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[Case Study] Working with Ineffective Tenured Teachers
Posted on August 12, 2014 by Mary Reynolds
From the desk of … Mary Robinson Reynolds, M.S.
Re: Academic Success 101 Online Course
An Ineffective Tenured Teacher’s Success Story
I have spoken to over 20,000 people in a period of just two years, and I have found that almost every school district has a “Mary Ann.” You know her. She’s a bit on the frumpy grumpy side, is insecure, a bit needy for approval and gives the appearance of being incompetent and confused about even being deserving of a job.
The Mary Anns we know have hearts of gold and are incredibly caring and genuinely interested in everyone’s well being. They really do care, it’s not just a front.
In fact, the Mary Anns of this world would give you the shirt off of their back if you needed it, just because they care that deeply for humanity.
Unfortunately, the Mary Anns are often put down and made fun of in our work world. They receive VIBES from their colleagues, (and parents) ever so discreetly, and in a politically correct fashion; vibes which imply that they are incompetent, incapable, just too sensitive and they just let people walk all over them.
They’ve been attitudinally labeled as: Losers!
The Mary Ann I came to know and love was the type of ineffective tenured teacher that had a great degree of difficulty with students, because she had never received the kind of training that would help her develop a truly effective Skill Set. The result was total chaos in her classroom each and every day.
The communities’ most influential parents begged the Principal to not put their children in her classroom. So, the Principal – not wanting to “rock the boat” of the political system – put the lowest performing and most challenging students (the kids nobody wanted in their classrooms) in Mary Ann’s room with the outside hope that she would get tired and quit.
I assure you I am not making this up – he openly shared this with me, and it was common knowledge among the faculty and staff – often gossiped about in the teacher’s lounge.
The fall that I arrived at this school to work as the guidance counselor, the assessment that I had given Mary Ann’s students revealed that 56% of her classroom were students who were at-risk behaviorally and emotionally and therefore below average level learners.
I invited Mary Ann to attend my Academic Success 101 Continuing Education Class that I was teaching through Portland State University in Portland, OR. She readily accepted my invitation and showed up to class ready to learn. She took my full 9 Week Class twice during that school year.
In the spring I re-issued the school district’s test. The standard improvement normally shown by the best of teachers would show an increase of about 2 points.
Mary Ann’s class had increased it’s overall score by an amazing …
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Reaching out to make a world of difference THIS School Year!
Mary Robinson Reynolds, M.S.
MakeADifference.com/Education
Heart Productions & Publishing, Greater Boston Area
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