"Playing the Game" The difference between this year and last

My class participates in Work Based Learning. Last year, I went to the work site and nobody told me anything about what to do, what to expect or anything. Supervisors at the company did not want to deal with our kids because it was extra work for them lining up work each day. so the supervisors started giving our students jobs that nobody else wanted to do. No training just menial jobs stuff to keep the students out of the way.

I spoke with the Work Based Learning coordinator and asked him to go and speak with the company officials because I could see the people at the company were losing interest fast. Many well meaning people say they would love to help our kids but when the "rubber meets the road" so to speak it is a big commitment to deal with special needs kids. People want the fulfillment of helping others but don't want the sacrifice and commitment. Anyway, the Work Based Learning coordinator came to the company called me into an office told me all this stuff I was doing wrong, in front of the company staff. I had to go to meetings that were documented and explain why I wasn't doing this or that at WBL. I basically got raked over the coals because I was trying to be proactive and make the Work Based Learning site a better learning environment for my students.

I realized in education sometimes there is an environment where every one is just covering their self, as was the WBL coordinator and the students needs were somewhere down on the list of priorities and I was bitter and appalled. It was the low point of my first year.

This year The coordinator told me we had a problem. Someone reported that one of my students was not using a saw safely at the work site. (not true) I welcomed the challenge. I questioned the person's qualifications who made the claim and reminded the coordinator of my own, I had lessons using the tool in question offering documentation of my students abilities to use the tools, and emailed anybody that mattered about how I had addressed the issue.

I realized after doing all this stuff that I had learned how to "play the game" that one sometimes has to do to be successful as a teacher. The scary thing is I kind of liked it. Sorry this is so long.