If you are wondering why this post is only going up now instead of way earlier, I lost both my internet and my car for most of this week, needing to rely on hospitality to get to and from the school. I've been unable to get to an internet connection until mine finally went back up today. My apologies to my group mates for any annoyances this may have caused.
Speaking of my car, that is what I wish to talk about in this post, because it made me think of something very interesting. It's a situation I've never read about in any of our texts before. I should begin with where the problem started and work my way from there.
It was lunch time early this past week. As I have taken my custom to do, I was driving back from picking up something to eat down the road. Approaching the intersection of 21st and Hillside, my car began to make a terrible squealing sound. I groaned, knowing that I'd have to have it looked at when I got home. It didn't make it that far. As I pulled into the turn lane and up to the light, the car simply stopped running. It just sat there, unable to start, and not even willing to turn the engine over. Of course, this being lunch hour traffic, I had a great deal of people lined up behind me who wanted me to move, but I could not. This was not the worst of the situation. The worst was that I did not have my cell phone on me, and thus I lacked any way of calling for assistance. The people who were whipping around me angrily now were not interested in providing any.
Luckily, I broke down very near the police station and I was able to just walk over and get help. Here's my problem as it related to education though. I was delayed with my car for the next hour and a half, well past the allotted time for lunch. I'm in the middle of having full control of all of my CT's classrooms. The only reason I was able to make it back to the building without missing any classes is because my plan period immediately follows lunch.
My question is as follows: What if I had broken down without a cell phone (this means I had no way of contacting the school and letting them know what was happening) and I had been forced to miss a class I was supposed to teach? What would the school policy be to do then?
This is a situation that was entirely out of my control. If I were a full time teacher, who would watch my students? No one would know I wasn’t returning to my classroom unless a student went and reported my sudden disappearance to another teacher or the office. I would assume in that case they would have to send someone to at least watch the class. I do recall a few times in my high school career that a teacher no-showed a classroom which was then watched by the principal of vice principal. It essentially became a study hall as they didn’t utilize any sub materials for the class. That is either because there weren’t any (since the teacher was expecting to be there), or because they chose not to; I do not know which.
This situation really got me thinking about this issue, which is something we’ve never really talked about before. We talk about being prepared for sudden sick days, but the possibility of unexpected, sudden disappearances from the classroom seems like a good topic to discuss at some point. There must be some standard of procedure for these things I would imagine.
Dear Mr. Burge,
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a very good point. I have also, in the past, had troubles with my old car. There were a few times where I forgot a cell phone for the day. This was before teaching, but it did teach me an important lesson. ALWAYS make sure you have your cell phone. This is so important, because cell phones work out in the middle of nowhere (usually). If you were stranded far away from a gas station or any other kind of store, then you would really be in a mess. This is especially true if you are doing something such as traveling with students or to an interview.
I know this does not seem like a solution, but it truly is. Yes, we need to be flexible and prepared for unexpected, but it should be a must that we have a cell phone with us in emergency situations.
Schools have systems in place for emergency absences, but those systems work better when someone is able to communicate a need for them. I think this is a good discussion to have, but I do not really see a solution beyond always carrying a cell phone (and checking for it diligently) and knowing the school policy for emergency or unexpected absences.
Cameron,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good question, one which reminds us of the importance of good classroom management. Ideally, you "train" your students to do certain things upon entrance into the classroom. Should a situation arise unexpectedly and you cannot make it to class, your students will hopefully remember what they are supposed to do so that at the very least, your classroom does not collapse into utter chaos by the time the calvary arrives to cover for you until you are able to return. For example, I am currently getting my students into the habit of looking at the projector, which always displays a funny picture or quote of some sort, along with a greeting and instructions/bellwork for them to do as soon as they walk into the room. This gives me time to get situated, take role, or finish up talking with a student from the previous class, etc. Sometimes, I have to remind students to glance at the screen and follow directions, but for the most part, they seem to remember the routine.
I agree with Katie - schools have systems in place for any emergency, including your unexpected absence. Usually, it takes no time at all for another teacher to realize that a classroom is without supervision, and this teacher will follow this plan. At my school, administration tries to find a teacher in that department who will sacrifice their plan to cover for another teacher. If this is impossible, then as you said, a member of administration will cover the class until either the teacher is able to return or until an emergency substitute arrives.
I am glad you brought this topic up, Cameron! You're absolutely right - it isn't something that we've touched on, and should be discussed.
Cameron, thanks for your post and for bringing up a valid discussion topic. I hope that you've had some success diagnosing the car troubles and that the repair was not too expensive.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so sorry to hear that this happened during lunch hour in a busy intersection--and that no one offered to help. I'm glad you stayed safe as you exited your vehicle and made your way across the intersection.
I do have to respond to a statement in your post: "This is a situation that was entirely out of my control."
I beg to differ. As Katie pointed out, choosing to carry your cell phone would have altered the situation somewhat, allowing you to communicate your dilemma to your CT (or principal) with ease, so long as you had service.
In addition, you can also choose to dine on school grounds for lunch, perhaps bringing a lunch with you, so that you do not have to concern yourself with the possiblity that you may run into car trouble, traffic jams, or some other delay while going out for lunch.
I appreciate your honesty in bringing up this situation. As your colleagues have pointed out, having procedures in place within your classroom (clear agendas, perhaps telling your students what they need to do in the event of an unexpected absence--either from you or a sub) would be helpful. Eventually, someone will likely notice that no teacher is present ... but they won't be thrilled about giving up their plan time. You'll want to offer to make it up to them somehow, if you're able to do so.