I was invited to a "Teacher Recruitment Fair." I spent the better part of the previous night printing out copies of my resume, recent observations, and fiddling with my portfolio. I got a rather troubling email though from the DOE, which said (and I quote): "Thank you again for registering for tomorrow’s Teacher Recruitment Fair at 4PM ET. As a reminder, this event will take place at Citi Field, located at 123-01 Roosevelt Ave., Flushing, NY 11368. Additionally, we would like to take this time to let you know that we expect a relatively limited number of schools to be in attendance."
At a little before 4 PM I arrived at Citi Field along with a swarm of other ATR's. I was mistaken for a "teaching fellow" because I look very young, but I told the other teachers waiting outside that I was, in fact, very much an ATR. They clucked their tongues sympathetically. I noticed that most of the teachers were fairly dressed up. Many times you can spot teachers on the subway by the big bookbags full of ungraded work, the worn purses, the chalky and un-ironed pants. The "teacher look" is definitely one of practicality, not fashion. I often make a joke that the only time I really get dressed up is during parent teacher conferences. But this group of ATR's -- we looked smart in our suits, ties, and heels.
Well ... when we were finally allowed into the fair, it was clear that we were really all dressed up with nowhere to go. It reminded me a bit of that New Year's Eve party in Sunset Boulevard when Norma Desmond had everything for a great party except for actual guests. The conference room where they held the fair was almost entirely empty. "Limited number of schools in attendance" was a gross understatement. Where were the principals and the schools? Not here. The few schools that did have reps seemed about as enthusiastic to see us as pets are when they see the vet's office.
Some teachers walked out almost right away, after seeing there were no vacancies in their subject areas. And it's not like these were Latin teachers either. Math teachers, English teachers, social studies teachers, many left after minutes. Some stayed to chat up old colleagues that they hadn't seen in years. A few talked to the UFT reps in attendance. I stayed a little bit, talked to a few schools, all way outside my district and very far from where I live, but also left rather quickly. By the time I left, many principals AND teachers had all "peaced out", so to speak. It was an absolutely dispiriting affair.
The thing is, I personally know that there are many schools with over-sized classes. Why not hire an ATR to alleviate the overcrowding? I refuse to believe that the miniscule number of principals/AP's that showed up to the fair are actually the only schools in the city that are short on teachers. It just doesn't add up.
Just another day in the bizarro world of Tweed, where job fairs are really empty fairs. Utterly depressing.
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