Professionals
Does anyone know where to work if you want to be treated as an adult professional? There isn't much which is more condescending than when a principal models good teaching practices by pretending as if the teachers are the students--voice and demeanor included.
And what about the issue of...alcohol. Should schools disallow teachers from giving each other a bottle of wine as a gift, or including wine in a raffle for faculty members?
Or, how about the issue of communication? Do we really have to act like we are in high school simply because we teach in high school? Can't we be direct with each other and still get along?
Or, how about the issue of trust? Do we really need to fill up every minute of every "professional development" day with silly activities? Can't we be trusted to use an hour of our time to plan our lessons or grade our essays?
Or, what about the issue of respect? Do I really need to ask permission to leave campus to go get lunch or pick up supplies which the school can't afford to supply? Can't we simply sign out and let the main secretary know we are leaving?
Professionals? Not us.
posted by Mr. McNamar @ 12:41 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
So many great issues in one piece!
Yes, there are places where staff feels a bit more professionally treated.
School buildings cannot have any alcohol on the premises. Whether or not you gift a colleague with the same depends on where you do it.
Teacher time and PD are different. If it is a PD with CEU's each minute is carefully monitored. If you are out of the room for more than a certain number of minutes, you get no CEUs. If it is meetings and more meetings and not getting PD credit for CEUs that is a different question.
Yes, if you want other activities of value you may have a committee that you can suggest them to. CT has a new statute that says teachers will have input into PD planning. The state dept of ed wants it school based rather than regionally planned.
Leaving campus during your paid time (the whole day) and being available is a call of administration.
In some buildings you sign out and indicate your expected return time. In others, you have to ask about being away. If an emergency happened, you would need to be available to replace others who were injured/killed. Of course that is an extreme example. For other days, all of your minutes are paid time. If you are planning, you are supposed to be planning. If you are teaching, ditto. "free time" maybe duty free lunch. Although you may see yourself as teaching a certain number of classes and the rest is not encumbered... the fact is a teacher day is paid time and the district can construct it (via the administration).
Some districts do engender a more professional feel. Some have professional reading required and discussion on same.
A more professional district usually does not have the level of below grade level needs. For whatever reasons in WPS there is always an emergency, something to be fixed ASAP instead of true long term strategic planning.
Morale building is not planned and courtesy, respect are not modelled.
Sounds like my building. No trust of teachers, wasted time, and condescension. Of course, it's our fault though. We are the teachers, and everything is our responsibility. We are supermen after all.
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