, and is counter- productive. Let us look at a list of reasons why a teacher might briefly be in his/her chair during class time: Taking the roll (the computer is stationed at your desk) Grading a student’s work Checking a grade Getting some pencils Calling a parent Getting extra paper Getting some extra worksheets Looking at a student’s journal Preparing to quietly tutor a student at the desk Checking the seating chart Changing the... Continue reading

The email below qualifies as cyber-bullying and harassment. The problem with doing something like this to your employee is that it completely defies logic, human decency, and is counter- productive. Let us look at a list of reasons why a teacher might briefly be in his/her chair during class time: Taking the roll (the computer is stationed at your desk) Grading a student’s work Checking a grade Getting some pencils Calling a parent Getting extra paper Getting some extra worksheets Looking at a student’s journal Preparing to quietly tutor a student at the desk Checking the seating chart Changing the... Continue reading

From: Wilson, Amber E Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2012 12:17 PM To: Eckert, LaWanda I; Subject: PLC Dear ELA Department, It has come to my attention that my expectations for Professional Learning Communities at Kashmere are not being met in the English Department. Due to the inefficiency of the ELA PLC meetings, there is no need to continue with this process. As a result, the PLC time will be eliminated and additional classes will be added into the master schedule for that time period. The ELA department will receive directives for instruction and curriculum directly from Ms. Maloney and myself.... Continue reading

Before dawn Mr. Henry arrives to click on the lights, and the roaches and mice skitter away to their hiding places in the cracks of our old dilapidated school. Minutes later my students are knocking on the glass doors for a chance to look at a computer, read with their teacher, or just escape the morning cold. Sometimes shouts and laughter echo around the empty hallways; around, and around, the sound travels as fast as the Large Hadron Collider, but our school is anything but a scientific experiment. My students are alive, impressionable, and listening for drama. The Morning Ritual... Continue reading

This is a link to my principal's certificate. Notice she has only been certified as a classroom teacher since 2005. She must have done her work through an alternative certification program, because her certificate was only probationary. https://secure.sbec.state.tx.us/SBECONLINE/virtcertdisplay.asp?spid=1314588&mode=C But in his memo to the board, Terry Grier lies about her credentials claiming she has 10 years of experience. View the memo here: You can do your own math; it's insulting that Grier thinks the Board is too inept to add a few numbers. You might also want to google Wilson/Williams previous employers. Her charter school history is glossed over and... Continue reading

Good morning to all! Read this email from my union rep. This morning we also received an email that states the principals are being told they are not firing enough teachers. This is the sick process education reform has created in big city districts. They just churn through teachers, especially new ones, as fast as they can with no regard to the person’s life, skill set, or qualifications. The harm they do to the students by destabilizing their neighborhood schools cannot be measured. They don’t care if you are a blazing success in the classroom; your teaching certificate is basically... Continue reading

This morning I am all of the faults my Grandmother detested: contemptuous, fatigued, imposed upon, and impatient. I never asked to come here, and my tenure has turned into a trap of sorts, a place I can walk away from; however, if I do, then I will self-destruct and all of my arrows will have missed the mark. A vision of my Grandmother passes before me dressed in her starched apron, her hands kneading the dough, a soft breeze rattling her screen door. We will all forget, as soon as humanly possible, the spoilt and petulant, slightly plump little valley... Continue reading

Today we are happy for the gentle weather and our Katy home, a place where we can escape the unpleasant. And while I often look back on the earlier days of my life in discomfort, I am pleased with myself at 50. The decisions we make in our 20's contain only limited wisdom, and are generally reactionary, and if you haven't grown by 50, then you likely have surrounded yourself with people lacking character and independent thought. Our school offices and government are filled to the brim with those sycophants, basking in their unethical points of view, and fundamentally perpetuating... Continue reading

Posted with Blogsy Continue reading

An old belief is now reborn: if you don't have a degree in that subject, then you shouldn't teach that subject. Schools and districts are once again recognizing the importance of subject area knowledge. Of course, this would eliminate a lot of Teach for America candidates with business degrees, and it would stop someone with a communications degree from teaching high school English. But in my opinion, and from what I have witnessed lately, it's a rule worth enforcing. In Texas, if you can pass the subject area test, then you are allowed to certify for that subject. The tests... Continue reading

Writing a book has always been my dream, and recently I shared this idea with a scholarly friend that knows the story of my life. My friend sat and thought a bit, and then she remarked, "Well, for a book you need characters. Have you got any ideas? You need a well planned plot, and a worthy protagonist. What are you thinking about?" I had to laugh when she started asking about characters, because I have plenty of them. Some have created a constant background noise throughout my life; flat, not well-developed, and in my story, cowardly followers sipping from... Continue reading

Since I moved, I can't find my rear with both hands. Some of my books are in Oklahoma, and some of them are here, and many of them are digital. Some of my books are at school, and my dog ate the rest. I threw a bunch of stuff away, and I sent the wrong box of clothes north, so now I have nothing warm to wear; except that doesn't really matter because it's going to be in the 90's on Monday. I never have a moment alone. I have Vince walking around the apartment like a zombie looking for... Continue reading

So long to the format, a bitter fill-in-the-blank document, something void of character, lacking in quality, and unusable. How dare you criticize me when you have denied me something tangible, you incomprehensible phony, you inexperienced quack. And on the day you beat us all, the sun will slip behind the western sky, and it will fail to rise, an eclipse as brilliant as an atomic blast will puncture the heavens, and life will eternally cease to exist, my father awaits me. We have nothing to hide from you, and we have nothing to fear. Once, long ago, we took a... Continue reading

This morning I am at the Starbucks practicing with my little blogsy app, and it isn't all that easy to use. Maybe it's just that my fingers can't fly over the keys on my iPad. Whatever it is, I have to start making better use of my time if I am going to keep blogging. If you get a blogsy app for your iPad, start practicing with it right away. Mine has functions I haven't successfully mastered: embedding video, pictures, and web links. I would love to set my classes up with a blog, but my school administrators are not... Continue reading

The hours I spent on California freeways, hot smoggy days steaming up and down 95 on the Eastern Seaboard, traversing the slippery, winding mountains gracing the chilly skies of British Columbia, and plowing the snow in South Dakota was not preparation enough for my Houston, Texas, morning commute. Hateful and rude is simply an understatement, signal lights mean nothing, and the white alpha males flex their muscles in big pickups. After a few short weeks, I am sick of it all. Today I fired up my two seater, hit the streets at 5:30 am, and turned the Bose speakers up... Continue reading