ATRs, the unrepresented -- no elected representatives in the UFT

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"To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery, for slavery consists in being subject to the will of another."
Thomas Paine, First Principles of Government


Thursday, May 24, 2018

The teachers shot dead at Santa Fe were substitutes. Carranza and DeBlasio's DOE still denies keys to many ATRs.

The two staff member dying in last week's latest mass school shooting were substitutes. Let that sink in. Time magazine gets it. Why doesn't the NYC DOE or the UFT for that matter?
Where is Michael Mulgrew loudly declaring action to ensure our safety.

Time magazine wrote, "‘They’re Really on Their Own.’ Santa Fe Reveals the Danger of Being a Substitute Teacher in Era of School Shootings," pointing out the obvious safety hazards that substitute teachers face. Technically, we're not subs. But let's face it, when it comes to security, we ATRs treated that way: left out of getting all the safety materials such as colored cards for the possible lockdowns, and many of us are still left out on getting keys to lock classroom doors.

Here's another clincher: we know that three of the slain students were in the art class that substitute teacher Cynthia Tisdale was covering. One wonders: did Santa Fe substitutes lack keys as many ATRs do? Let that weigh on the conscience. Will DOE refusal to "arm" ATRs with keys lead to a situation in which students die because the school was uncooperative with getting keys to an ATR?

Neither the DOE nor the UFT have given you special tips from the perspective of the perspective of a substitutting teacher --perhaps because it's been so long since any UFT leader was a substitute teacher. Here are some useful comments in the Time article.
In Briscoe’s [one surviving substitute] case, he told the students to cover their mouths based off of what he had heard occurred at other school shootings in the past. “That was something I never learned in training,” Briscoe, who earned around $12 an hour substitute teaching at Santa Fe High School, said. . . . This fight-or-flight mentality applies to all teachers thrust into these terrifying situations — whether they had gone through training or were familiar with the space or not, Briscoe said. But with two mass-casualty school shootings this year thus far, the layout of a classroom and lockdown procedures are on the top of the minds for some substitute teachers at each new gig.
“We’re expected to go in there and do the same job,” said Ginger Swanson, a 44-year-old substitute teacher based in Ohio. “We should have access to the same tools and information.” . . . .
Any time Swanson walks into a new classroom now, she thinks: Is there more than one exit? What’s this building’s floor plan? Can I open that window? Can the kids fit out the window? Can I? Where does the window lead to? What could I use to barricade the door? “You can’t just read your lesson plan and have a day with the kids,” Swanson said. “You have to keep [the potential for a shooting] in the back of your mind now.”
Swanson didn’t have these thoughts back when she began substitute teaching in 2012. She now wants schools in her counties to host orientations for substitute teachers so they can have a better sense of its protocols, lockdown procedures, layout and more.
(Of course, the 2012 reference is to the Sandy Hook massacre, the largest school shooting to date.)
Where is the Ginger Swanson in the UFT, advocating for our safety? We need reforms now, or we could become statistics, like Glenda Ann Perkins and Cynthia Tisdale in Santa Fe, Texas.

4 comments:

  1. I understand your reasoning, but we are NOT subs. Call me any name in the book, but 'sub' is the worst. I have had to explain this to many teachers and students. Most of us haven't even received restroom keys. I don't want any other key. The level of disrespect is astounding, especially when you ask for help from the UFT.

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    1. The UFT has been helping the DOE to harass and discriminate against the experienced teachers so schools can hire newbies.

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    2. Access to a bathroom is a basic right. I am a per diem paying union dues for NOTHING in return. Many per diems have a 98-100 % attendance rate.

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  2. Most ATRs are being rated by unscrupulous supervisors whose main goal is to push experienced teachers out of the system.

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