Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feel free to blame your Republican governor for this! Elon Musk is not American and did not grow up in the US and has absolutely ZERO experience with the US educational system. He seems to think the USDOE runs things, but no ladies, it is mostly done at the state and local level.

Wait you think Youngkin did this? VDOE is not setting the number of admin in FCPS schools and at Gatehouse. You could maybe argue that some of the burden admin are supposed to be picking up (the measurment and data collection) comes from VDOE, I guess? But really, this was accelerating long before 2021.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feel free to blame your Republican governor for this! Elon Musk is not American and did not grow up in the US and has absolutely ZERO experience with the US educational system. He seems to think the USDOE runs things, but no ladies, it is mostly done at the state and local level.

Wait you think Youngkin did this? VDOE is not setting the number of admin in FCPS schools and at Gatehouse. You could maybe argue that some of the burden admin are supposed to be picking up (the measurment and data collection) comes from VDOE, I guess? But really, this was accelerating long before 2021.

Anonymous wrote:Feel free to blame your Republican governor for this! Elon Musk is not American and did not grow up in the US and has absolutely ZERO experience with the US educational system. He seems to think the USDOE runs things, but no ladies, it is mostly done at the state and local level.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know I love graphs that don't cite their source and have unreadable labels!

Don’t take me long to find info:

https://oakmn.org/the-growth-in-school-administration-is-a-major-reason-why-we-need-school-choice/#:~:text=Instead%2C%20the%20growth%20in%20the,staff%20growing%20a%20whopping%2088%25!

Of course, it's the school choice MFers...

Er, your vulgar language aside, I assume you are referring to proponents of vouchers when you wrote “school choice” ?

Not sure that issue is at all relevant here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

At my current school, there are too many admin, and each of them is scurrying to show that their post is relevant. In my school, high school teachers share a common calendar and work together to ensure that students don't have major assessments on the same day or near the same day when possible. None of the members of our bloated admin staff have the same consideration for teachers as they all rush to create new "initiatives" and processes and meetings.

This right here. My small Title I ES has 2 admin and 4 nebulous facilitators who do not work with students and are instead supposed to be supporting teachers in improving their practice. What it really means is those 6 people spend an awful lot of time making tasks for us to do in meeting after meeting without ever working with students or in a classroom so they can see just how desperately our kids need more effective help. Their suggestions are great in theory but not in practice and most of them do not have proven experience improving a school like ours. My “planning time” is spent doing tasks they make them look and feel good without actually helping accelerate the growth of my students who are YEARS below grade level.

+1000

And these are the people who are in charge of "assessing" teachers.

20 years ago, I had so much more time to actually read and produce meaningful feedback on my high school English students' writing. All that planning time has been jerked away from me, to the point that it now takes me weeks to get papers back, and my feedback is often rushed and not as useful. Admin don't care! They are happy that I am attending so many meetings, and that I am doing so many stupid tasks that have nothing to do with actually teaching or planning or grading, because they don't understand what teaching actually entails.

I am the one who mentioned the stupid Monday morning before-school meeting about "team building" for teachers. Let me tell you what this meeting entails. Last Monday, I arrived early before school and hurried to the designated meeting room. First we stood around a big table heaped with Christmas cookies and grapes for ten minutes; everyone was to tired and annoyed to actually eat anything. Some of us chatted about all the things we had to do that we wished we were allowed to actually do instead of this. Then, we were put into pairs and given some strips of paper to draw and read at our partner. Mine directed me to ask my partner, a teacher I work with every day, what her favorite song is and why. Then she asked me what color I would be if I were a color, and why. Then a pointless, cheery pep talk from an admin about how we are all rockstars and he knows it will be a busy week but we can do it! Then we all rushed, stressed and thinking about the long week ahead, to our classrooms for homeroom.

Oh, and to add to my previous comment, the admin who orchestrates these stupid meetings and iniatives has no student contect himself, and has a much higher salary than any teacher.

Do you know what would be a better use of that money going to retaining a person for such a role? Hiring one or two additional teachers to work with students.

+100

I’ve commented before to colleagues that I hate being treated like a child. Your example of paper strips is right up there with starting every meeting we have with an SEL prompt. I’m an adult. I’m at my job. I don’t need SEL support. I don’t come to work to deal with my personal feelings or problems. I just want to do my actual job.

**THIS** is the problem with education. It's run as if everyone in the building is a fragile child. Bring back professionalism to education.

