Survivor: Teaching

For those of you who are (or have been) educators, we can only wish that this would really be a reality show.  And to those of you who haven't worked in a school, I assure you that, yes, ALL of this is true.

In secondary schools, teachers may only teach one subject (at several different levels), but instead of having a single class all day, they meet with 150 or more students daily.

High school classes typically numbered 32-36 students EACH, and those teachers have five classes daily.  And virtually all of the requirements, adjustments, extra work, etc., described below are encountered daily by every teacher I know.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have you heard about the next planned "Survivor" show?

Three businessmen and three businesswomen will be dropped in an elementary school classroom for 1 school year.  Each business person will be provided with a copy of his/her school district's curriculum, and a class of 20-25 students.

 

Each class will have a minimum of five learning-disabled children, three with A.D.H.D., one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three students will be labeled with severe behavior problems.

 

Each business person must complete lesson plans at least 3 days in advance, with annotations for curriculum objectives and modify, organize, or create their materials accordingly. They will be required to teach students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance, write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades, complete report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents, and arrange parent conferences. They must also stand in their doorway between class changes to monitor the hallways.

 

In addition, they will complete fire drills, tornado drills, and [Code Red] drills for shooting attacks each month.

 

They must attend workshops, faculty meetings, and attend curriculum development meetings. They must also tutor students who are behind and strive to get their 2 non-English speaking children proficient enough to take the SOLS tests.  If they are sick or having a bad day they must not let it show.

 

Each day they must incorporate reading, writing, math, science, and social studies into the program. They must maintain discipline and provide an educationally stimulating environment to motivate students at all times.  If all students do not wish to cooperate, work, or learn, the teacher will be held responsible.

 

The business people will only have access to the public golf course on the weekends, but with their new salary, they will not be able to afford it.  There will be no access to vendors who want to take them out to lunch, and lunch will be limited to thirty minutes, which is not counted as part of their work day.  The business people will be permitted to use a student restroom, as long as another survival candidate can supervise their class.

 

If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials before, or after, school. However, they cannot surpass their monthly limit of copies.  The business people must continually advance their education, at their expense, and on their own time.

 

The winner of this Season of Survivor will be allowed to return to their job.

 

If you think teaching is easy, stick with your current job. Most new teachers don't last past the first year.