Saturday, February 07, 2009

You Were Wrong


Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am not a defender or a fan of "Suits." Once the word "administrator" is in their title, my radar is up, looking for the problems and stress they are bound cause.


To all you teachers who were late to staff development and got a letter:


Tough! You were wrong! Whether you like staff development or not, whether you think it is a waste of time or not, you have to be there and you have to be there on time. If you got a letter for being late or not there at all, too bad about it. You are getting paid to be there. You were wrong. Suck it up, admit you were wrong and vow to be on time from now on. No one letter is going to adversely affect your career.

And, don't whine about the starting time being e-mailed to you. It was your obligation to know what time to report on Monday before you left on Friday.

Even with my big mouth, I have never gotten one of these letters. I've avoided them by following the rules, even the stupid ones. If the admin is looking to get you, following the rules doesn't matter, but why supply a extra ammunition? Why do anything to help them do their jobs? Is the extra hour of sleep really worth it?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Letters for single instance of lateness are a sign of a 'gotcha' mentality. Poor leaders love playing 'gotcha'. It is so much easier than inspiring.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you, suck it up. You did something wrong, you got a letter, and then life goes on. Any excuse that blames time is irritating. I once had a boss that said, "If you really wanted to be on time, you would."

Pissedoffteacher said...

Sorry, I don't think it is gotcha and I am always looking at everything admin does as a gotcha. People take advantage. I know teachers that don't bother showing up on these days and look for others to sign them in. One always makes doctors appointments that day and then cries when she is caught.

I would rather have an administration that writes letters for real things, things that can be prevented than for things that the teacher has no control over.

This letter was no big deal, no consequences involved.

Ms. Tsouris said...

It's administration showing the teachers "who's boss". You can't be too arrogant about your status, and you can't take anything for granted. These letters were reminders that we are no more than underlings and we better remember that.

Pissedoffteacher said...

I hate to admit it, but they are the boss. I still say that if people didn't take advantage, these things would not happen. I'm also willing to bet that a) most people will not be late again and b) that nothing will become of these letters.

FidgetyTeach said...

Your best line was,"If the admin is looking to get you, following the rules doesn't matter."
Doesn't matter what u do when they are out to get you.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you on this one. I think it's funny to see teachers complain about other teachers and how easy they have it when they themselves get looked over for their own indiscretions. The whole idea that some teachers are above the law are the reason why people consider us unprofessional as well. Yikes.