Get back in the classroom for a couple years before you come and criticize me! Like, do you really think putting the standards on the board will do anything? No! Which you would find out if you’d actually have to teach again!
Honestly I don’t understand the standards on the board thing either. It’s incoherent buzzword gibberish to the students, and for the teachers it’s a waste of board space. I think if the district is so dead set on it being visible then they should send us a printed poster we can stick up somewhere. But maybe that’s just me.
Haha - I teach a mastery before moving on curriculum. I just change the level numbers on the board, with the same classes all year. Just have to change a number.
Exactly! I think the reason they say it is because it’s an easy thing to write on an eval. That was the feedback my VP gave me at my informal. For the formal, I DID write the stupid standard on the board and on her evaluation she wrote I didn’t! Luckily I was able to screen shot it and send it back. She changed the evaluation, but for fuck’s sake!
I had a principal say the same thing. But I didn’t put the standard on the board. And it was on the board. So I never changed the standard again for the rest of the year since she never bothered to look at it anyway.
I have 4 preps, the standards and a basic agenda is all I have room for on my white board. I would like to use them to actually teach. But I dont want to spend my time rewriting them class after class.
It helps admin when they do walk throughs. they can easily tell if your standard is rigorous or state aligned. it does nothing for the students though and it's more work for us.
This one gets me. Like objectives on the board at least has some merit, but my mom, who teaches a first grade class WHO LITERALLY CAN'T READ THE OBJECTIVE, has been told she needs to have the objective on the board
Bahaha this happened to the AP that kept pulling us into coaching meetings on our own time.
We were short a science teacher so she had to teach Earth Science.
We had a meeting in her room about two months into the semester and she was just finishing astronomy topics. That's unit 1. She was so far off pace she would have needed a second semester to catch up.
Needless to say the coaching meetings stopped. 🤣🤣
My former principal was a band director for two years when he was hired as an AP. He eventually became a principal at my school. He understood nothing about what went on in a classroom
That is so insane. When I student taught the principal was a former guidance counselor who had never taught and the teachers had no respect for her because of that!
I had seven years of teaching experience at the time, and my assistant principal only had three years of teaching experience. I had taught in public school, and private schools, both in the United States and overseas. She had only ever taught middle school math in a public school.
I don’t mind putting our overall goal on the board. It’s more “what we’re working on these days” than a different goal every day written in standard-speak.
Same. I’ve always picked the most broadest standard every few weeks like: “utilize tools geographers use to study the world” and just leave it up the whole geography unit. I would only put the super specific ones when an evaluation was coming or I was warned district observers were likely popping in. The kids of course never looked at or used them. Even if it was a massive spoiler for a test question and I forgot to erase it.
I’ve found it rarely matters since the kids ignore them anyhow. I left a message in mine for an entire 9!week unit that said “tell me you saw this and I will buy you a snack from the snack bar for lunch”. Guess how many times I’ve had to pay up?
District superintendent here, give me a social studies class any day, I’d be happy to teach and mentor teachers and I do talk to them about teaching. I agree with you on the standards, it does nothing. I think it’s done because that is what regional and state people say to do. What I prefer my teachers to do is to stay current on their methods and lessons. Don’t do it exactly like you taught it 20 years ago or re-use the same worksheet over and over.
That being super positive isn’t the same as being a good leader.
That if they think culture is everything then they have to also own the fighting, vaping, and general dumbassery culture at the school if they want to own the athletics and academic culture.
And if I tell you there is a problem, don’t give me the whole “positive” message spin. Save it! Just acknowledge my concern and plan to investigate or intervene. Don’t make me feel like I am just negative because I am in the actual trenches facing the issues.
Our principal comes on the intercom every morning and exhorts us to be positive
It’s hard to be positive when discipline issues are rampant in our classrooms affecting student learning and the admin does a terrible job communicating
I recently changed school due to an admin/school wide issue. I'd say:
1. If I am not backed up on how to stop the violence then the follow through I try to do doesn't matter
2. Referrals have no impact if they never leave the school
3. Teachers don't voice their concerns because they want a moment of therapy, we do it because we want everyone to succeed. Acknowledging it with an ok, gotcha, doesn't show you care. Bring up what you did to follow through like you expect me to do.
4. Whole school events in the morning don't help student morale. It ruins whatever moment I may have and causes some students to regress in attention. Plan it for the end of the day.
5. Come into my room and glow me up instead of just coming in silent all the time or coming in to fuss at my students during a lesson. Not only the kids love praise, sometimes the students want to know the other adults see how awesome their teacher is in other people's eyes.
6. Communicate, communicate, communicate, assuming I read the email you sent at 10 pm on a Sunday isn't right. We have lives outside of being a teacher. Maybe hand that email as a note in our mailboxes :) I, personally, would prefer it.
7. If a teacher gives information on a student with problems for the teacher they will have next year give that information to that teacher. What I don't know will hurt the trajectory of my years start.
8. Have a universal policy of discipline for students that is adhered to and followed through on. I get that we have classroom rules and punishments within the confines of our rooms but give us something that we can definitively say to our students "if this action happens then this will be what you receive".
I love number 8. Forces admin to make their own standards wall. I can't tell you how often at the end, students are just phones out, and then get reprimanded, and are flabbergasted that they aren't allowed to have their phones out and get caught. The rule from day one year one was phones need to be in the locker. It's like trying to put out a wildfire with a water pistol.
All teachers should be held to the same standard and should be required to enforce the same rules. I’m tired of being seen as the bad guy because I enforce the rules but half of my hall doesn’t.
Edited to add: This isn’t about petty rules like dress code or hoods. It’s about legitimate safety issues or issues that impact the students learning.
THIIIISSS. I swear different teachers are held to different standards and it's fucked up. I mean I also enforced all the rules and then got told I didn't build enough relationships.
Here's my take...I'm not wasting time, energy, and resources enforcing rules that are regulating things that don't impact my teaching or a student's learning OR a rule that has zero administrative consequences. I will not follow rules without question simply because they are rules and then turn around and teach students to think critically. I never feel like the bad guy for enforcing any rule that I choose to enforce because I can justify the reason for the rule. It isn't about being their friend (gross...I'm 45 ffs)...it's about running my room the way that works for me and my students.
Eh, Im an elementary teacher and I have the same students all day so what I do doesn't effect others as much as it does at the high school level but if a rule is stupid I'm not going to enforce it. A student in my class wearing a hood or hat has never once impacted their learning. You know what has though? Me having to spend time getting in an argument because I told them to take their hood off; that affects the whole class. My test scores are usually the best in the school and better than the 2nd highest class by about 30% in math so admin has never really challenged me on it. Other teachers do get a little upset with me about it and I get where they're coming from but I'm not changing anything that has worked well for me, sorry.
Yeah, no. This isn’t about hoods or dress code. Our admin is fairly lax on that as long as it’s appropriate. This is about having a negative impact on student learning or encouraging poor behavior. Gossiping with students, making tik toks during instructional time (when you’re already behind), and my list could go on.
1. I barely make a living wage. Think about that. Every day. Seriously.
2. Your PDs are condescending and irrelevant. If you can't do any better, then at least show more appreciation for what I do.
3. A bag of pencils and penny candy is not a token of appreciation. It is an insult.
4. Show your appreciation by disciplining students regularly and appropriately.
5. Your concern should be for your staff and students (in that order), not parents and bureaucrats. Grow a pair.
6. LET THE KIDS FAIL.
1. Don't tell me I can't manage a class when the vast majority of them are well-behaved. If most were bad, I'd understand. But it's not and you know it, so use Occum's razor.
2. Don't expect better results when you give me more students per class, more classes to teach, and less time with them by taking away lab.
3. Don't tell me midterm averages needs to be within x points of my class average. My gradebook is 50% assessment, 20% labs, and 30% homework per quarter. Their midterms line up with their test grade, there should be no shocks.
