Salvete,
I have not posted an angry blog entry in a while. It seems to me like it is time to rectify that.
Issue #1: It is Friday, and this is Texas, so I understand that football is more important than instruction. I get that. What I do not get is why people cannot take care of their business. Our pep rally was featured this morning on Fox 4 News, and only yesterday did Fox let us know that this would be the case.
Our administration, who is actually very good about letting us know things, told us as soon as they knew yesterday morning that our entire Friday would be flipped on its head. I suppose because they are Fox 4 News, they think, "Oh, I don't mind changing the schedules of 3000 students and 200 teachers." What they fail to realize is, high schoolers are like puppies. They need routine and structure, or they go positively nutty.
Issue #2: Our administration let us know yesterday morning about the aforementioned pep rally, but there was one thing they forgot to clarify. Yesterday afternoon during third period, they let us know that the students should check in with us first thing and then be collectively released for the pep rally. I hope I am not the only one who sees a problem here. Many teachers do not check their email until the end of the day (as we are busy teaching), and are not able to deliver a last minute announcement to their classes. The teachers I spoke to told their children to report straight to the pep rally in the morning. Some students took that to mean that they could opt out of the pep rally and arrive late to school. This morning was a giant mess of students not knowing where they were supposed to be. Honestly, it worked out fine and we went with the flow like we always do.
Issue #3: I have a new teaching partner this year. Everything has been going really well. She is very organized, great with the kids, and so kind as to let me know in advance changes in the schedule. I have greatly enjoyed working with her so far.
However.
She arrives late every day, because (as I previously understood it) she has to get the volley ballers started in the mornigns. Why their head coach cannot do that is beyond my understanding, but I Go With It, because that is what we do here. This morning, she was not there (per usual), but (not per usual) we were expecting a set of guest speakers to come talk to our kids. Please note that she had invited these speakers and had left instructions for the front desk to notify her when they were here.
Knowing that my partner is habitually late, I went to the front and ensured that the wonderful secretaries knew to call me to fetch the guests. I love taking care of other people's responsibilities.
I called my partner around 7:45 (the time we are supposed to be here per our contract) to ask if her guest speakers could use her laptop so that I could grade on mine. As it turns out, my partner was still at her significant other's house, and had no idea where her laptop was or was not, and oh, she would swing by her house and see if it was there on her way to school. I have no idea what time she got here, because (after I met her guest speakers and got them situated), I took our kids to the pep rally.
Issue #4: My partner fell asleep during our guest speakers' presentation.
I. Cannot. Even.
OK. Maybe I am too uptight. I have been told that before. I think the word was "anal". However, I do not think that advance notice, arriving on time to work, and being awake on the job are tremendous, unfulfillable expectations. They seem like normal things to expect of a human being, much less someone who is shaping the future of the nation.
I recently gave up on being an adult since I am not sure that "being an adult" actually exists. However, if we are going to expect things of the kids, we should also fulfill them ourselves. If we do not set an example for them, then what? How can we convict them to be on time when we are not on time ourselves? I woke up rather late on Tuesday, and still managed to make it here by 7:45, since that is when I am contracted to be here. Go me. Guess what being on time gets me? Additional responsibilties to compensate for the people who are late and who receive no consequences.
Valete,
Magistra
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