Over the summer I had a lot of plans for the soccer team. Last year we won our conference title, we had two guys make the all city team, and I was nominated for CPS coach of the year in soccer. Over the summer I called guys to make sure that they were working out and keeping in touch with the other guys and playing.
Then in July our athletic director/head basketball coach quit because he was tired of the executive director. There are conflicting stories about how much money he was asking for, but he is someone who has always been very helpful and has my respect. He was also the teacher of the year the year before.
The new athletic director has extensive expierience managing bars, but none with athletics. He reminds me of Rasputin, someone who when you first meet him something inside your recoils. You are convinced that he is trying to sell you something and he gets closer and closer to you until he is touching youand smiling...and then an hour later will scream at you and say something was your fault.
His rise has been meteroic. He went from watching the in-school detention room to "Associate Director of Student Affairs". Not bad for having no expierience and no college degree. he has also convinced that executive director to pump almost ten grand into his room to set up a technology center and a counseling office.
My best friend in teaching also applied for the athletic director job, but he only has 6 years coaching experience in four different sports, an administrative degree and four years as a college athlete under his belt so they turned him down.
So anyway I carry on and come into ACE for the first day of practice. I show up, the kids show up, and the new athletic director shows up. He didn't know that the first day of soccer was today, and said that the executive director need to see me right away. So I go inside and another teacher runs practice.
The executive director made me wait for an hour in her office. The secratary later told me that she was just keeping me waiting. Then she called me in and told me that I was replaced as the head soccer coach. I asked why and she told me the reason was that I was not hispanic and she felt the coach needed to be a hispanic role model, and that many of the minority teachers had left ACE Tech and so there needed to be more minorities in leadership roles.
I was so surprised that I could not respond. I asked her if she had any complaint or problem with me and she said no.
I briefly said:
1. I have a lot of respect for all the cultures on my soccer team, including excellent relationships with the parents involved. I speak spanish and have always enjoyed the respect of the soccer community.
2. I was trying to make sure that all different ethinciities partiicapted ont eh scoocer team and tried to open the team up to white and black atheltes too.
3. I was nominated for soccer coach of the year. I had a clean program with no elligabilty issues.
4. Are you serious?
The conversation lasted only a couple minutes and then she said that she had to go to a meeting.
And just that simple, just that arbitry, the thing I love the most about my job was taken from me. For no reason. For no reedeming purpose.
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Even in our sleep pain that cannot forget Falls drop by drop upon the heart Until in our own despair Against our will Comes wisdom Through the awful grace of God. Escalus
About Me
- Mr. Boston
- I am now a third year teacher. Before I moved to Chicago I worked in juvenile rehabilitation schools, a suburban school, and was a volunteer teacher for a summer in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I went to Michigan State University. My students think I look like Mr Boston. This really pisses me off.
What we do for ourselves dies with us.
What we do for others and the world remains and is eternal.
Albert Pine
What we do for others and the world remains and is eternal.
Albert Pine