Teacher of Nothing

Last month, I alerted our superintendent about a teacher who was not certified in the subject area she was teaching. Yet two weeks later, she is still in her job. According to school code, if you are in a contracted job, you must be certified in that area. There are still a lot of job applicants out there, and I didn't think it was right she was doing this. I'm thinking about sending a follow-up letter to the DOE.

 

I'd drop it.

There could be a special exception that was made for that teacher, even one that was okay'ed by the district or state. If you feel like this teacher is truly doing a terrible job, then report it... otherwise, I'd let the school/state worry about it.

 

Why are you so sure this teacher hasn't been granted emergency certification in this subject? Also, why are you so concerned about the matter?

 

Teachers can sometimes teach in area in which they are not certificated under certain circumstances. It's not your job to monitor this and continued action on your part in this issue could result in unintended consequences

 

Don't be a narc. Remember the code of the school yard.

 

As others have said, it's not your concern.

 

To put it bluntly...if the kids are safe MYOB

 

Here here, nobody likes a tattle tale

 

Well, Miss Marple, I'm sure they knew when they hired her! Drop it!

 

Believe me! We are all questioning her credentials and how she landed this position. No one can recall her coming in for an interview. I overheard her instruction - not up to par! She was giving them the answers. She only has student teaching under her belt. A staff member was trying to talk to her the other day, and she snapped, "I'm on my phone!"

 

How are your lessons, students' needs, and professional development going? Mind your business.

 

I guess you don't care about who is teaching our children. I know I would want my own child to have a qualified teacher.

 

Every new teacher has to start somewhere! I struggled my first year. My instruction and management were not exactly "up to par." I also struggled when I moved fro elementary to high school. It took a lot of help and support from my coworkers to become successful. My only experience when I was hired was my student teaching, as well. My guess is that the principal saw something in her that was impressive. If no one ever gave a beginning teacher a chance, then there would never be new teachers. We need to nurture our new teachers, not judge them.

 

Your job is to teach your students. The responsibility to police her instruction is above your pay grade. Why would any of you necessarily know when she came in for an interview? If you want to question the administration decision to hire her, go get an administrative license and get an administrative job. Until then, stop trying to derail her career.

 

I'm kinda surprised by some of these responses. No one likes a narc? No wonder the general population thinks so little of us. We won't even police our own. Aren't we supposed to be concerned about the education of all kids?

 

This is my own opinion: Many subjects in high school can be adequately taught with a little determination, studying, and background knowledge...many, many teachers enter the profession from an alternative route and become very strong content instructors.

You don't know the full situation...don't stick your neck out and possibly get majorly burned. This is just asking for it.

 

She has no evidence that the teacher is unqualified or being neglectful. She heard her giving kids the answers, which is something I do when we are reviewing for tests. She is jumping to conclusions and in danger of jumping too far.

 

I care very much about all children getting a good education. However, it is not my role at my school to judge other teachers' abilities. Sounds like you're just spending too much time on something that is not your job.

 

It's true, no one does. And the people who say "police our own", in my opinion, are some of the biggest tools and busy bodies ever. Seriously, don't be that old lady who calls the HOA when trash cans are left out, or the guy who calls 911 when you are trying to remove the Denver Boot some POS meter maid put on your car.

 

I spend the majority of my day in my own classroom teaching my students. I spend little to no time watching other teachers teach their classes. The little bit I hear or see when passing by another teacher's classroom gives me very little information to judge their skill as a teacher. I would not want someone else policing me by making spot judgements about the 30 seconds they hear me teach, so I will not do that to my colleagues.

 

Here here

 

Your first post didn't mention any problems with this teacher other than not having HQT status. Since ESSA replaced NCLB, the HQT portion of teacher licensing is no longer the law of the land. If this new teacher is as unqualified as your second post alleges, it will come out during the first year mentoring / observation process.

 

Why would anyone worry about another teacher? Don't you enough to deal with?
Last year we had a licensed therapist hired for our self contained special ed class. By law they have 2 years to get enrolled in a teacher program and I'm not sure how many years to finish it. She was not a teacher, never done it, but she was fantastic. She is now a licensed therapist (not sure of the exact title) at our county office.
This year, for the same position, they hired a very young teacher, about 22, hasn't even started her teaching credential program. I was shocked, and wondered how she is going to handle that classroom (the hardest at our school and always the hardest to fill). The same rules apply regarding enrolling and finishing a teaching credential.
Obviously they saw something in her, and it's probably best than having a bunch of subs or long term subs who also don't have their credentials.

I was welcoming to her, helped her out a couple of times when she needed something, offered my help for whenever and I wish her luck in this position. That's all anyone needs to do.

 

Consider the source. The original premise is a case of glass houses and stone throwing.

 

The op reminds me of this one thing that happened to me while I was in college. I just got off my shift at 2am and saw my car was booted. Some busy body decided to film me trying to remove it then called 911. I wasn't hurting any one, but because some body decided to take it upon him self to "police ourselves " I got an even bigger ticket.

 

She's baaaaaaaaack!

 

There was one time when I did complain about another teacher. It was someone I shared a wall with, and I could hear the person berating students and insulting them and yelling at them terribly. It was abusive and inappropriate, especially for elementary kids. I did complain to my supervisors multiple times, but the person remained far longer than they should have because finding a replacement is difficult in our area.

However, unless this person is doing something that is morally wrong - doing harm to the students, which it doesn't seem like they are - let the school worry about whether or not the person is providing shoddy instruction.

 

What do you have to gain by "ratting" someone out? It comes down to what we talk to our students about: if you are reporting to get someone in trouble (which is what it sounds like) it is tattling. If the teacher is being abusive, you are a mandated reporter. It is not our job to police the instruction, or the qualifications, of our colleagues.

 

We have a faculty teaching a class that he's not certified in because we couldn't hire enough science teachers. We have 8 science faculty for a student body of 1200.

 

You got a bigger ticket because not only did you violate one law/regulation which got your car booted, you violated another law by trying to pick the lock on the boot. How dare people report when they see the laws being broken!

 

So, the question is, who is really being ratted out? If the district is placing someone in a position they are not qualified to teach and depending on the laws of the state do not have an emergency credential, isn't it the district or administration that is being ratted out not the teacher?

 

The Milsey account clearly is designed to troll teachers into saying stupid things. It is amazing how well it works every single time.

The idea that only admins should care about teacher quality is beyond ridiculous.

 

If no one is getting hurt people need to kindly mind their own business.

 

I never read any indication that the teacher in question does not have an emergency credential, or that the teacher in question is out of compliance with any policies. There is certainly no evidence that she is being neglectful. It's very likely that no one is being "ratted out" at all.

 

I think the problem is the op believes the teacher is not qualified so she wants to complain. That's what it's "ratting out" she is trying to get an other teacher in trouble. It's immaterial if the other teacher gets in trouble. The point is this woman is trying to be a busy body and call attention to something in order to attack some one else.

 

I had that same thought.

 

There are definitely some posters who elicit extreme reactions. I have never noticed seen the "no one likes a tattle tale" sentiment on this forum before.

 

Not according to PLC!!