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Michael Kadish
8/26/99
I have actually not yet taught in the field, and it is due, a great deal, to the negligence of myself, and my lack of time, or more specifically, my lack of money. I think that this shows shortcomings in the priorities of the school system, but I also think that I earned a valuable lesson, with putting off the trip, and getting the paperwork done. I think the policy is problematic, but I think I learned a valuable lesson.
In order to get the mandatory fingerprinting, one must drive to West Palm Beach. For one who does not have a car, this is quite difficult. I cannot simply ask somebody to take me to another city, and wait there for me for an unknown period of time, and to then take me back. The only option I really had was to get a taxi, and that, as I correctly estimated, was in the neighborhood of $60 each way. Added to the $76 fee for the paperwork and fingerprinting, I could not simply go down at my own free will until I had saved up two hundred plus dollars. It was an added inconvenience that the building, run by the government, has very short hours that conflict with my classes. However, that was merely an annoyance; the major issue was the money involved.
It was not until I actually filled out the paperwork at the school board offices, that I noticed that I was filling it out a month too late. I had thought the entire experience, up until that point, was ridiculous. I understood the necessity to keep criminals away from the schools, I really did, but the process was a major hassle that I was begrudging governmental bureaucracy. I felt that this could be taken care of more easily, that the universities could issue fingerprinting, etc. However, seeing the extreme lateness of my forms, it hit me that this is the way it's going to be, the laws really can't be circumvented, that not having the paperwork finished in time was my own fault; I should have reprioritized to get the paperwork done, not postponed the matter.
At this point, I did not think I had a chance of passing the class. I missed the deadline, ergo I could not teach, therefore I would not pass, and it was my fault. It may not be fair, but it was my duty to get the work done on time, and I did not come through. I went to Mr. Quintana, offering to receive an "I," teaching the next semester, and thereby getting everything sorted out, and allowing me to eventually pass. That was one option, he offered a few more. I also could write a five page paper on something we discussed in class, which seems a bit too easy, not to mention that it really is not going to assist me in the long run. He said, though, that everything should be ok, that I should be able to teach this semester, that there were other people who did the paperwork late, and should be able to move on without a problem. In a later e-mail though, he told me that the problem was that the in-school paperwork was not done. I am not sure what happened to this paperwork, he told me to call a number, which apparently has been disconnected, and I don't know who to talk to. I don't know how to clear it up. It's been months since I've been told whom to meet with, and I am thoroughly lost. If I had gotten the paperwork done on time, this could have been avoided, not to mention that if\when I do get an assignment, I could get one that I could then afford to travel to.
My point is this. In planning to be a teacher, my goal was to teach, and to try to avoid the paperwork and bureaucracy as much as possible. I'm not saying that television created my desire to be a teacher, but I suppose that I would want to be like the teacher from Head of the Class, who was able to reach the students exceedingly well, but always tossed aside the mountains of paperwork and conformity. It had been my experience, in real life, that the teachers who cared the most about policy were the ones who found it hardest to reach the students. I wanted, and still do want, to really be able to reach the students. However, I (hopefully, only,) came close to failing myself because of the avoidance of this paperwork. As a teacher, the paperwork won't just effect me, but all of my students as well. I don't want to be the one who hurts their futures because I did not fill out the needed forms. Perhaps it's just my own maturity, and perhaps it will lead to distance with the students, however I've learned to give more importance to the paperwork, no matter my feelings about it.