I think I've discovered the cushiest public teaching gig ever. At least, the cushiest in SE DC. Justin and I went to Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School to watch Bryan Hill at work. Bryan has been working for DCPS for 10 entire years. I think that's pretty incredible. I'm sure it helps that he has a full-time job with a dedicated classroom, a ton of supplies, neon green storage lockers, neat-o posters with artworks and fun art historical facts, multiple planning/development periods, and kids that worship him. (The 10 years worth of raises must help, too.)
Bryan's job is completely perfect though. The art periods are only 45 minutes at most. He said the teachers often hold their students back from art to punish them or use the time for more 'academic' subjects. We observed one class who's teacher kept them so long that Bryan had to scrap his planned lesson and switch to something off-theme that could be done in half the time. It also didn't help that the students were in poor spirits by the time they finally got to art class. Despite the obstacles, Bryan had such a good repoire with the students that they seemed brighter be the end of the period. I am very interested in watching how Bryan develops such chummy relationships with the students, yet maintains authority.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Gosh, I would hate working in those kind of conditions. I am very precious about my time and I would be livid if my students were late. And 45 minutes just isn't enough time to be taking 15 minutes here or there. I would go crazy.
ReplyDelete