Donald Trump is a massive tool
The title has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I just thought it would be nice to start the blog out with a statement that would bring all readers together in agreement. Reader unity is nice.
Today was a student-free day, reserved for teachers to spend time working on an upcoming external evaluation and a few other necessary meetings. Our first meeting this morning dealt with the calendar for quarters three and four--a topic which was useful and informative. After this discussion, though, we moved on to the much-loved topic of substitute teaching.
We do our own subbing at our school. Not only does it save money, it's also probably impossible to find an English-speaking substitute teacher this far outside of Jakarta with very little notice. The substitute system itself isn't necessarily flawed; in fact it should work pretty well. In theory, that is.
The problem is, a lot of people leave nothing when they're gone. I've shown up to sub for classes to find kids milling about, no sub lesson in sight because none was given. This irritates me particularly because when I'm sick, if I can't possibly leave a good lesson and really need to be at school, I will show up--provided I'm not horribly contagious. I've also gotten up before sunrise to plan good, clear lessons.
The other problem is, there are a few people who don't show up or do show up but let the kids run wild. I subbed for a science teacher last week who left perfectly lovely sub lessons with clear instructions--the kids had two worksheets to do, and they were due at the end of period three, thus ensuring the students would work even if the sub teachers did jack squat. I arrived to sub period three and the kids were working hard on their assignment from period two...even though the period two sub never bothered to show up. The teacher next door had been kind enough to use one of her precious free periods to keep an eye on them and make sure they were working.
These are problems we've been dealing with since long before Travis and I arrived. Every semester, EVERY SEMESTER, we have to have long, drawn-out meetings about it. What should we do? What sort of plan should we come up with? Should we have rewards for showing up or leaving lessons, and punishments for not? How can we motivate people?
The conversation never, EVER changes. Every year, since we got here in 2004, it's been the exact same. Every single time, a good number of us sit there and gnash our teeth in frustration. It was the same thing this year.
My politeness filter has been slooooowly wearing away since our final semester here started, and it took all of my self control not to stand up and ask why we have to have the exact same conversation every single semester when the real problem is that people just need to grow the hell up and do their damn jobs. We don't need a reward system, we need people to stop being idiots and just do what's expected of them!
Before I could do this, though, we were told that, "maybe we can discuss this again with a committee and then discuss it at the meetings at the end of the year." I was about to fling my gradebook across the room when I realized...wait. I don't have to go to the meetings at the end of the year! No one who's leaving ever goes to the horrific, mind-liquifying, infuriating meetings at the end of the year because a) they're packing everything in their house for a move across the globe at the end of the week and b) anyone who would voluntarily attend one of those meetings if they didn't have to should be put on suicide watch in a mental ward. I mean, one can only have a certain amount of fun when one is discussing the same thing over and over and over and over and over again in circles that seem to never, ever, ever, ever end.
Huzzah! The mere thought of not having to go to the end-of-year meetings made me giddy. Shortly after, sheets were passed around for people to sign up for which classes they wanted to teach next year. I would've been terribly sad thinking about the wonderful students I would no longer be teaching, but the sheet also contained space on which to write the names of committees one planned on participating in.
Committees. No more committees! No more meetings! Ah, sweet freedom.
Even now as I type, I'm smiling still.
I do believe I'll have a celebratory beverage. Cheers!
Today was a student-free day, reserved for teachers to spend time working on an upcoming external evaluation and a few other necessary meetings. Our first meeting this morning dealt with the calendar for quarters three and four--a topic which was useful and informative. After this discussion, though, we moved on to the much-loved topic of substitute teaching.
We do our own subbing at our school. Not only does it save money, it's also probably impossible to find an English-speaking substitute teacher this far outside of Jakarta with very little notice. The substitute system itself isn't necessarily flawed; in fact it should work pretty well. In theory, that is.
The problem is, a lot of people leave nothing when they're gone. I've shown up to sub for classes to find kids milling about, no sub lesson in sight because none was given. This irritates me particularly because when I'm sick, if I can't possibly leave a good lesson and really need to be at school, I will show up--provided I'm not horribly contagious. I've also gotten up before sunrise to plan good, clear lessons.
The other problem is, there are a few people who don't show up or do show up but let the kids run wild. I subbed for a science teacher last week who left perfectly lovely sub lessons with clear instructions--the kids had two worksheets to do, and they were due at the end of period three, thus ensuring the students would work even if the sub teachers did jack squat. I arrived to sub period three and the kids were working hard on their assignment from period two...even though the period two sub never bothered to show up. The teacher next door had been kind enough to use one of her precious free periods to keep an eye on them and make sure they were working.
These are problems we've been dealing with since long before Travis and I arrived. Every semester, EVERY SEMESTER, we have to have long, drawn-out meetings about it. What should we do? What sort of plan should we come up with? Should we have rewards for showing up or leaving lessons, and punishments for not? How can we motivate people?
The conversation never, EVER changes. Every year, since we got here in 2004, it's been the exact same. Every single time, a good number of us sit there and gnash our teeth in frustration. It was the same thing this year.
My politeness filter has been slooooowly wearing away since our final semester here started, and it took all of my self control not to stand up and ask why we have to have the exact same conversation every single semester when the real problem is that people just need to grow the hell up and do their damn jobs. We don't need a reward system, we need people to stop being idiots and just do what's expected of them!
Before I could do this, though, we were told that, "maybe we can discuss this again with a committee and then discuss it at the meetings at the end of the year." I was about to fling my gradebook across the room when I realized...wait. I don't have to go to the meetings at the end of the year! No one who's leaving ever goes to the horrific, mind-liquifying, infuriating meetings at the end of the year because a) they're packing everything in their house for a move across the globe at the end of the week and b) anyone who would voluntarily attend one of those meetings if they didn't have to should be put on suicide watch in a mental ward. I mean, one can only have a certain amount of fun when one is discussing the same thing over and over and over and over and over again in circles that seem to never, ever, ever, ever end.
Huzzah! The mere thought of not having to go to the end-of-year meetings made me giddy. Shortly after, sheets were passed around for people to sign up for which classes they wanted to teach next year. I would've been terribly sad thinking about the wonderful students I would no longer be teaching, but the sheet also contained space on which to write the names of committees one planned on participating in.
Committees. No more committees! No more meetings! Ah, sweet freedom.
Even now as I type, I'm smiling still.
I do believe I'll have a celebratory beverage. Cheers!
posted by Erin @ 6:23 AM
1 Comments:
At Tuesday, January 16, 2007 10:14:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
And you think such meetings only occur at your school? One of the things I anticipate most about heaven is that there will be no meetings!!!
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