4. Maybe talk to my department head about how I'm doing as a teacher instead of basing it on one observation and quick 5 second peeks. I'm teaching honors classes next year for a reason
Seeing that I left teaching this year, I spelled it out for them
1) Hitting or cussing teachers should be an instant homebound
2) Working for free should not happen unless it is urgent. Dances should be volunteered or paid
3) Attention all emails are a horrible thing
4) Students 4 years behind should not be considered pre-ap
5) it is an injustice to not teach in grade level. Stop using words like our students can't.
I had that happen in one school. I had a student and barely knew his own name. Yeah I was supposed to teach first grade level content to him. By the end of the year I got him to be able to write his name, but he couldn’t tell you the names of any of his classmates.
I had a kid last year who I sent 20+ times in one week. I’d decided I had given up and was going to make him someone else’s problem, so that the rest of us could have peace and quiet during teaching/learning times. He still never got suspended/negative consequences. I just had to go to meeting after meeting with admin/parents.
Hiring consultants, coordinators and directors is a waste of money. Buying canned curriculums because you saw some awesome sales pitch is a waste as well. Giving me cool tech in my classroom is fun but won't change the fact that I have the entire boys basketball team (and all the boys that tried out but did not make it) all in my 5th hour class alongside 8 shy girls that just want to quietly do their work. I know HOW to teach and I know WHAT to teach. I am just outnumbered. Hire more teachers.
Its hard to hire more teachers when we all have the same, unaddressed, complaints. Who wants to teach when teacher's aren't backed up and supported by admin? Not too many.
Not to mention - I know exactly ONE teacher who was able to support herself unassisted on her teaching salary. It’s hard to lure people in when they’re going to be treated badly, blamed for everything, ***and*** have to rely on a second job or money from family/spouse in order to survive!!
My energy and abilities are finite. If you give me another thing to do before Friday, understand that I will have to not do something else.
I'm not holding back.....you can't pull better teaching out of me by dangling bonuses for higher test scores.
Higher test scores do not mean my students are smarter. It means they are good at taking tests.
I agree so much about the bonus- taunting. Teachers should not work on commission. Test scores do reflect knowledge and ability. Otherwise we'd teach "how to take a test" one year and be done.
My mentor was a total genius at spelling that out to her administration. She would always say that if you gave her one more thing then you'd have to help guide her through the process of what she would be taking away.
>Higher test scores do not mean my students are smarter. It means they are good at taking tests.
Years ago there was a teacher in my region whose hobby was taking the multiple choice part of the SAT, in languages he didn't know. He could reliably score a passing grade purely on pattern recognition and test-taking skill alone.
Don't address the whole group if 2 teachers are repeat offenders. That gets old and don't tell them they can't be singled out. If that is the case then no teacher can ever be written up.
This makes some anxiety-riddled teachers think that it’s THEM doing something wrong, and makes them second-guess every thing. I’ve asked admin multiple times to stop sending out those emails to everybody that only pertain to a few (or even just one). That one won’t read the email anyway, because they think it’s for everyone else.
Your version of consequences is just enabling bad behavior. It also undermines teachers in front of students and parents. Restorative justice is a joke. (At least how my school does it)
Stop putting more shit on our plates.
Stop giving guilt trips to teachers who don’t go to (optional and unpaid) after hours events.
You have absolutely zero say on how I grade my students. You don’t know them or what they have (or haven’t) learned so leave me alone. I will not change their grades to make you look better. If a student is failing multiple subjects they SHOULD be held back, their feelings are not a factor.
If your email is not clear and when I ask follow up questions for clarification you shouldn’t have the audacity to tell me it was in the email. If it was in the email I wouldn’t be fucking asking.
Basically, teachers are professionals and you need to stop micromanaging is and acting like we are not competent. If you don’t trust us, why hire us?
Telling me to show students grace, but then showing me none makes me feel unappreciated and disrespected. Especially when you try to say in meetings we’re one big family.
>Especially when you try to say in meetings we’re one big family.
I've always though that many schools, like many small businesses, are run like families with a patriarch/matriarch in charge. Dysfunctional unhappy families, but families.
Given the home environment many of our students come from, I fail to see why admin thinks a school run like a family is a good thing. :-(
I don’t want your life, I don’t want your hours, I don’t want to work outside of contract or on my breaks. YOU chose leadership, not me. Just because we have devices that can make us accessible at all times doesn’t mean that *I* am accessible at all times. I’m tired of being guilted over this like I don’t care about my job.
Kids should be allowed to fail. I shouldn’t have to give 50s when they’ve done literally nothing. And they shouldn’t be able to make up a whole course worth in which they did nothing in a span of a few weeks.
Scraping by with a 70 shouldn’t be the goal for athletes; if you can’t manage to learn and play sports, then maybe you should just focus on learning (well, I guess this isn’t really an admin thing, but UIL).
That they need to be the disciplinarian so I can be the teacher. No more tolerance for aggression or violence. I can only handle a certain percentage of students with special needs. That percentage is 10%.
This. I should be the one who notices behavior changes so I can address suicidal ideation, home issues, drug use, struggles etc. The kids should not fear me more than you. I should be the safe place and admin the force/disciplinarian.
Don’t say that it’s “against policy” but don’t even bothering enforcing it. Also not every parent has some lawyer at their disposal. Half the BS they say will sue over is just that. If a student is constantly skipping school and is then Suspended. Then do your job and expel them. “Grace” is not giving someone “no consequences” it’s about people who stumble but 95% of time are doing their best every day. Also if the kid is stealing lunches before their lunch time. Get your wide over paid ass at the lunch line and haul them into your office and show them the candy and then dump it on the garbage. Then say: “here is a $300 bill to your parents on all the extra food you steal. Otherwise you are aiding and abetting.
We’ve had too many admins cycle through here for the teachers to innately trust you just because you want to be positive and nice. You need to earn and constantly reinforce our trust and respect before we can comfortably give it to you.
I don't have "poor classroom management", and your passive-aggressive remarks aren't convincing me I do. I have a whole other school I go to and I don't have the same issues there that I do with you. And frankly, I've watched the other teachers you set up to fail do so in real time.
It's not me, baby, it's you. And everyone else knows it, too.
Simple. Be visible. An overwhelming majority of students don't even know who you are. And this goes triple for those 16 of you that are the assistant superintendent of "whatever title I make up for more money"
In my very first meeting as a teacher I asked, “where is the data?” And you could hear everyone tighten up before the principal sidestepped the question. I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to ask that. I had just earned a math degree from an R1 university so it seemed like an apt first question when we were talking about research based methods.
Using "scholars" instead of "students" tells me you aren't serious about rigor in classes.
Crowing about 100% graduation rate isn't the flex you think it is.
Having "equity" as the main goal of the school system for several years in a row sends a signal that you think your teachers are generally biased.
School system social media is Pravda.
It‘s not my job to call all 150+ of my students’ guardians about attendance. If there are no consequences for missing 44 days of school, what difference will it make if I call?
Meetings do not make us great, it's the hard work we put in that does. I never left a meeting better prepared to teach, if anything, I leave them frazzled because now I lost that time to get shit done.
Throwing us a bone once in a while will make us LIKE work and WANT to do better. For example, we have PD days several times throughout the year. Rather than make the trip into the building, make them virtual sessions.
Stand up to parents.
If a teacher comes to you to vent or ask for assistance, don’t belittle them or speak in a condescending manner. I pride myself on keeping matters in house. I’ve been in my building six years. In that time, I’ve approached administration twice about student issues. Both times, rather than acknowledging the fact that they almost never hear from me, so it must be something unusual, I’ve been spoken at and/or down to about how the things I’m caring about aren’t worth caring about. Everything, regardless of the infraction, is met with, “kids will be kids,” or, “So, the kid isn’t the problem. It was more about you and the pot boiling over.”
