Free Dr. Frank Einstein by Eric Berg Page A

of special education—an assistant superintendent position.  Every two weeks he would come to my classroom to evaluate and instruct on my teaching performance.   If I had a passing grade, it would mean I would have my California special education –severely handicapped teaching credential. 
          “ Hi, Eric,’’’ Greeted Mr. Signorelli, I greeted back.  Without sitting down he handed the grade form.  He smiled and left the room.  It said B.  I wondered if he had known that these were the last hours of me being in this classroom or if knew how hostile the principal was towards me if he would have change the grade. I waited days for the change but it never came.
     
           I taught at a large school with three thousand students.   So there was always an absent teacher.  The school would assign me the vacancy before calling sub finder for another substitute.  By the contract, they had to maintain my salary until the end of year.  I made a lot more than a substitute.  I suppose if there were no vacancy they would have me do clerical work.
         One time they gave assistant vacancy which violated the teacher contract but I did not report because it was easier.
     
          Meantime the principal filled my old position with a retired lawyer who told me he had no teaching experience   and only had an emergency credential.  An emergency credential is rewarded to whoever had a bachelor degree and had passed a background check and cbest test.   With an emergency credential one could a substitute (day to day or long term)--no contract.
          In contrast, I was much more qualified for the position.  In addition to what the retired lawyer had; the multiple subjects credential required more and more difficult tests. It also required eighteen hours of college course work plus two supervised student teachings. I had worked in special education –severely handicapped classes before.  I had four years’ experience with these students.
          It took two and a half months between my removal and the end of the school year.  So I subbed about fifty times.  One day I was assigned to take two students, who had been designated as Native Americans, on a Native American themed field trip to the Southwest Museum of the American Indian.  They had an    Orientation class.  After this I followed the two students as toured they the museum.
          I received my Special Education credential in the mail.   Receiving this meant that my status as an intern automatically changed, by contract, to be grafted into a probationary II.  Also, according to the contract, if termination was not submitted by March first, the probationary II teacher (even the ones grafted into probationary II) could not be terminated.  It was May twenty fifth.  Being now a probationary II, come July first I will automatically become a permanent teacher (know vernacularly as having tenure).   This means that the district could never terminate me.  They could bring up charges against me at an arbitration board.   This arbitration board would have consisted of representatives of the local union--my union, the school district and an independent arbitrator.  This is all because California is not a right to work state –which means in California I do have the right to work.  
          I went to the district headquarters to personally submit my credential.  I walked in the narrow credential office.  It must have looked the same as it in the sixties, save for the pcs.
          The young male clerk, who I had never seen before, looked at the credential and said, “This won’t change anything, Mr.  Berg you’ll still be terminated at the end the year. “Wow, I must be quite the topic of gossip at the water cooler.
          I did not respond to him.
        “I’m going to submit this but it’s not going to change anything.”
         Oh, yes it will, I mused in my mind.
          Around the