I do this from time to time. I still keep up with Buna , heck, education in Texas, and in truth, all over America, the world. I guess I always will.
This coming school year, I will start my 13th year retired from teaching. It doesn't seem that long ago.
And to be honest with you, I am so glad I am out. Oh, I could have survived until today, but I would have been so miserable. My last few years, well, I saw the handwriting on the wall.
First, let me remind you, leave the kids alone. Just this past week a female teacher was arrested for "diddling" her Middle School student in Nagodoches ISD. I don't know what female teachers, with college degrees, in their 20-30s are doing messing with 14 year old boys.
In this day and age, you life as you know will be ruined. You are probably going to jail, you'll lose your spouse, your certificate, you'll be looking back at age 45-50 and say, " What the hell was I thinking?"
Second, as I have told you in the past, it is just a job. The administration, the parents, heck the kids, especially the kids, will throw you under the bus in a heartbeat. Oh, you like the kids, you want to do the best for them, but say the wrong thing, the wrong belief and in this day and age, while the ISD may not let you go, there might be enough pressure from the community that you are seeking new employment.
This is a new day. Watch what you say. Avoid being political as in elected offices. The woke crown is both left and right. I am sure that even though I think I could survive above, in reality, I doubt it. Lord knows my opinion comes out. I got no governor.
Third, sadly, there are something you just can't do as a teacher. I was sent a newspaper article about a teacher being fired for going to a " Drag Show" then posting pictures on social media.
And then I read the kicker. She was a 20 year teacher at a Baptist school.....Where did she miss the fact she worked at a Baptist school and she might not post pictures, much less let people go. Come on man, are you that naive in this day and age and people playing " Gotcha?"
Look, years, ago, I had a student, 18 year old senior, dancing " nekkid" in the Houston area. ( No not from Buna, not this one anyway.)
One Friday afternoon, she came by after school and told, me " Mr. Thomas, you should come by and see my show, I'm on at 5."
There ain't no way I was going. I could just about see her telling everyone about it on Monday. Nor, do I got any business going to one of those places.
I could just about see what the Dayton ISD would do if I was found going....
There are district still uptight about tattoos, even in this day and age. Tell teachers not to let their kids know they drink, or post bathing suit photos on social media.....It comes with the territory.
As I told many of you earlier on Facebook I no longer tell people to " teach school." I now tell them do something else. Look, parents now hate you, the Texas State Legislature really hates you.
They think you're a bunch of wild eyed liberals. And while there are some liberals teaching they generally don't tell you their political beliefs, and in small school districts,especially in rural areas, the majority of teachers are pretty conservative in their beliefs. ( That said, the present legislature is about to stop me from voting Republican, which I've registered as since 1976 when it wasn't popular to do so. Scapegoating teachers for whatever reason now.)
But I digress.
The profession is changing folks. You know it. As a boxing referee would say, " Protect yourself at all times."
No comments:
Post a Comment