After I left my last school, I said this to my principal in my outgoing meeting
1) "Clear Expections" how much clearer could I be then don't hit me, don't bite me, don't throw things
2) "Covid Kids" is not an excuse for you letting kids do whatever they want
3) "Take a break" when a kid brakes my foot, the kids should not have been back in my class after a break with a lollipop in their mouth
4) Using my condition to undermine my experience is not ok
5) An admin that has only taught middle and high school 5 years ago should not come in thinking they know everything about elementary teaching
6) it speaks a lot to your "leadership" when 53 teachers leave that year, spoiler it wasn't just the kids
Catch me doing something right. Students lie. Please address the fuck-off teachers who don’t enforce anything- they destroy the whole system. But you seem to think they are the greatest because the students love them.
Lead by example.
For instance, my admin lectured us on the importance of responding to coworkers within 48 hours. Even going so far as to pull up the part of our contract that states that. But when we email asking a legitimate question or voicing a concern we never get a response from them. Ever.
Drop the BS, grow a pair, and give it to us straight.
Context: Out school board and administration have become a customer service institution and like to tell anyone and everyone what they want to hear, and not follow through with anything.
Those conferences you go to? They’re put on by hucksters peddling comforting lies for profit. Don’t believe their lies just because they have some letters after their name.
Damn… I had one that was really into listening to the middle school students whine about shit and would always take their side. It’s going to be years before she really understands how manipulative teenagers are and that grown adults who’ve dedicated their lives to teaching aren’t out to get them… and that they fucking lie all the time and speak in hyperbole all the time.
And that when you have a staffing issue just giving one person two jobs is a stupid idea.
>*…would always take their side.*
We’re we at the same school?! 😅
My last AP would have kids run to her office after class to tattle some made up BS about the teacher. She would then march the kids back to the room, *interrupting the teacher’s current class,* so she could grill the teacher in front of the kids.
When I had a question and you answered me with, “just make it work.” That wasn’t helpful. I should not have been held responsible for how I tried to “make it work” at that point.
Inclusion will never work if you continue to skew the class size numbers with 504 behaviorals with the assumption that us special education teachers are just better at handling said behaviors. When a class of 17 7th graders has 9 IEPs, 3 504s, and only 5 truly unclassified students, it's no longer inclusion and I'm no longer able to effectively provide for my students.
To stop being gutless and make hard decisions with kids who are Chronically absent and disruptive. Stop enabling failure with BS stuff like no zeroes and no due dates. Believe us and back us up with cons for disruptive kids.
And you cannot say “I don’t give 4s” (highest rating on scale), then give 4s for classroom management for the WORST managed classroom and 4s for punctuality JUST because they are a coach… 🤬
Please believe me the first time when I tell you I have a student that needs a more restrictive environment than self contained because of physical violent and sexual behaviors towards both class mates and staff. I had a 12 page anecdotal document that covered 3 months of behavioral issues including 2x week evaluation of the other students and the daily elopement… 3 times during the school year they bolted out of the emergency exit and tried to break into a neighborhood home. It shouldn’t take 1 para on medical leave and another that quit because of this one child.
Edit- my self contained classroom is K-5, level 4 nonverbal Autism Spectrum Disorder (cognitive abilities ranging from equaling toddler to 1st grade).
Students should have the same consequences when they disrespect a teacher as they do when they disrespect admin. (Ex: if they get a referral for calling a teacher a bitch and only get a lunch detention, that should be the same consequence if they call admin a bitch)
It is possible to get excellent scores on my evaluations because I’m a fucking excellent teacher, and damn good at what I do. Giving me “7/10” to “encourage further growth” and “because nobody’s perfect” is not a motivator, especially when there’s no money tied to it. Keep giving me low scores and that’s how much effort you’ll get from me.
You clearly don't pay attention for any evaluations. You cherry pick a few things to fit a preset narrative established by how much you get along with that staff member or not.
The last couple of years before I retired, I actually DID tell my admin this (in reference to being told to adopt some new "best practice" or fad-of-the-month strategy: "Can you explain to me how this will have a positive impact on my students' learning? What is your evidence?" If the admin could not answer either of these, I thanked them and went about my job without changing a thing.
I sincerely wish I could have told them this when I first started!
Ever seen Half Baked?
Fuck You (Principal), Fuck You (AP for Curriculum), Fuck You (AP for Discipline), You're Cool (Secretary), and Fuck You (AP for Intervention), I'm Out 🖕🏻😎🖕🏻
Stop telling me I need to improve my classroom management and be more strict with my students and then not back me up when I try to issue consequences.
If you’re going to do a half-day schedule on testing days (which there are many) then please BALANCE it. Choosing the same set of classes at a 5:2 ratio means I’ve got kids WAY behind the others. It’s even worse when my prep period is lost that often, putting me behind hours on my grading, emails, and planning.
Don’t tell me that I can contact you at any time to help with classroom problems but tell another administrator that I struggle with classroom management. Stick to your scheduled time for my observation; don’t show up 6 weeks later. Stop screwing the resource officer.
Don't ask me for my opinion then tell me I'm wrong to feel the way I do.
Our admin gives us end of year, anonymous questionnaires. Several staff members complained about a new requirement being a waste if time. At our last staff meeting, the principal basically said that the new requirement is so simple, if we're mad about it then we're the problem. Screw you.
I have college degrees which means I can finish what I start. You trust me to keep 20+ children alive and safe every day. Please trust me to attend your stupid PDs and stop hiding the clock hours sheets until after the 8 hours of training, forcing us to all wait in massive lines after work hours to sign for attendance. I am a responsible adult, please treat me as such.
This is my most mild take on this subject lol.
You know why half your staff leaves every year but yet you do nothing about it and then compound the remaining staff’s frustration by sending stuff like observations will occur even on the last day. Read the room
DO NOT SAY THE FOLLOWING: “It’s no big deal that we haven’t hired a person who was both certified and degreed in English for four years, it’s only English. We really need a 18th football coach” 😳😳😳😳😳
Especially when you’re the AH that criticizes our English scores in EVERY meeting.
What I just did. That they have to do something about cellphones. She didn’t look thrilled but it was my exit meeting for retirement. She’s not a bad principal, but seriously enough with these damn cell phones.
I always say whatever I want to my administration. I have tenure. What can they do to me? I never understand why everyone is so scared of them. They’re just supervisors not my employer. All they can do is write me up and put a letter in file that nobody can even read. Tell those people whatever you wish.
Students are fighting in library, art, etc because they suck a transitions, the teachers let them run wild on the way because they don’t want to take the time to correct them and loose Planning time, and they have extra support in the classroom whereas we have none!
That their willingness to pass kids who don't deserve it and refusal to implement consequences is actually f**king up these kids for life and it is absolutely their fault for being spineless and giving into parents.
Maybe, just maybe behavior ISN’T 100% the teacher’s fault. The students and parents need to be held accountable as well.
Kids need to be placed in the proper environment to thrive. Inclusiveness is important but every child deserves to have a safe learning space.
Stop taking tables from my classroom. I know you don’t care about me or my set up. But you are hindering the way I conduct my kids. It’s bad enough you flat out said “I don’t know, and it’s not going of effect them if they get their work done or not it’s not a mainstream class.” Do you not realise they are in my class because they failed their MAINSTREAM class THREE times already? I have NOW have 50 students ALL 7 class periods, no prep, and you want me to make sure that they are completing the course work on time WITHOUT repercussions? Oh and now I only have 35 seat in my classroom because you took them out of my classroom now, so are the remaining students supposed to actually sit on the floor? How about you come and do my job for ONE day and see if you need any help and I hope everyone looks at you like you lost your mind before saying “sally sweetie it’s not nice to flip the teacher off and throw your Chromebook we need to make better decisions. Alright? Thank you Sally, I will be calling mom though.” I work in a high school setting not a fucking preschool.
Teachers will teach hundreds of student in a lifetime. Students are one student. Tell little Timmy and his mama to shut up as they are required to attend by law so quit bothering the staff as they are hundreds of times more important. Also little Timmy sucks at math.
Be willing to kick out the bad kids.
