Hello Ron,
On 11 Jan. 98  22:42 Ron Mcdermott wrote to Craig Schroeder...
 CS>School was cancelled for reasons of weather (good idea with
 CS>the icy roads).  Virtually every worker in every profession of
 CS>every industry was expected to be at work in our region.
 RM> While this time might well be used for SOMETHING,
 RM> the idea that one can simply throw together a
 RM> meaningful inservice on the spur of the moment
 RM> is pretty far-fetched.  The "business" of
 RM> education is teaching; when someone goes to work
 RM> on a snowy day, the primary function of their
 RM> job goes on; when a teacher goes to work and the
 RM> kids are not there, the primary function is
 RM> impossible... It seems petty to simply want the
 RM> teachers to show up if there's really nothing
 RM> that needs doing... Otoh, from a PR position,
 RM> it would make sense... Btw, a number of staff DO
 RM> show up at my high school to run off papers,
 RM> etc...
This is exactly the sort of paradigm that I am saying needs to be
broken.  You are thinking of yourself as "herdsman" instead of
a teaching professional.  Creative administrators could have
very meaningful projects in process (group dynamics, curriculum
follow-ups, group/individual prep time).  Your "business" of
teaching might very well be better enhanced by a day of
professional improvement than one more hour of access to the
students.
I understand your resistance to chancing that time
to another wasted, poorly planned inservice.  If your
administration and staff improvement committees are weak, it
becomes your duty as a professional to change those things.  I
suppose that over the years with battles between unions and
desperate, short-sighted school boards that an attitude of
following the arbitrated contract would tend to take
precedence over other issues or at least cloud them.
Your reference to public relations is sooo true.  If educators
truly understood the simmering resentment toward school
districts, they would be much more conscious of the issue.
Most of the general public's access to school is via the
athletic dept!  This is the segment of society that is least
probable in supporting a classroom building expansion
referendum (unless a new gymnasium is rolled into the deal).
In my small town (class size about 250), the average teacher,
with benefits is budgeted at $48,400.  The median household income
for the city is $23,500 and for the surrounding township about
$37,000.  Do you think this is a setup for resentment?
Somehow, the average voter/taxpayer needs to be given a stake
in the schools.  They'll say "no" every time unless this is
changed.  The typical school employee doesn't have a clue
about how deep this resentment runs and questions "the
clueless public" when a referendum fails.
Regards,
-=Craig=-
craigclu@bigfoot.com
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