Preps revisited

I talked here about preps and what constitutes a prep.

Funsucker keeps saying she has five preps. She repeats that every time you ask her to do something for you.

So, she does no copying (except for her small group of 6 kids). She does no grading. Doesn't create material or tests. She is a glorified babysitter.

Now her supervisor is repeating the same words.

Honey, I have 5 preps. You don't even critique the lesson plans I send to you. Do you read them? Can you do the math?

The District assumes we are equal teachers. It starts with common definitions.

Today's email

Women Are Evil By Nature...

A woman went up to the bar in a quiet rural pub. She gestured alluringly to the bartender who approached her immediately. She seductively signaled that he should bring his face closer to hers. As he did, she gently caressed his full beard. 'Are you the manager?' she asked, softly stroking his face with both hands. 'Actually, no,' he replied.

'Can you get him for me? I need to speak to him,' she said, running her hands beyond his beard and into his hair.

'I'm afraid I can't,' breathed the bartender.. 'Is there anything I can do?'

'Yes. I need you to give him a message,' she continued, running her forefinger across the bartender's lip and slyly popping a couple of her fingers into his mouth and allowing him to suck them gently.

'What should I tell him?' the bartender managed to say.

'Tell him,' she whispered, 'There's no toilet paper, hand soap , or paper towels in the ladies room.'

Women are angels...
And when someone breaks our wings.....
We simply continue to fly....
on a broomstick...

We're flexible like that

Six Word Saturday

Long week. Time to rest now.



For more Six Word Saturday participants, click here.

Another bites the dust

One of my students hasn't been there in a couple of weeks. Yep, he's in jail.

Fear

Ranting Woman says "You cannot be productive when you are afraid of your own shadow."

I would say it goes even further than that. You cannot be productive when the administration creates an environment where even those good teachers that the administration likes are afraid of losing their jobs.

In an environment of fear, teachers' health suffers as they cope with stress.

A highly effective manager/principal finds ways that cost little to no money that help alleviate stress in his staff.

Habits of Highly Ineffective Principals

Highly Ineffective Principals create toxic environments. The environments are disorganized or hostile or frantic - or some combination of these or other negative traits.

This means that EVERYONE is effected. And you start losing productivity among your staff when people call in with gastro-intestinal problems,or sleep disruption, or increased illness.

People miss deadlines because they get conflicting information - or no information.

Your staff is afraid to make decisions - so they make none.

Philosophy

My philosophies (except for really dark days when some variation of what this teacher said is probably closer) are

* A rising tide floats all boats.

* I hope you dance.

* A ship in the harbor is safe - but that's not what ships are for.

And other philosophies that I hope I convey to my students - and peers - along the themes that we can each accomplish much, we can (and should) rejoice in other's accomplishments, we are not replicants of each other, and we can find those things that make us happy.

I find it hard to understand someone whose exhortations to his peons are along the line that he is the king of the mountain and we are not measuring up.

Surely if he had the intelligence of a gnat, he would see by now that these non-motivational speeches are not moving him and the school in the direction he wants. Or maybe power is everything.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Albert Einstein