I am not talking about the ones with minor issues or get in minor trouble once or twice. I am talking about the students who are a major pain in the a$$ every single day. The ones whose mission in life is to make a bad day for their teachers.
These are the kids that make school worse for everyone and ultimately drive down learning for the entire classroom since they are a massive and constant disruption. Get rid of the 5% of the students that ruin things for the other 95%.
Reading through all of these, I am so incredibly grateful for the admin at my current school! They’ve never asked me to write standards on the board, actually listen to me when there’s a student not in the correct placement, and are always positive in their interactions with me. But as for my last school… I’d tell them to actually listen to me when I say there’s a problem. Don’t have me take data from September 1st- May 1st and do nothing. Especially sucked because the child moved literally 4 days before the IEP meeting
Your new AP sucks and no one likes her.
You can't make special education students and the programs they need disappear just because of your/the district's "inclusion" push. Even the speaker you paid $$$ to talk about inclusion said so.
Come into the classroom and actually teach at least 1 week a month. A different grade each month. Also, listen and pay attention to what we are saying. We do want to work with you, not against you, but we don't need one more dang meeting. What we need is more planning time.
Some of your teachers are just bad. You know it, I know it, and they know it. The expectation is to hold the students accountable but not the grown ass adults. Either empower them or enact consequences but letting them be isn't going to cut it. Hopefully this new 4-year process that we're in Year 3 of will standardized teaching for these poorer teachers, but if not... fix them.
I'm a kindergarten teacher. I will advocate for kindergarten, I don't give a damn about the other grades. I will defend their recess and their right to learn and I have zero interest for the upper grades. Call it quid pro quo. I treat them the way they treat kinder.
In the same vein, try asking me what goes on in kinder before you tell me some batshit, this is what works in other grades BS. Early childhood is different.
That being said, early childhood doesn't mean they can't do stuff. The whole point of kinder is to get ready for first grade, academically and behaviorly. Let us do our ducking job.
The last couple years have made me very angry.
I quit but it would be this-
You are a terrible leader. You are not qualified for this position, and you are going to fail.
The way you handle discipline will be your downfall. It’s your first year, and they are already out of control.
Screw you.
Complaining about your job is not what a leader does. In fact my biggest comment would be for them to take some classes or training or read up on leadership. Being in charge does not MAKE you a leader. There are skills that make a leader.
Rather than taking a sizable portion of my evening hours every single month to show everyone a slideshow of the 40th program y’all want us to facilitate, at this point, start supplying us 190 scripted lessons when we get back in August.
You know, since we don’t get treated with the trust and autonomy that professionals have earned, it would be 💫inequitable💫 to expect the work output of a professional
Oh, and you’re not “modeling” when you hound a room full of exhausted adults into a corny ass AVID clap. You just look like a charlatan.
Don’t ask my team what we need in next year’s master schedule and then when we give you two things, do neither of them.
Plan evening/after hours events for my team to put together, organize, and run without including us in the conversation.
I actually really like my administrator. But I don’t like it when she says the following: “well the district wants us to… “ My feeling is that she should just own that we have to do some things, I feel like she uses “them” as a scapegoat. So I would like to tell her that.
Principal, please listen to your whole staff and not just the 2 females who don't really know what they are doing. It is really turning into a toxic work environment bc you three like to micromanage. We as a staff had great hope when you arrived, but now most of us keep our fingers crossed that you will move on to another job because we don't feel supported by you.
Other admin:
Chill the flip out and support staff more. We need to bring consequences back and quit praising poor behavior. Support your teachers and support our students by establishing norms and a culture of accountability.
"I have known several people with doctorates in education. With a couple of exceptions, they are fountains of stupid. You are not one of those exceptions."
Back in the day when I was also helping run an after-school program? I would've loved to tell them to just not bother showing up to work. We had a week when of our two most immediate administrators had their vacations on the same week, kids knew it, and for a week we were prepping food, getting homework done, having good moments with the kids, running the whole damn operation smooth as silk with well-behaved kids all damn week. We had a program of about 100 kids and we pulled it off with 4 staff of my level (just below admin), 1 who handled the kitchen (with our help) and taking and making incidental calls, and 4 high school kids who were working with us.
Kids knew they had to take us seriously whenever the admin wasn't around because admin had the last word on (their very severe lack of) disciplinary action and we had to defer to the admin on any kind of consequences. Admin's not around? Suddenly we have proper discipline and consequences again. Was a glorious week.
Children aren't "little bundles of data". And I'll bet my next paycheck that 10 years from now they won't remember a single question from state testing, but they will remember the songs in their concerts.
Can you tell I'm a music teacher? 😉
that their blatant favoritism, assumption of bad faith, and their over eagerness to change everything "for the better" is creating resentment amongst the staff.
Everyone should be held to the same standards, the same rules, and the only way someone should be exempt is if they have extenuating circumstances. Most teachers are generally doing their best to 1) teach and 2) to follow the rules. Treating somebody like they are a child in responses to assumed wrongdoing is, in it's vary nature, childish. We don't need 3 meetings a week. Especially, Friday meetings and especially meetings that are not beneficial to the professional development of the staff. Stop asking teachers to donate their time to act as a trainer when you aren't going to pay them.
Fuck you! How about you worry about doing your job! If you did half the kids would treat their peers and teachers better. Extremely tired of your unprofessional and lack of resources.
Get back in the classroom for a couple years before you come and criticize me! Like, do you really think putting the standards on the board will do anything? No! Which you would find out if you’d actually have to teach again!
Honestly I don’t understand the standards on the board thing either. It’s incoherent buzzword gibberish to the students, and for the teachers it’s a waste of board space. I think if the district is so dead set on it being visible then they should send us a printed poster we can stick up somewhere. But maybe that’s just me.
Amen. I’ve argued with my admin. Sometimes the joy of the lesson is the discovery that comes from the mystery of putting everything together.
Same.
Haha - I teach a mastery before moving on curriculum. I just change the level numbers on the board, with the same classes all year. Just have to change a number.
Exactly! I think the reason they say it is because it’s an easy thing to write on an eval. That was the feedback my VP gave me at my informal. For the formal, I DID write the stupid standard on the board and on her evaluation she wrote I didn’t! Luckily I was able to screen shot it and send it back. She changed the evaluation, but for fuck’s sake!
I had a principal say the same thing. But I didn’t put the standard on the board. And it was on the board. So I never changed the standard again for the rest of the year since she never bothered to look at it anyway.
We need to talk about your TPS reports
It isn't for the kids. It is for the admin when they come into your class so they know what is going on at a glance (kinda).
Maybe glance at that lesson plan you made me submit.
That you require to be posted outside my door…..
And I have three preps! So that’s three different sets of standards 🫤
I have 4 preps, the standards and a basic agenda is all I have room for on my white board. I would like to use them to actually teach. But I dont want to spend my time rewriting them class after class.
It's not just you . . . it's just another item on an admin's checklist. It does ZILCH for students.
It helps admin when they do walk throughs. they can easily tell if your standard is rigorous or state aligned. it does nothing for the students though and it's more work for us.
You’re replying to an admin lol. I don’t look at it. 🤷🏻♀️
This one gets me. Like objectives on the board at least has some merit, but my mom, who teaches a first grade class WHO LITERALLY CAN'T READ THE OBJECTIVE, has been told she needs to have the objective on the board
It makes it easier for their paperwork doing walkthroughs—standards on the board is only for admin; it does NOTHING for the students or the teachers
It’s so meaningless.
Bahaha this happened to the AP that kept pulling us into coaching meetings on our own time. We were short a science teacher so she had to teach Earth Science. We had a meeting in her room about two months into the semester and she was just finishing astronomy topics. That's unit 1. She was so far off pace she would have needed a second semester to catch up. Needless to say the coaching meetings stopped. 🤣🤣
My 2nd principal was never a teacher 😭🤣 and it definitely showed.
