Reply to Alternatives to the admin breakfast at the start of pre-service?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I can't stand it. Ours is a dog and pony show because our principal invites central office bigwigs to attend and they all stand up and give corny speeches and profusely thank our principal for inviting them. There is a lot of food, but I can't eat any of it due to having food allergies (nor would I want to--everything is prepared by the principal and their family and the prep is questionable). Then our principal taps out after the "show" because they're exhausted from cooking all weekend and getting to school extra early to set it all up, and we have to hear about it all week.  We're also expected to thank the principal profusely for their generosity. We have to sit for hours on the backless cafeteria table benches and twist our necks to see the person who is speaking up front. We can't talk to each other because we have to listen to endless speeches from central office wonks about the excitement of a new school year.

All we want is to be left alone in our rooms to start setting up. The last thing I want to do is sit in the hot cafeteria for hours watching the time go by. [/quote]

Where is your PTA in all of this?! I'm a member of the PTA, and last week we pulled off the breakfast. Of course the principal shouldn't be making/buying/bringing this herself! I am shocked that this isn't a PTA affair. [/quote]

We have a very small PTA with a very small budget. I work at a high FARMS school. Not all schools have involved PTAs with big budgets. [/quote]

It doesn't take a big budget. It takes a Sign-Up Genius. Everything, from the Chick-fil-A breakfast trays to the fruit to the cookies to the bagels, were provided by individual families via the Sign-Up Genius. It takes organization and delegation, not money. Even the coffee carts were brought in as donations. [/quote]

Yes but at a high FARMS families may not be able to afford coffee for all the teachers or donuts for all the teachers. Or they might not have enough parents willing to get involved.[/quote]

Well then, to be honest...what do you expect? You expect one principal with maybe 2-3 other volunteers are going to be able to pull this off really well? A very few people are making a big effort for a huge group of people. So it's not perfect; it's a gesture.

It's a gesture, not a guarantee that each and every belly will be perfectly full of perfect food at a perfect time.

Smart people can read a room and make the best of it; the next year, with lived experience under they belt, they make a plan. Eat a little something at home, bring your own coffee in a travel mug, and have a granola bar and a cheese stick in your purse. That way, you get to participate and appreciate the gesture, but you'll be caffenated and don't run the risk of going hungry.[/quote]

I'm saying that I don't appreciate the gesture. Mostly because it's completely self-serving of the principal because her number one priority is to impress central office staff, not to show appreciation to the staff. The staff are just the pawns in the game. Sure, some people actually like the food but most just give polite compliments.  As someone with food allergies, I'm used to not being able to eat the food provided, and of course I plan ahead and do that every year. I also don't appreciate having hours of precious set up/planning time taken up by this self-serving event. I'd be a lot happier if it was optional, or if it was strictly for catching up with co workers. But sitting in silence on cafeteria benches listening to endless speeches doesn't start the year off on a good note for me. [/quote]

What suggestions have you offered to the admin team, and how were those suggestions received? (Or is this thread your first step toward garnering ideas and making some suggestions?)[/quote]

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