Educator Abuse: Why Leaving Teaching Was Similar to Leaving My Abusive Marriage #mcps #mocoboe

After resigning from my teaching position last month, I felt very much the same way I did when I frantically packed a bag of essentials and escaped my abusive marriage. At both of these times, I was immersed in a dense fog which made things right in front of me strategically unclear. I was unsure that leaving was the right decision, and I was fearful that I would be unable to find my way on my own. In my mind, it was entirely possible that the problem actually was me and not the toxic behavior I had been subjected to on a daily basis. In both scenarios, I was codependent and in love. When you’re in an abusive relationship of any kind, whether it’s with a person or a job, it’s easy to fall victim to the endless gaslighting you experience and accept a multitude of untruths as reality...

...They are told to wait for yet another month or two to be paid for the required summer training they completed and to risk themselves and their young, unvaccinated children to return to the building during a pandemic. They become burnt out and beaten down by unsustainable expectations and lack of support.

It is then that an exodus seems imminent. 

Union representatives call for their members to organize and take action. It’s brought to public attention that educational staff are being taken advantage of, lied to, disrespected, and hurt. Speeches are made at Board of Education meetings. Educators take to the streets and to social media...

...Somehow, the final straw wasn’t when I was given all five of my teaching periods in a row, leaving me without a bathroom break for nearly five straight hours.

• It wasn’t when the light bulb on my Promethean board burnt out and wasn’t replaced for at least four months, resulting in my students, many of whom had special ed accommodations, going without visual aids for a good portion of the school year.

• It wasn’t when I was advised to put my personal values aside and pass students on to the next grade or graduation even if they had not demonstrated mastery of basic skills.

• It wasn’t when I was blamed for those students’ failure by being told year after year that it was my responsibility and my responsibility alone to get them to pass.

• It wasn’t when I had to constantly beg for more than 3 years for an air conditioner and space heater to be placed in my classroom so that I would stop fainting from the heat and developing painful sores from the cold...

• It wasn’t even when my ADA accommodations were denied and I was told to return to the classroom despite my doctor’s letter stating the very high risk of my becoming permanently disabled if exposed to the COVID-19 virus...

..This was the case when the school system failed to offer their majority-female staff paid maternity leave; in order to assist its impacted members, the union worked to develop a system in which teachers could “donate” their unused sick days to fellow staff members in need. It was the case when I fainted from overheating in my classroom for the fourth or fifth time and a close friend took it upon herself to track down a window AC unit to install. Similarly, when ADA accommodations were denied to countless teachers during the pandemic, empathetic colleagues stepped in to cover their classes so that at-risk teachers could remain safely virtual. And when the county failed to secure COVID-19 vaccinations for their staff prior to forcing a return to the buildings, many teachers joined a large network of “vaccine hunting” volunteers who stayed up late into the night and woke before sunrise to obsessively refresh pharmacy and massvax web pages in order to score appointments for unvaccinated staff...

 ...If they leave mid-year for any reason, they risk having their teaching license revoked.  When they call HR for help, they have their future job prospects and livelihood threatened...

https://theeducatorsroom.com/educator-abuse-why-leaving-teaching-was-similar-to-leaving-my-abusive-marriage/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork&fbclid=IwAR3j1Mx6pILOKM-O98zaFrtI8XFbwgJP0q7xYthaPqp3_yjkN3I_pylXulc

“Yes, in this type of weather, the [artificial] turf is going to be 20-25 degrees surface temperature hotter than if they were practicing in the grass,” John Marshall athletics director Robert Chavanek said.

37 band members in Marshall County overwhelmed by heat, taken to hospital

https://wchstv.com/news/local/developing-band-members-overwhelmed-by-heat-taken-to-hospital-in-moundsville

Warning: Casey Anderson and Montgomery Parks are Not Telling Parents About Danger of New Park! @caseyandersonPB @MontgomeryParks

Casey Anderson and Montgomery Parks are celebrating the opening of a park in Kemp Mill. The surface of the new urban park is made from ground up tires.  It is a well known fact that ground up tire athletic or play surfaces get much hotter than natural grass.

