May 25th - Why Do Other Teachers...

...just add to the problem?

5th grade teacher drops her kids off and says "Kathy says 9AM for the picture".

????

Oh, yeah, we decided that we're taking a big school picture for for the principal, who is moving to anther school next year. By the new sign this morning, she says. A memo went out this week. Related Arts didn't get it, of course (cause we wouldn't be involved?). I had 4 kids absent from this class which is woefully behind in their compositions. So we're going outside instead. Joy.

I take them out at 9. By 9:05 the rest of the school has filtered out and we're all standing around. Teachers are bitching "this is so disorganized." (yes it is) "I didn't even know we were doing this" (me neither) "This is ridiculous!" (yes it is).

Finally some PTA mom drives her sparkly little Range Rover up and with a tiny digital camera, she starts to figure out the shot. I ask if she's our photographer and she says yes. (Wow, THAT pic is going to come out SO well!) She thinks it would look 'neat' if we all sat in front of the new school sign. 300 kids and 20 teachers are going to sit in front of the 5-foot sign? Ok..

I am sick of the teachers bitching and argravated about missing my students' class time, and I didn't have time to shave my legs this morning and my stubble is showing clearly in the morning sun. So I take charge. I move the classes around. You guys sit here, you guys stand there, move here please, yadda yadda. Lots of yelling, lots of hand clapping to get them to echo to get them to pay a split second of attention before they start playing paper-rock-scissors again. Some teachers help, some teachers bitch at me because they were already told to go sit somewhere else. Wah. My related arts collegues look particularly pissed, and are probably wondering why I'm bothering. What, I'm supposed to just let everybody sit here in the sun while my 5th grade lesson for the end of the year goes up in smoke?

We get everybody seated, I get the teachers to stand along side, the picture is taken, and we go in. Took 15 minutes (which when you think about it, isn't bad at all. But I flatter myself to think that it would have taken LOTS longer w/o yours truly stepping up.)

My question is this: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE TEACHERS?

One thing goes off schedule, one thing isn't planned the way they think it should be, and all of the sudden they "can't believe how disorganized this school is". Nobody takes control, nobody sees the problem and tries to fix it. They just stand around and bitch. Lovely example. WHAT. THE. HELL.

Am I still young and stupid or something that I actually care if my unit gets done? Is this still new-teacher enthusiasm, that I up and take charge?
I'm sure a few 'vet' (i.e. burned-out) teachers were annoyed that a barely tenured twenty-something was telling them what do to.

Again, I say: Wah.