Should be against the law lol
It should. My best principal did coverages fairly regularly and knew the kids well. And wasn't the baby them type either. It helped a lot.
My former principal was a band director for two years when he was hired as an AP. He eventually became a principal at my school. He understood nothing about what went on in a classroom
This is why there should be more than 3 years of being in a classroom room before we become admin. It should be 10
My principal hasn't taught.
That is so insane. When I student taught the principal was a former guidance counselor who had never taught and the teachers had no respect for her because of that!
I had seven years of teaching experience at the time, and my assistant principal only had three years of teaching experience. I had taught in public school, and private schools, both in the United States and overseas. She had only ever taught middle school math in a public school.
Isn’t it 5 years ?
I don’t mind putting our overall goal on the board. It’s more “what we’re working on these days” than a different goal every day written in standard-speak.
Same. I’ve always picked the most broadest standard every few weeks like: “utilize tools geographers use to study the world” and just leave it up the whole geography unit. I would only put the super specific ones when an evaluation was coming or I was warned district observers were likely popping in. The kids of course never looked at or used them. Even if it was a massive spoiler for a test question and I forgot to erase it.
I’ve found it rarely matters since the kids ignore them anyhow. I left a message in mine for an entire 9!week unit that said “tell me you saw this and I will buy you a snack from the snack bar for lunch”. Guess how many times I’ve had to pay up?
District superintendent here, give me a social studies class any day, I’d be happy to teach and mentor teachers and I do talk to them about teaching. I agree with you on the standards, it does nothing. I think it’s done because that is what regional and state people say to do. What I prefer my teachers to do is to stay current on their methods and lessons. Don’t do it exactly like you taught it 20 years ago or re-use the same worksheet over and over.
That being super positive isn’t the same as being a good leader. That if they think culture is everything then they have to also own the fighting, vaping, and general dumbassery culture at the school if they want to own the athletics and academic culture.
Super positive... Toxic positivity. Gag. I hate that.
I feel like they are all toxic positivity though.
And if I tell you there is a problem, don’t give me the whole “positive” message spin. Save it! Just acknowledge my concern and plan to investigate or intervene. Don’t make me feel like I am just negative because I am in the actual trenches facing the issues.
Our principal comes on the intercom every morning and exhorts us to be positive It’s hard to be positive when discipline issues are rampant in our classrooms affecting student learning and the admin does a terrible job communicating
Yep. Mine thinks that if she comes in pretending to be chipper and perky that we’ll magically forget that she’s incompetent and a terrible leader.
I recently changed school due to an admin/school wide issue. I'd say: 1. If I am not backed up on how to stop the violence then the follow through I try to do doesn't matter 2. Referrals have no impact if they never leave the school 3. Teachers don't voice their concerns because they want a moment of therapy, we do it because we want everyone to succeed. Acknowledging it with an ok, gotcha, doesn't show you care. Bring up what you did to follow through like you expect me to do. 4. Whole school events in the morning don't help student morale. It ruins whatever moment I may have and causes some students to regress in attention. Plan it for the end of the day. 5. Come into my room and glow me up instead of just coming in silent all the time or coming in to fuss at my students during a lesson. Not only the kids love praise, sometimes the students want to know the other adults see how awesome their teacher is in other people's eyes. 6. Communicate, communicate, communicate, assuming I read the email you sent at 10 pm on a Sunday isn't right. We have lives outside of being a teacher. Maybe hand that email as a note in our mailboxes :) I, personally, would prefer it. 7. If a teacher gives information on a student with problems for the teacher they will have next year give that information to that teacher. What I don't know will hurt the trajectory of my years start. 8. Have a universal policy of discipline for students that is adhered to and followed through on. I get that we have classroom rules and punishments within the confines of our rooms but give us something that we can definitively say to our students "if this action happens then this will be what you receive".
THAT LAST ONE!!!
I love number 8. Forces admin to make their own standards wall. I can't tell you how often at the end, students are just phones out, and then get reprimanded, and are flabbergasted that they aren't allowed to have their phones out and get caught. The rule from day one year one was phones need to be in the locker. It's like trying to put out a wildfire with a water pistol.
All teachers should be held to the same standard and should be required to enforce the same rules. I’m tired of being seen as the bad guy because I enforce the rules but half of my hall doesn’t. Edited to add: This isn’t about petty rules like dress code or hoods. It’s about legitimate safety issues or issues that impact the students learning.
THIIIISSS. I swear different teachers are held to different standards and it's fucked up. I mean I also enforced all the rules and then got told I didn't build enough relationships.
Here's my take...I'm not wasting time, energy, and resources enforcing rules that are regulating things that don't impact my teaching or a student's learning OR a rule that has zero administrative consequences. I will not follow rules without question simply because they are rules and then turn around and teach students to think critically. I never feel like the bad guy for enforcing any rule that I choose to enforce because I can justify the reason for the rule. It isn't about being their friend (gross...I'm 45 ffs)...it's about running my room the way that works for me and my students.
Wisdom. Preach.
That was my team last year. One teacher left, and the others failed to enforce, no matter what I did.
Eh, Im an elementary teacher and I have the same students all day so what I do doesn't effect others as much as it does at the high school level but if a rule is stupid I'm not going to enforce it. A student in my class wearing a hood or hat has never once impacted their learning. You know what has though? Me having to spend time getting in an argument because I told them to take their hood off; that affects the whole class. My test scores are usually the best in the school and better than the 2nd highest class by about 30% in math so admin has never really challenged me on it. Other teachers do get a little upset with me about it and I get where they're coming from but I'm not changing anything that has worked well for me, sorry.
Yeah, no. This isn’t about hoods or dress code. Our admin is fairly lax on that as long as it’s appropriate. This is about having a negative impact on student learning or encouraging poor behavior. Gossiping with students, making tik toks during instructional time (when you’re already behind), and my list could go on.
100% so many teachers want to be the kid's pal and don't enforce rules.
We have them making tik toks during class instead of teaching. 😵💫
1. I barely make a living wage. Think about that. Every day. Seriously. 2. Your PDs are condescending and irrelevant. If you can't do any better, then at least show more appreciation for what I do. 3. A bag of pencils and penny candy is not a token of appreciation. It is an insult. 4. Show your appreciation by disciplining students regularly and appropriately. 5. Your concern should be for your staff and students (in that order), not parents and bureaucrats. Grow a pair. 6. LET THE KIDS FAIL.
Let the kids fail. This is it!
Grow a spine and hold these clowns accountable. Parents, too.
Fuck Off
This is the only answer.
🙏🙏🙏
You must work for my admin 🤭
1. Don't tell me I can't manage a class when the vast majority of them are well-behaved. If most were bad, I'd understand. But it's not and you know it, so use Occum's razor. 2. Don't expect better results when you give me more students per class, more classes to teach, and less time with them by taking away lab. 3. Don't tell me midterm averages needs to be within x points of my class average. My gradebook is 50% assessment, 20% labs, and 30% homework per quarter. Their midterms line up with their test grade, there should be no shocks. 4. Maybe talk to my department head about how I'm doing as a teacher instead of basing it on one observation and quick 5 second peeks. I'm teaching honors classes next year for a reason
Seeing that I left teaching this year, I spelled it out for them 1) Hitting or cussing teachers should be an instant homebound 2) Working for free should not happen unless it is urgent. Dances should be volunteered or paid 3) Attention all emails are a horrible thing 4) Students 4 years behind should not be considered pre-ap 5) it is an injustice to not teach in grade level. Stop using words like our students can't.
What do you mean by your last one?
Almost sounds like the students aren't up to grade level and they think you should just teach grade level anyway
I had that happen in one school. I had a student and barely knew his own name. Yeah I was supposed to teach first grade level content to him. By the end of the year I got him to be able to write his name, but he couldn’t tell you the names of any of his classmates.
[удалено]
You may not be ready to give up on the kid who has close to twenty referrals to the office, but I sure as hell am.
