I can’t say it to Principal Pretty, so I’ll say it here.
I passed out the stupid shirts. Once again I am disappointed by the lack of follow-through on school rules and student behavior. I am tired of being the bad guy for expecting my students to behave in an appropriate manner. The kids do NOT deserve the shirts. I had two boys get in trouble for the same thing at recess two days in a row, so I told the monitor to take them to the office. They were back, laughing, within ten minutes. Do you really think that is okay? Do you really think kids deserve the ticket for walking in the hall even though we practiced for three days and they couldn’t do it, and after five weeks they still can’t? I gave them the fucking shirts, but what message does that send? The rules are a joke – which we adults already know!!! And you’re gonna tell me those two boys know how to keep their hands and feet to themselves at recess? Well, I guess if you say so…
Popular Science Guy agreed to keep the guinea pigs for one week for you. That was all your doing; they already had a place to live. I am still disappointed and disgusted by the sneaky, underhanded way it all went down. You and Mrs. Asthmatic snuck into my room, even though I was in the building, to look at the guinea pigs and decide they had to go. You had already talked to the mother AND Popular Science Guy before you said a single word about it to me, as evidenced by you already having a place for them to go for the day AND two students to carry the cage when you decided to let me know AT 9:15!!! Fifteen minutes before an Administrative walk-through that YOU had been freaking out about!!!
You really need to work on your timing. Like when you came to reprimand me for 15 minutes in the middle of reading groups so that the kids start yelling and running around because they have no directions but YOU need to see me in the hall. Was this really the best use of instructional time? Which begs the question, is this a school or what? No wonder you sided with the aide who complained that a kindergarten teacher “treats her like dirt” because the K teacher doesn’t want to CHIT CHAT in the middle of class! [And when Pretty confronted the K teacher - with only half the story, of course! - the teacher's blood pressure went through the roof and she ended up leaving school with chest pains. She's been in the hospital for a week.] This school becomes less and less academic every year, and it is disgraceful. The first time you met me, you made a joke about how I teach until the last day; shame on any teacher who doesn’t!
Take this “good behavior” movie tomorrow – do we really have two hours for kids to sit around and watch some Disney crap? What about math! I’m supposed to give a quiz tomorrow, and the unit test is next week. But, oh, wait, I’ll lose another math class on Wednesday for the Phillies pep rally. Yeah, I’m glad they made it to the World Series again, but this is a SCHOOL, not summer camp!
But I guess that’s why I call you “Principal Pretty”, because you’re just here for the fun stuff. You do finally do RtI right (though not the best use of your people) but still have nothing to offer to get kids to pass the PSSA. A principal is supposed to be the instructional leader of the school. The only thing you’ve taught me is how to fake your busy-work lesson plan template. (Because you have no time to read through real lesson plans – or do you not understand them, Typing Teacher?)
You encourage a “tattle-tale” culture by allowing parents to go to you with concerns instead of referring them back to the teacher. Then you go off half-cocked with only half the information and start making accusations. But then, you make only half an accusation, and we are supposed to guess what we did a la Love & Logic. I almost didn’t know what to do this morning when a parent came in to complain that my use of Lysol on Friday gave the girl “asthma” all weekend. (Well, actually, it was the girl’s aunt, so I guess her hospital-ridden mother didn’t give her the DL on who to talk to.) You’re not my mother, or my teacher, or my sorority Big Sis – you’re my boss, so act like it.
Just let me do my job. That’s what you pay me the big bucks for. Stop micro-managing me and let me TEACH.
Maybe it’s time to start looking for another school? From my own personal experience, crappy principals don’t get better, they only get worse.
And it’s really hard to work under someone when you have NO respect for them. (Not meant negatively towards you, just meaning that your principal sounds so crappy, how COULD you respect her?)
That’s what I told Fashionista this morning! My lesson plans greeted me in my mailbox with a note from Pretty about “adding page numbers in the future.” I was steaming all over again. (Her lesson plan “snapshot” is nothing but busy work.) As soon as F came in my room she said, “What’s wrong??” and I showed her the note. I tried not to bitch too much, because I feel like that’s all I do anymore, and she said, “You two just don’t gel.” I said, “Yeah… Well I don’t respect her.” She made her “mmmm, absolutely!” face. It’s hard to respect someone who lies, or who lets kids get away with murder.
Principal Friend also suggested finding a different school. (I said I need a new career, and she said NO!
) but as aggravating as Pretty is, I’ll take the devil I know over the other devils I’ve heard about. I’ll take this garbage over being written up for being one minute late. (Seriously – almost all of the other schools remove the book from the desk the minute you are supposed to be there, so either you can’t sign in or you have to go into the Principal’s Office and ask for the book.) And after five years I am stuck here or else I’d have to take a huge pay cut – no one gives credit for previous years teaching.
I’m just gonna stay out of her way. I’m not doing anything extra, not going to stop by her office to ask questions and end up chit-chatting, nothing. And I need to decide if I’m resigning from the Leadership Team.
[...] Several friends advised me not to say anything to Principal Pretty, and I didn’t. I’m sort of glad I listened to them [...]
You deserve more. This is ridiculous. I’m so sorry.
I wonder if I’m reading too much into it. I was raging, while she was la-di-da laughing. I will have to post the letter she wrote to me. Maybe it just pushed a button, because the whole thing was not a big deal to her while I was freaking out. But it’s also just one example of many! That’s what she’s not getting.
[...] he found a book from 4th grade because he was cleaning out his closet) because Pretty gave me an ultimatum. So my vengeful, evil side is coming [...]