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religion/dishonesty

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Checkmate

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? az

I hope this is the correct forum and I hope its ok to ask 2 questions:

1) I was hired by a Catholic high school to teach a dual enrollment course (college/high school). I have taught this course many times in the local colleges. The course as it is being taught is not meeting the criteria of the local college it is recognized by.

I usually teach the course in 6-16 weeks. 16 is a looonnggggg time to stretch the material out - and it meets twice a week for the 16 week course. In high school it is taught in 9 months - and meets daily. The teacher I replaced (due to health reasons) was giving the students alot of coloring assignments and crossword puzzles. None of the tests had a critical thinking componant, just memorization and regurgitation - I have written my own tests to have some critical thinking - and the students didnt do so well. There are really no labs. They have one dissection lab, but it really does not meet the rigor that the labs i have taught for years for the same college system (at the college) meets. I have designed several labs on my own (special senses, peripheral nervous system, cardiovascular etc). As a result without the lab,critical thinking, and assessments that include coloring and crossword puzzles it really does not meet the requirements of the college.

I am being criticized by the school for not spending the full class time teaching - I usually lecture for part of the class, then give them one of the dink assignments the previous teacher had (like coloring) while I design labs and tests and lectures that meet the college standards. I arrive 45 minutes early and work on this, but can't get it done - I teach 3 "college" sections and its alot of work to design curricula. So I feel if the students have an assisgnment they should be ok while I work on the computer. But I get emails saying that when the come and peek in my windows they often see me at the computer.

I feel it is dishonest to let students do 3rd grade work and get college credit.

2) students tell me the principle does not like me because I am not catholic.

It has become very tense there. I can feel the displeasure. I know I am not being hired back next year but am told its just budget.

If I quit do I have any recourse for unemployment?
What can I do about teaching what is low level science, and passing it off as college. I also teach on nights and weekends for the college system and hate to jeopardize my standing - the college is going to do an inspection in a few weeks and I am worried they will be upset at the fact the school uses coloring and crossword puzzles as college level, pre-health care job science courses. These are courses people have to take to get in medical school. Parents pay like $10,000 a year for their kids to be here.
 


swalsh411

Senior Member
Nothing of what you posted above is relevant. Don't quit otherwise you severely hurt your chances of collecting unemployment.
 

commentator

Senior Member
If you quit, you are going to have almost absolutely no recourse for unemployment insurance, if that is what you meant. Because you have contracted to work until the end of the semester, right? If you leave before then, it will be your choice, not theirs, even though may you have reason to believe you will not be rehired for next teaching session.

To qualify for unemployment insurance you would have to show that you had a very good, valid, job related reason to quit the job. Not being paid appropriately, being physically assaulted, forced to work in dangerous conditions.....these are the types of things you might quit for that might allow you to receive benefits. But not liking the curriculum, not having time to complete the types of lesson plans you want to teach, having received bad comments about the way you seem to be operating the class, having heard rumors that the principal doesn't like you because you are not Catholic....these are NOT going to be considered important vital valid reasons to quit this job before your obligation is completed.

Let's see, you are preparing lesson plans for the class while you are in the class instead of teaching. That's really not going to be something they'll be really happy about. You just plain don't have time, what with your other jobs and all. That's not something they are going to want to hear. The class shouldn't be this long, anyhow, it's a rip off to the students. Wow.And this is their fault, not yours, so you feel free to do as you please, use class time to make up lesson plans, and feel very put upon to have to do a whole nine months of this, as you were definitely hired to do?

Grit your teeth, put your professional pride aside, and do the best you can with this class until you can finish it. Put away, at least for the time being, all your "ethical concerns" about the defective lesson plans, poor management of length and curriculum of the class, etc. You can provide these to the school management if they ask to meet with you and begin to criticize your work further. You can certainly give them this feedback later after they have told you will not be rehired. But it is not your problem to solve these issues, that is not what they want you to do, obviously. So do what they say, complete your assignment to the best of your ability, and let them tell you you're not rehired. Then you would probably qualify for unemployment benefits, depending on your montary eligibility.
 
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ajkroy

Member
As an educator, you should know that you don't spend CLASS TIME to design or create curriculum. That should be done before you ever reach the class. If you are creating for future weeks, then do it outside of the classroom.

I agree with the administrators on this one.
 

Checkmate

Junior Member
Ok thanks for the reality check. I have been given both : a letter of recommendation stating the only reason they are not rehiring me is due to budget constraints, and a letter telling me they are not rehiring me
 

Silverplum

Senior Member
Ok thanks for the reality check. I have been given both : a letter of recommendation stating the only reason they are not rehiring me is due to budget constraints, and a letter telling me they are not rehiring me
They're at least partially lying: the Catholic school system has a mandate (since about 2007 or so, to my knowledge) to hire only Catholic teachers. Of course, they can't tell you that outright, certainly not in writing.
 

pattytx

Senior Member
They're at least partially lying: the Catholic school system has a mandate (since about 2007 or so, to my knowledge) to hire only Catholic teachers. Of course, they can't tell you that outright, certainly not in writing.

Well, yeah, they could. And it very well could be legal. Most religious organizations are exempt from the anti-discrimination laws related to religion.
 

Silverplum

Senior Member
Well, yeah, they could. And it very well could be legal. Most religious organizations are exempt from the anti-discrimination laws related to religion.
I apologize -- I was too sweeping in my statement. Yes, they could.

Would it be legal of the Catholic school to admit they were letting her go because she's not Catholic, despite the fact that s/he has taught for them already -- including RELIGION classes??

It wouldn't be smart, necessarily, but...who says we're dealing with smart decision-makers, here? :rolleyes: (IMO)
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
For the reasons Patty has already indicated yes, it would be legal.

For the reasons you have already indicated no, it would not necessarily be smart to do so, but more along the lines of "bad business decision" than illegality.
 

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