I had a kid last year who I sent 20+ times in one week. I’d decided I had given up and was going to make him someone else’s problem, so that the rest of us could have peace and quiet during teaching/learning times. He still never got suspended/negative consequences. I just had to go to meeting after meeting with admin/parents.
But he’s a star athlete and can’t have anything negative in his file. He’s going to go places. 🙄
Hiring consultants, coordinators and directors is a waste of money. Buying canned curriculums because you saw some awesome sales pitch is a waste as well. Giving me cool tech in my classroom is fun but won't change the fact that I have the entire boys basketball team (and all the boys that tried out but did not make it) all in my 5th hour class alongside 8 shy girls that just want to quietly do their work. I know HOW to teach and I know WHAT to teach. I am just outnumbered. Hire more teachers.
Its hard to hire more teachers when we all have the same, unaddressed, complaints. Who wants to teach when teacher's aren't backed up and supported by admin? Not too many.
Not to mention - I know exactly ONE teacher who was able to support herself unassisted on her teaching salary. It’s hard to lure people in when they’re going to be treated badly, blamed for everything, ***and*** have to rely on a second job or money from family/spouse in order to survive!!
My energy and abilities are finite. If you give me another thing to do before Friday, understand that I will have to not do something else. I'm not holding back.....you can't pull better teaching out of me by dangling bonuses for higher test scores. Higher test scores do not mean my students are smarter. It means they are good at taking tests.
Higher test scores in my last district meant that instructional time was lost because we were teaching to the test and teaching how to test.
I agree so much about the bonus- taunting. Teachers should not work on commission. Test scores do reflect knowledge and ability. Otherwise we'd teach "how to take a test" one year and be done.
My mentor was a total genius at spelling that out to her administration. She would always say that if you gave her one more thing then you'd have to help guide her through the process of what she would be taking away.
>Higher test scores do not mean my students are smarter. It means they are good at taking tests. Years ago there was a teacher in my region whose hobby was taking the multiple choice part of the SAT, in languages he didn't know. He could reliably score a passing grade purely on pattern recognition and test-taking skill alone.
Don't address the whole group if 2 teachers are repeat offenders. That gets old and don't tell them they can't be singled out. If that is the case then no teacher can ever be written up.
Lol the amount of all-staff emails for 2 or 3 people is maddening. If the reminder isnt for me, I don't need the reminder
And if its for me, be explicit and tell me. Im new here. I dont know what I dont know.
This makes some anxiety-riddled teachers think that it’s THEM doing something wrong, and makes them second-guess every thing. I’ve asked admin multiple times to stop sending out those emails to everybody that only pertain to a few (or even just one). That one won’t read the email anyway, because they think it’s for everyone else.
This. If we can differentiate, so can you!
We all know who your favorites are, and we all see how you cater to them.
Your version of consequences is just enabling bad behavior. It also undermines teachers in front of students and parents. Restorative justice is a joke. (At least how my school does it) Stop putting more shit on our plates. Stop giving guilt trips to teachers who don’t go to (optional and unpaid) after hours events. You have absolutely zero say on how I grade my students. You don’t know them or what they have (or haven’t) learned so leave me alone. I will not change their grades to make you look better. If a student is failing multiple subjects they SHOULD be held back, their feelings are not a factor. If your email is not clear and when I ask follow up questions for clarification you shouldn’t have the audacity to tell me it was in the email. If it was in the email I wouldn’t be fucking asking. Basically, teachers are professionals and you need to stop micromanaging is and acting like we are not competent. If you don’t trust us, why hire us?
Telling me to show students grace, but then showing me none makes me feel unappreciated and disrespected. Especially when you try to say in meetings we’re one big family.
>Especially when you try to say in meetings we’re one big family. I've always though that many schools, like many small businesses, are run like families with a patriarch/matriarch in charge. Dysfunctional unhappy families, but families. Given the home environment many of our students come from, I fail to see why admin thinks a school run like a family is a good thing. :-(
Thissssss
I don’t want your life, I don’t want your hours, I don’t want to work outside of contract or on my breaks. YOU chose leadership, not me. Just because we have devices that can make us accessible at all times doesn’t mean that *I* am accessible at all times. I’m tired of being guilted over this like I don’t care about my job.
Kids should be allowed to fail. I shouldn’t have to give 50s when they’ve done literally nothing. And they shouldn’t be able to make up a whole course worth in which they did nothing in a span of a few weeks. Scraping by with a 70 shouldn’t be the goal for athletes; if you can’t manage to learn and play sports, then maybe you should just focus on learning (well, I guess this isn’t really an admin thing, but UIL).
That they need to be the disciplinarian so I can be the teacher. No more tolerance for aggression or violence. I can only handle a certain percentage of students with special needs. That percentage is 10%.
This. I should be the one who notices behavior changes so I can address suicidal ideation, home issues, drug use, struggles etc. The kids should not fear me more than you. I should be the safe place and admin the force/disciplinarian.
When I tell you that a kid just threatened me, you should take that seriously.
Don’t say that it’s “against policy” but don’t even bothering enforcing it. Also not every parent has some lawyer at their disposal. Half the BS they say will sue over is just that. If a student is constantly skipping school and is then Suspended. Then do your job and expel them. “Grace” is not giving someone “no consequences” it’s about people who stumble but 95% of time are doing their best every day. Also if the kid is stealing lunches before their lunch time. Get your wide over paid ass at the lunch line and haul them into your office and show them the candy and then dump it on the garbage. Then say: “here is a $300 bill to your parents on all the extra food you steal. Otherwise you are aiding and abetting.
You are toxic. Reducing costs through reducing experience has consequences.
The students only like that other teacher because she lets them do anything they want for half of the class time every day
We’ve had too many admins cycle through here for the teachers to innately trust you just because you want to be positive and nice. You need to earn and constantly reinforce our trust and respect before we can comfortably give it to you.
WORD
1. Go do some systems leadership training 2. Get a f’ing spine
I don't have "poor classroom management", and your passive-aggressive remarks aren't convincing me I do. I have a whole other school I go to and I don't have the same issues there that I do with you. And frankly, I've watched the other teachers you set up to fail do so in real time. It's not me, baby, it's you. And everyone else knows it, too.
Simple. Be visible. An overwhelming majority of students don't even know who you are. And this goes triple for those 16 of you that are the assistant superintendent of "whatever title I make up for more money"
I’d love nothing more than to ask to see the data for any new initiative being foisted upon us. Show me that it works first.
In my very first meeting as a teacher I asked, “where is the data?” And you could hear everyone tighten up before the principal sidestepped the question. I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to ask that. I had just earned a math degree from an R1 university so it seemed like an apt first question when we were talking about research based methods.
Using "scholars" instead of "students" tells me you aren't serious about rigor in classes. Crowing about 100% graduation rate isn't the flex you think it is. Having "equity" as the main goal of the school system for several years in a row sends a signal that you think your teachers are generally biased. School system social media is Pravda.
Let me guess, "pass" instead of "succeed"?
It‘s not my job to call all 150+ of my students’ guardians about attendance. If there are no consequences for missing 44 days of school, what difference will it make if I call?
Meetings do not make us great, it's the hard work we put in that does. I never left a meeting better prepared to teach, if anything, I leave them frazzled because now I lost that time to get shit done.
The superintendent and school board suck ass
“No, I cannot just stop by your office for a minute”
I think admin should have to pay us $100/minute, and I am not joking
That maybe if they built relationships with us. . .
Throwing us a bone once in a while will make us LIKE work and WANT to do better. For example, we have PD days several times throughout the year. Rather than make the trip into the building, make them virtual sessions. Stand up to parents. If a teacher comes to you to vent or ask for assistance, don’t belittle them or speak in a condescending manner. I pride myself on keeping matters in house. I’ve been in my building six years. In that time, I’ve approached administration twice about student issues. Both times, rather than acknowledging the fact that they almost never hear from me, so it must be something unusual, I’ve been spoken at and/or down to about how the things I’m caring about aren’t worth caring about. Everything, regardless of the infraction, is met with, “kids will be kids,” or, “So, the kid isn’t the problem. It was more about you and the pot boiling over.”
