A View From Under the Bus

Well, first of all, it is very dark under the bus, hardly any light on the matter at all.  I guess, after a while, your eyes get used to the darkness.  I can barely make out shapes but I see the Universal Shaft clearly and I know from personal experience and from what I have heard, most ATR's can feel the shaft before they actually see it.  The tire tracks impressed on the back of my white shirt can, in my opinion, become a fashion statement if given to the right marketing professional.  They do standout, especially if I wear my old school colors of black and white.  But wait,  I can't even say that now since I am no longer affiliated with that school and in fact, the school has stopped enforcing school colors years ago.

 
I also know there are others under this bus.  I can hear them, faintly calling out in the dark stillness of the DOE Purgatory Parking Lot.  It's funny how the words called out have evolved.  In June, one could hear "..what happened?, what did I do? or I had an S rating so why am I here?"   Now, I hear a lot of angry grumbling and curses.  We have become almost almost unintelligible in our exasperation, resentment and feeling of disrespect. I can hear, "This is bull and if the DOE and UFT  want it this way then so be it.  You want to devalue my experience, skill and work as an educator and have me monitor lunch rooms for the SAME PRICE as having me teach the class I have done successfully for many years? Fine, but what what kind of attitude do you think that treatment will engender anyway?"  Instead of planning lessons, marking student work, meeting with parents etc., the ATR agenda is reduced to getting a parking spot and finding a nearby Dunkin' Donuts.