MCPS has now posted warning signs (see below) on artificial turf fields due to the dangerous conditions of these fields on warm or hot days, but Casey Anderson and Montgomery Parks are not warning parents and children about the dangers of these surfaces.

According to MCPS Heat Index guidelines, if the Heat Index is over 105 degrees there are to be no outdoor activities.  Is Montgomery County Parks going to close these playgrounds when the Heat Index is 105 degrees or higher?

Community Use of Public Facilities advises field users to vacate the field at times of excessive heat and users will receive a credit of their rental fee. 

Parents can monitor the daily Heat Index at the National Weather Service website before sending kids to play on ground up tire playgrounds.

Temperature reading from Kemp Mill Park on June 30, 2017. Credit Sheldon Fishman. 

MCPS Heat Guidelines

The following is MCPS heat guidelines that apply specifically to activities conducted on artificial turf fields. 

• Anytime the outdoor temperature exceeds 80 degrees, coaches exercise caution in conducting activities on artificial turf fields. 
• When outdoor temperatures exceed 90 degrees, coaches may hold one regular morning or evening practice (before 12 noon or after 5:00 pm). 
• When the heat index is between 91-104 degrees between the hours of 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m., school athletic activities are restricted on artificial turf fields to one hour, with water breaks every 20 minutes.

A heat warning sign is posted at all artificial turf fields to inform community user groups.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/maintenance/default.aspx?id=496174

Steamy Times at Blair High

Its August 15.  Most of us in Montgomery County are enjoying the last few days of a very hot summer before school begins.

Unless you play high school sports.

Yes, the sports teams are back - and we have the pictures!  Here is a picture of Blair's football team taken last Friday, August 12.

But, you may ask, isn't it hot on the fields?  How hot?  On Friday, Reagan National reported a high of 99 degrees and a low of 93 degrees between noon and 6 pm, with 50 percent humidity.

And on the artificial turf?  Here is a picture recorded of actual field temperatures.

Our not so very sophisticated weather gauge on the left indicated that at a little after 3 pm, the air temperature was 98 degrees, while the temp on the Blair artificial turf field was a sizzling 151 degrees.

How would our regular grass fields fare in the heat?

A few minutes later, our weather gauges recorded a more modest 84 degrees on the natural grass surrounding the Blair field.

What a difference (a few) chemicals can make.

MCPS supposedly is enforcing rules related to the heat on the fields.  According to the webpage:

Schools shall monitor prevailing weather conditions, including the current heat index, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and make appropriate practice and activity accommodations. The heat index on the Athletics webpage applies to the 20877 zip code, the most central site in Montgomery County.

And once the heat index is calculated, coaches are instructed to follow the following guidelines:

Temperature Guidelines

Heat Index	Restrictions
0-90° F	Normal practice guidelines and restrictions
91–104° F	Exercise caution; observe players carefully; frequent water breaks;   limit time in which players are wearing full equipment
105° F +	No outside activities; activities limited to air-conditioned school facilities

   

If you calculate the heat index from the rubric on the webpage, the heat index on Friday at Blair HS was an outstanding 113 degrees!  Factor in the artificial turf, and ouch - it was really hot on that field.

Did Blair's football coach really hold a practice OUTSIDE when the heat index was 113 degrees? And on a turf field that registered 151 degrees?

Blair HS is known for its brains, not its athletic abilities, but it seems as if neither is back from vacation just yet.

How hot is it on your MoCo football field?

Parents - Its not just football that is subject to the restrictions when temperatures go soaring. Pay attention, and let your coaches know you are monitoring the heat index over the next few weeks.

For those of you lucky/unlucky enough to have an artificial turf field - watch out or your student may find themselves burnt out before school begins.

And good luck to all the Blazers sports teams - assuming you don't wilt in the heat!

Baltimore County school board OKs heat closure policy

A new policy in Baltimore County requires non-air conditioned public schools to close when the heat index reaches 90 degrees.
Media outlets report the Baltimore County Public Schools Board of Education passed the policy Tuesday, which directs the superintendent to close the affected schools if the heat index is forecast to reach 90 degrees by 11 a.m. When possible, the closure should be announced by 8 p.m. the preceding night...

 http://thedailyrecord.com/2016/08/10/baltimore-county-schools-approves-heat-closure-policy/