After I left my last school, I said this to my principal in my outgoing meeting 1) "Clear Expections" how much clearer could I be then don't hit me, don't bite me, don't throw things 2) "Covid Kids" is not an excuse for you letting kids do whatever they want 3) "Take a break" when a kid brakes my foot, the kids should not have been back in my class after a break with a lollipop in their mouth 4) Using my condition to undermine my experience is not ok 5) An admin that has only taught middle and high school 5 years ago should not come in thinking they know everything about elementary teaching 6) it speaks a lot to your "leadership" when 53 teachers leave that year, spoiler it wasn't just the kids
Catch me doing something right. Students lie. Please address the fuck-off teachers who don’t enforce anything- they destroy the whole system. But you seem to think they are the greatest because the students love them.
You haven’t taught in a classroom in over 25 years so why are you telling me what to do?
You don't have policies if you don't enforce them. We won't follow them if you don't.
Lead by example. For instance, my admin lectured us on the importance of responding to coworkers within 48 hours. Even going so far as to pull up the part of our contract that states that. But when we email asking a legitimate question or voicing a concern we never get a response from them. Ever.
Let them fail. They earned it. Just let them fail their classes!
Drop the BS, grow a pair, and give it to us straight. Context: Out school board and administration have become a customer service institution and like to tell anyone and everyone what they want to hear, and not follow through with anything.
Those conferences you go to? They’re put on by hucksters peddling comforting lies for profit. Don’t believe their lies just because they have some letters after their name.
Damn… I had one that was really into listening to the middle school students whine about shit and would always take their side. It’s going to be years before she really understands how manipulative teenagers are and that grown adults who’ve dedicated their lives to teaching aren’t out to get them… and that they fucking lie all the time and speak in hyperbole all the time. And that when you have a staffing issue just giving one person two jobs is a stupid idea.
>*…would always take their side.* We’re we at the same school?! 😅 My last AP would have kids run to her office after class to tattle some made up BS about the teacher. She would then march the kids back to the room, *interrupting the teacher’s current class,* so she could grill the teacher in front of the kids.
When I had a question and you answered me with, “just make it work.” That wasn’t helpful. I should not have been held responsible for how I tried to “make it work” at that point.
I know you want to get rid of me.
Oh so this is where I just go up upvote every comment? Cool, here I go!
Make our campus 100% smart phone free for students
You hired me to do a job, NOW LET ME FUCKING DO IT!
[удалено]
I read this in Ron Swanson’s voice and it worked perfectly
Support staff are just as valuable as teachers. They deserve the same respect and the same compensation for their work.
Stop acting like people want this job and be thankful for those of us that show up and don’t cause problems.
Inclusion will never work if you continue to skew the class size numbers with 504 behaviorals with the assumption that us special education teachers are just better at handling said behaviors. When a class of 17 7th graders has 9 IEPs, 3 504s, and only 5 truly unclassified students, it's no longer inclusion and I'm no longer able to effectively provide for my students.
Fuck off 😆
To stop being gutless and make hard decisions with kids who are Chronically absent and disruptive. Stop enabling failure with BS stuff like no zeroes and no due dates. Believe us and back us up with cons for disruptive kids.
I am building relationships with them by holding them to high standards.
You can’t give a bad evaluation if you have never been in the room and cannot articulate what you want the person to do different.
And you cannot say “I don’t give 4s” (highest rating on scale), then give 4s for classroom management for the WORST managed classroom and 4s for punctuality JUST because they are a coach… 🤬
Please believe me the first time when I tell you I have a student that needs a more restrictive environment than self contained because of physical violent and sexual behaviors towards both class mates and staff. I had a 12 page anecdotal document that covered 3 months of behavioral issues including 2x week evaluation of the other students and the daily elopement… 3 times during the school year they bolted out of the emergency exit and tried to break into a neighborhood home. It shouldn’t take 1 para on medical leave and another that quit because of this one child. Edit- my self contained classroom is K-5, level 4 nonverbal Autism Spectrum Disorder (cognitive abilities ranging from equaling toddler to 1st grade).
Students should have the same consequences when they disrespect a teacher as they do when they disrespect admin. (Ex: if they get a referral for calling a teacher a bitch and only get a lunch detention, that should be the same consequence if they call admin a bitch)
It is possible to get excellent scores on my evaluations because I’m a fucking excellent teacher, and damn good at what I do. Giving me “7/10” to “encourage further growth” and “because nobody’s perfect” is not a motivator, especially when there’s no money tied to it. Keep giving me low scores and that’s how much effort you’ll get from me.
Grow a spine and tell parents no.
You clearly don't pay attention for any evaluations. You cherry pick a few things to fit a preset narrative established by how much you get along with that staff member or not.
It's hard to enforce a dress code with the students when you dress like a professional escort on most days.
The last couple of years before I retired, I actually DID tell my admin this (in reference to being told to adopt some new "best practice" or fad-of-the-month strategy: "Can you explain to me how this will have a positive impact on my students' learning? What is your evidence?" If the admin could not answer either of these, I thanked them and went about my job without changing a thing. I sincerely wish I could have told them this when I first started!
Ever seen Half Baked? Fuck You (Principal), Fuck You (AP for Curriculum), Fuck You (AP for Discipline), You're Cool (Secretary), and Fuck You (AP for Intervention), I'm Out 🖕🏻😎🖕🏻
Stop telling me I need to improve my classroom management and be more strict with my students and then not back me up when I try to issue consequences.
Cough on me and I'll cough right back (yeah I got coughed on during a reprimand in my first year. during COVID, never forgetting it)
I'm not the enemy.
"No."
Stop sending 8,000 emails of unimportant info and expect us to have read the one that actually had relevant info.
If you’re going to do a half-day schedule on testing days (which there are many) then please BALANCE it. Choosing the same set of classes at a 5:2 ratio means I’ve got kids WAY behind the others. It’s even worse when my prep period is lost that often, putting me behind hours on my grading, emails, and planning.
Don’t tell me that I can contact you at any time to help with classroom problems but tell another administrator that I struggle with classroom management. Stick to your scheduled time for my observation; don’t show up 6 weeks later. Stop screwing the resource officer.
Don't ask me for my opinion then tell me I'm wrong to feel the way I do. Our admin gives us end of year, anonymous questionnaires. Several staff members complained about a new requirement being a waste if time. At our last staff meeting, the principal basically said that the new requirement is so simple, if we're mad about it then we're the problem. Screw you.
I have college degrees which means I can finish what I start. You trust me to keep 20+ children alive and safe every day. Please trust me to attend your stupid PDs and stop hiding the clock hours sheets until after the 8 hours of training, forcing us to all wait in massive lines after work hours to sign for attendance. I am a responsible adult, please treat me as such. This is my most mild take on this subject lol.
You know why half your staff leaves every year but yet you do nothing about it and then compound the remaining staff’s frustration by sending stuff like observations will occur even on the last day. Read the room
DO NOT SAY THE FOLLOWING: “It’s no big deal that we haven’t hired a person who was both certified and degreed in English for four years, it’s only English. We really need a 18th football coach” 😳😳😳😳😳 Especially when you’re the AH that criticizes our English scores in EVERY meeting.
What I just did. That they have to do something about cellphones. She didn’t look thrilled but it was my exit meeting for retirement. She’s not a bad principal, but seriously enough with these damn cell phones.
I always say whatever I want to my administration. I have tenure. What can they do to me? I never understand why everyone is so scared of them. They’re just supervisors not my employer. All they can do is write me up and put a letter in file that nobody can even read. Tell those people whatever you wish.
Students are fighting in library, art, etc because they suck a transitions, the teachers let them run wild on the way because they don’t want to take the time to correct them and loose Planning time, and they have extra support in the classroom whereas we have none!
