tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post8756096356015850129..comments2024-03-08T14:23:31.503-05:00Comments on A Puff of Absurdity: Seniority Does Not Always Equal MeritMarie Snyderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872774009526266579noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5939915290794973654.post-88885192479900334642013-07-22T22:00:52.312-04:002013-07-22T22:00:52.312-04:00Dear Marie:
Thank you for providing this article ...Dear Marie:<br /><br />Thank you for providing this article called "I'm a first-year teacher who'll automatically be fired at the end of the school year."<br /><br />As a senior supply teacher, I would just like to comment on this article. I really think it needs a second voice :)<br /><br />The author (Alex Ventura) writes:<br /><br />“On top of all of this, because this is my first year of teaching, I automatically lose my job at the end of the year. Even though I have received glowing reviews from administrators, I will be pulled from my position so that someone with more seniority within the school board can apply for my job.”<br /><br />Well, from what I gather from this article, Alex was a long-term occasional teacher that successfully completed a full-time teaching assignment. The job was finished at the end of the school year and now Alex is very frustrated that he will not be hired back because he’s a very new teacher and knows he will fall to the bottom of the seniority list.<br /><br />Now, my question to Alex is: why should he automatically be given his job back in September? Why?<br /><br />Even if Alex did a terrific job, why should he “automatically” be hired back without considering anyone else? Shouldn’t other candidates be considered? Shouldn’t there be an interview selection process? Where’s the credibility? Why should principals simply be handing over jobs to the same people when there are thousands of other highly qualified teachers out there with far more experience? That’s why we need a seniority list! To stop principals from shortlisting their own “tiny” group of teachers and hiring who they want.<br /><br />I am also not familiar with what “glowing reviews from administrators” means since principals were never required to formally “evaluate” the performance of occasional teachers. I assume Alex is referring to receiving good “references” from his administration; however, references are not evaluations and like you have mentioned before,<br /><br />“but I wonder to what extent they show exceptional teaching since, from what I've seen, principals often don't even know the supply teachers' names, but they write the letters regardless.”<br /><br />So, how can we really “trust” the administration then? How can we really know if Alex is getting glowing reviews? How can we know for a fact that principals are hiring the “best” teachers when they’re just handing over reference letters to people they can’t even remember? It doesn’t make any sense.<br /><br />Peter R.Peter Reesenoreply@blogger.com