Popularity Contest

So they announced the winner of the Golden Apple Award yesterday. The Golden Apple is the popularity contest that the PTA has for teachers at the school- the students vote on which teacher they like the most. This is a good idea in principle, but lame in application. It's nice because the students get to honor the teachers that they feel are doing a good job. It is stupid because every year they undoubtedly pick the P.E. teacher, the Music teachers, or the Science teachers because their classes are more fun. There will never be an English teacher selected for this award because we actually teach challenging material that involves sitting still and paying attention. I'm sorry, but you cannot read a book if you are running around, working on projects, or listening to music. I try to incorporate as much hands-on as possible in my class, but I also am wary of English teachers who do too much "artsy" stuff because I feel like it waters down the curriculum. 

So the Golden Apple will, alas, never be mine.

We also honored the School District's choice today, which is also a bunch of bologna. The only teachers who get that award are the ones who know the district higher-ups personally, which usually means they have been assigned to special programs or have been around long enough that they knew the district personnel when they were still in the schools as administrators or teachers. Not a huge surprise. The teacher they picked this year is a hard-working leader in the school, but there are so many other hard-working leaders who never get recognized because they do not carry the name recognition.

The final award they recognized today was the Crystal Apple award winner, which is the teacher's choice popularity contest. The stupid thing about this award is that another teacher has to nominate you for the award, or you have to nominate yourself. That means the teachers with agendas to push select themselves or ask a friend to select them, and the top 5 with the most nominations make it on to the ballot. For the past 3 years the technology teacher at our school has been nominated and I can't figure out why. I'm sure he's a great teacher, but outstanding? Don't really get that vibe. He has, however, been around for long enough that everyone knows his name. The winner this year is the P.E. teacher. Explain that to me, will you? He's a nice guy and all, but how much effort do you have to put in to motivate kids to want to play sports? Where are the subtle nuances to be taught in running around the track 5 times in 45 minutes? 

Anyway, for those of who think that teaching is a nice neat little career packed into tidy 9 month blocks, you're wrong. Yes, there are a lot of perks involved in being a teacher, but there are also late nights, troubled kids, and a general lack of acknowledgement  from the establishment for the successes you have- unless you've been around long enough that everyone knows who you are, or unless you float around the school offering "sagely" advice to the first year teachers in a know-it-all tone of voice.

Lame!