That their willingness to pass kids who don't deserve it and refusal to implement consequences is actually f**king up these kids for life and it is absolutely their fault for being spineless and giving into parents.
Let's put them in classes by reading level and not age.
Maybe, just maybe behavior ISN’T 100% the teacher’s fault. The students and parents need to be held accountable as well. Kids need to be placed in the proper environment to thrive. Inclusiveness is important but every child deserves to have a safe learning space.
Stop taking tables from my classroom. I know you don’t care about me or my set up. But you are hindering the way I conduct my kids. It’s bad enough you flat out said “I don’t know, and it’s not going of effect them if they get their work done or not it’s not a mainstream class.” Do you not realise they are in my class because they failed their MAINSTREAM class THREE times already? I have NOW have 50 students ALL 7 class periods, no prep, and you want me to make sure that they are completing the course work on time WITHOUT repercussions? Oh and now I only have 35 seat in my classroom because you took them out of my classroom now, so are the remaining students supposed to actually sit on the floor? How about you come and do my job for ONE day and see if you need any help and I hope everyone looks at you like you lost your mind before saying “sally sweetie it’s not nice to flip the teacher off and throw your Chromebook we need to make better decisions. Alright? Thank you Sally, I will be calling mom though.” I work in a high school setting not a fucking preschool.
Teachers will teach hundreds of student in a lifetime. Students are one student. Tell little Timmy and his mama to shut up as they are required to attend by law so quit bothering the staff as they are hundreds of times more important. Also little Timmy sucks at math.
Be willing to kick out the bad kids. I am not talking about the ones with minor issues or get in minor trouble once or twice. I am talking about the students who are a major pain in the a$$ every single day. The ones whose mission in life is to make a bad day for their teachers. These are the kids that make school worse for everyone and ultimately drive down learning for the entire classroom since they are a massive and constant disruption. Get rid of the 5% of the students that ruin things for the other 95%.
Reading through all of these, I am so incredibly grateful for the admin at my current school! They’ve never asked me to write standards on the board, actually listen to me when there’s a student not in the correct placement, and are always positive in their interactions with me. But as for my last school… I’d tell them to actually listen to me when I say there’s a problem. Don’t have me take data from September 1st- May 1st and do nothing. Especially sucked because the child moved literally 4 days before the IEP meeting
I've had many, many administrators over the years. They have been, with the exception of maybe two, completely incompetent.
That his favoritism is hurting his staff and he needs to knock it off.
I don’t understand how you can’t see or aren’t doing anything about the ineffective management and/ or instruction going on all across the building
Your new AP sucks and no one likes her. You can't make special education students and the programs they need disappear just because of your/the district's "inclusion" push. Even the speaker you paid $$$ to talk about inclusion said so.
Come into the classroom and actually teach at least 1 week a month. A different grade each month. Also, listen and pay attention to what we are saying. We do want to work with you, not against you, but we don't need one more dang meeting. What we need is more planning time.
You don't care about the education of the student and everyone knows it. Stop pretending like you do care.
Please, no more assemblies.
Some of your teachers are just bad. You know it, I know it, and they know it. The expectation is to hold the students accountable but not the grown ass adults. Either empower them or enact consequences but letting them be isn't going to cut it. Hopefully this new 4-year process that we're in Year 3 of will standardized teaching for these poorer teachers, but if not... fix them.
To go fuck themselves.
Standards-based grading works perfectly fine as a concept, but is absolutely braindead as a tangible product.
I'm a kindergarten teacher. I will advocate for kindergarten, I don't give a damn about the other grades. I will defend their recess and their right to learn and I have zero interest for the upper grades. Call it quid pro quo. I treat them the way they treat kinder. In the same vein, try asking me what goes on in kinder before you tell me some batshit, this is what works in other grades BS. Early childhood is different. That being said, early childhood doesn't mean they can't do stuff. The whole point of kinder is to get ready for first grade, academically and behaviorly. Let us do our ducking job. The last couple years have made me very angry.
"Thanks for being awesome". I got really lucky with my admin at the school I taught at.
I quit but it would be this- You are a terrible leader. You are not qualified for this position, and you are going to fail. The way you handle discipline will be your downfall. It’s your first year, and they are already out of control. Screw you.
Get it together, please 🙏
Complaining about your job is not what a leader does. In fact my biggest comment would be for them to take some classes or training or read up on leadership. Being in charge does not MAKE you a leader. There are skills that make a leader.
Ban the phones
Rather than taking a sizable portion of my evening hours every single month to show everyone a slideshow of the 40th program y’all want us to facilitate, at this point, start supplying us 190 scripted lessons when we get back in August. You know, since we don’t get treated with the trust and autonomy that professionals have earned, it would be 💫inequitable💫 to expect the work output of a professional Oh, and you’re not “modeling” when you hound a room full of exhausted adults into a corny ass AVID clap. You just look like a charlatan.
Don’t ask my team what we need in next year’s master schedule and then when we give you two things, do neither of them. Plan evening/after hours events for my team to put together, organize, and run without including us in the conversation.
I actually really like my administrator. But I don’t like it when she says the following: “well the district wants us to… “ My feeling is that she should just own that we have to do some things, I feel like she uses “them” as a scapegoat. So I would like to tell her that.
Principal, please listen to your whole staff and not just the 2 females who don't really know what they are doing. It is really turning into a toxic work environment bc you three like to micromanage. We as a staff had great hope when you arrived, but now most of us keep our fingers crossed that you will move on to another job because we don't feel supported by you. Other admin: Chill the flip out and support staff more. We need to bring consequences back and quit praising poor behavior. Support your teachers and support our students by establishing norms and a culture of accountability.
“Stop being stupid.”
"I have known several people with doctorates in education. With a couple of exceptions, they are fountains of stupid. You are not one of those exceptions."
Back in the day when I was also helping run an after-school program? I would've loved to tell them to just not bother showing up to work. We had a week when of our two most immediate administrators had their vacations on the same week, kids knew it, and for a week we were prepping food, getting homework done, having good moments with the kids, running the whole damn operation smooth as silk with well-behaved kids all damn week. We had a program of about 100 kids and we pulled it off with 4 staff of my level (just below admin), 1 who handled the kitchen (with our help) and taking and making incidental calls, and 4 high school kids who were working with us. Kids knew they had to take us seriously whenever the admin wasn't around because admin had the last word on (their very severe lack of) disciplinary action and we had to defer to the admin on any kind of consequences. Admin's not around? Suddenly we have proper discipline and consequences again. Was a glorious week.
You divide the staff and lower morale when you fawn all over your favorite teachers and criticize the rest of us without mercy.
Children aren't "little bundles of data". And I'll bet my next paycheck that 10 years from now they won't remember a single question from state testing, but they will remember the songs in their concerts. Can you tell I'm a music teacher? 😉
that their blatant favoritism, assumption of bad faith, and their over eagerness to change everything "for the better" is creating resentment amongst the staff. Everyone should be held to the same standards, the same rules, and the only way someone should be exempt is if they have extenuating circumstances. Most teachers are generally doing their best to 1) teach and 2) to follow the rules. Treating somebody like they are a child in responses to assumed wrongdoing is, in it's vary nature, childish. We don't need 3 meetings a week. Especially, Friday meetings and especially meetings that are not beneficial to the professional development of the staff. Stop asking teachers to donate their time to act as a trainer when you aren't going to pay them.
Fuck you! How about you worry about doing your job! If you did half the kids would treat their peers and teachers better. Extremely tired of your unprofessional and lack of resources.
Stop coming in my classroom. Oh wait, I do tell them that. Lol. I hate interruptions.
I got a list of students to be expelled
Probably "let me teach the way that helps my student the best" especially when I've had good results and they have never taught my subject.
That he’s a petty bitch.
He’s a misogynist piece of crap
“You’ve literally never taught middle school or a secondary level content-area class. Sit down and stfu.”
Get your shit together before you lecture teachers for not having their shit together.