admin rant

I think the new name for administrators should be fun-killers. It's as though they are so concerned with covering their asses by dotting every i and crossing every t that they forget about the reason we are there: the kids. Today I let a student have a birthday party in my room during Friday free time and --because the student had a list of people she wanted to be there- this administrator took that as meaning it was an "exclusive party." She told me it was unacceptable, because we're trying to create "a welcoming environment." If you knew this person, you would understand why this is so ironic. She is one of the most hard-nosed, cold, non-caring, non-compassionate, non-empathetic people I have ever met. Until recently, she didn't say "good morning" back to her staff who said good morning to her. She only started responding when someone told her that replying to the people who work for her --who give their heart and soul to the students at her school for about half her salary- would be a nice gesture. Have any of us ever gotten a "great job" or a "keep up the good work..." Not that I've seen. Way to create a welcoming environment for the staff, seriously. A content batch of teachers makes for better teaching. We're not asking for diamonds and pearls. Maybe a note in our mailbox every once in awhile letting us know if we're doing a good job or if we've improved. It's not rocket science. So what am I going to do? I'm going to actually make the encouraging notes for her and suggest she use them. Stay tuned...