About two weeks ago an administrator in Hillsborough County got picked up on a DUI charge. Sad.
His age was listed at 31 years old.
It got me to thinking: graduate high school at 18, graduate college at 22, 9 years to go from teaching to Student Affairs A.P. to Assistant Principal (Administration or Curriculum).
My point: Do you think this person spent 5 years in the classroom? Consider your first 5 years in the classroom. What kind of experience and skills did you acquire? Yet this person will have 30+ years of school/classroom influence.
Why does the district do this?
Is 5 years enough to understand the true classroom consequences of your decisions?
I've worked with some talented young administrators who displayed extraordinary common sense, energy, and insight. They were few and far between. Most were just looking for a way out of the classroom and without the mentoring of a strong leader it was a frustrating and often demoralizing experience.
Too many managers - not enough leaders.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
NOTHING COUNTS - NOBODY CARES #2
"Too many managers - not enough leaders."
Heard that last week from a passerby teacher and it really hit home on so many levels.
The classroom teachers have lost their leadership and become managers to a program known as "Springboard".
There is so much emphasis on following that curriculum that I considered renaming this blog "The WORDwall".
Remember the phrase de jour "thinking outside the box" and "a new paradigm"? I'm sure our more experienced teachers can remember others. Springboard has effectively smothered them along with teacher creativity.
If we really needed this type of "managed" curriculum to address teacher deficiencies wouldn't it have been a better solution to have hired better teachers*, maybe pay them more, NOT take away the extra planning period and do away with wholesale grade curves and social promotion?
* If eHarmony can can come up with a personality inventory to identify unique personality traits and characteristics, why couldn't HR? It might be a way to avoid some of those nasty problems that have plagued us recently.
Heard that last week from a passerby teacher and it really hit home on so many levels.
The classroom teachers have lost their leadership and become managers to a program known as "Springboard".
There is so much emphasis on following that curriculum that I considered renaming this blog "The WORDwall".
Remember the phrase de jour "thinking outside the box" and "a new paradigm"? I'm sure our more experienced teachers can remember others. Springboard has effectively smothered them along with teacher creativity.
If we really needed this type of "managed" curriculum to address teacher deficiencies wouldn't it have been a better solution to have hired better teachers*, maybe pay them more, NOT take away the extra planning period and do away with wholesale grade curves and social promotion?
* If eHarmony can can come up with a personality inventory to identify unique personality traits and characteristics, why couldn't HR? It might be a way to avoid some of those nasty problems that have plagued us recently.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
NOTHING COUNTS - NOBODY CARES #1
I'm pissed, disillusioned, demoralized and angry. I have tried to contain it but NO MORE. Hence, the title of this posting.
The last straw was this past board meeting. I witnessed a wholesale marginalizing - by committee - of a religion (belief) in the name of diversity and multiculturalism all wrapped in PC cowardice.
Yeah, the Good Friday flap.
I defy the bored members to watch "Passion Of The Christ" and then tell the Christians and Catholics that what they want to observe is irrelevant, meaningless, unworthy of recognition.
If someone wants to observe a religious occurrence WHY NOT?! That's what "personal days" are for. By the way, where are the religious leaders and spokesman?
If a bus driver, food service worker, teacher, administrator want to, WHY NOT?!
If 60% of your employees want to, WHY NOT?!
If you want to try and keep the schools open with a skeleton crew, WHY NOT?!
Oh, and don't send a letter home telling me that my kids' absences after April 28th don't count towards anything, then pull this on employees and expect anything other than the one finger salute!
(Its laughable how sacred the Fair and Strawberry Festival days are.)
I'm taking ALL religious holidays off next year - in the name of diversity and multiculturalism.
Why?
NOTHING COUNTS and NOBODY CARES.
The last straw was this past board meeting. I witnessed a wholesale marginalizing - by committee - of a religion (belief) in the name of diversity and multiculturalism all wrapped in PC cowardice.
Yeah, the Good Friday flap.
I defy the bored members to watch "Passion Of The Christ" and then tell the Christians and Catholics that what they want to observe is irrelevant, meaningless, unworthy of recognition.
If someone wants to observe a religious occurrence WHY NOT?! That's what "personal days" are for. By the way, where are the religious leaders and spokesman?
If a bus driver, food service worker, teacher, administrator want to, WHY NOT?!
If 60% of your employees want to, WHY NOT?!
If you want to try and keep the schools open with a skeleton crew, WHY NOT?!
Oh, and don't send a letter home telling me that my kids' absences after April 28th don't count towards anything, then pull this on employees and expect anything other than the one finger salute!
(Its laughable how sacred the Fair and Strawberry Festival days are.)
I'm taking ALL religious holidays off next year - in the name of diversity and multiculturalism.
Why?
NOTHING COUNTS and NOBODY CARES.
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