Anonymous wrote:I’m not in teaching at all and even I can see that a far better use of money would be firing half the supervisors and administrators and hiring more teachers and teaching assistants for the classrooms. We should lobby our representatives for that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

At my current school, there are too many admin, and each of them is scurrying to show that their post is relevant. In my school, high school teachers share a common calendar and work together to ensure that students don't have major assessments on the same day or near the same day when possible. None of the members of our bloated admin staff have the same consideration for teachers as they all rush to create new "initiatives" and processes and meetings.

This right here. My small Title I ES has 2 admin and 4 nebulous facilitators who do not work with students and are instead supposed to be supporting teachers in improving their practice. What it really means is those 6 people spend an awful lot of time making tasks for us to do in meeting after meeting without ever working with students or in a classroom so they can see just how desperately our kids need more effective help. Their suggestions are great in theory but not in practice and most of them do not have proven experience improving a school like ours. My “planning time” is spent doing tasks they make them look and feel good without actually helping accelerate the growth of my students who are YEARS below grade level.

+1000

And these are the people who are in charge of "assessing" teachers.

20 years ago, I had so much more time to actually read and produce meaningful feedback on my high school English students' writing. All that planning time has been jerked away from me, to the point that it now takes me weeks to get papers back, and my feedback is often rushed and not as useful. Admin don't care! They are happy that I am attending so many meetings, and that I am doing so many stupid tasks that have nothing to do with actually teaching or planning or grading, because they don't understand what teaching actually entails.

I am the one who mentioned the stupid Monday morning before-school meeting about "team building" for teachers. Let me tell you what this meeting entails. Last Monday, I arrived early before school and hurried to the designated meeting room. First we stood around a big table heaped with Christmas cookies and grapes for ten minutes; everyone was to tired and annoyed to actually eat anything. Some of us chatted about all the things we had to do that we wished we were allowed to actually do instead of this. Then, we were put into pairs and given some strips of paper to draw and read at our partner. Mine directed me to ask my partner, a teacher I work with every day, what her favorite song is and why. Then she asked me what color I would be if I were a color, and why. Then a pointless, cheery pep talk from an admin about how we are all rockstars and he knows it will be a busy week but we can do it! Then we all rushed, stressed and thinking about the long week ahead, to our classrooms for homeroom.

Oh, and to add to my previous comment, the admin who orchestrates these stupid meetings and iniatives has no student contect himself, and has a much higher salary than any teacher.

Do you know what would be a better use of that money going to retaining a person for such a role? Hiring one or two additional teachers to work with students.

+100

I’ve commented before to colleagues that I hate being treated like a child. Your example of paper strips is right up there with starting every meeting we have with an SEL prompt. I’m an adult. I’m at my job. I don’t need SEL support. I don’t come to work to deal with my personal feelings or problems. I just want to do my actual job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

At my current school, there are too many admin, and each of them is scurrying to show that their post is relevant. In my school, high school teachers share a common calendar and work together to ensure that students don't have major assessments on the same day or near the same day when possible. None of the members of our bloated admin staff have the same consideration for teachers as they all rush to create new "initiatives" and processes and meetings.

This right here. My small Title I ES has 2 admin and 4 nebulous facilitators who do not work with students and are instead supposed to be supporting teachers in improving their practice. What it really means is those 6 people spend an awful lot of time making tasks for us to do in meeting after meeting without ever working with students or in a classroom so they can see just how desperately our kids need more effective help. Their suggestions are great in theory but not in practice and most of them do not have proven experience improving a school like ours. My “planning time” is spent doing tasks they make them look and feel good without actually helping accelerate the growth of my students who are YEARS below grade level.

+1000

And these are the people who are in charge of "assessing" teachers.

20 years ago, I had so much more time to actually read and produce meaningful feedback on my high school English students' writing. All that planning time has been jerked away from me, to the point that it now takes me weeks to get papers back, and my feedback is often rushed and not as useful. Admin don't care! They are happy that I am attending so many meetings, and that I am doing so many stupid tasks that have nothing to do with actually teaching or planning or grading, because they don't understand what teaching actually entails.

I am the one who mentioned the stupid Monday morning before-school meeting about "team building" for teachers. Let me tell you what this meeting entails. Last Monday, I arrived early before school and hurried to the designated meeting room. First we stood around a big table heaped with Christmas cookies and grapes for ten minutes; everyone was to tired and annoyed to actually eat anything. Some of us chatted about all the things we had to do that we wished we were allowed to actually do instead of this. Then, we were put into pairs and given some strips of paper to draw and read at our partner. Mine directed me to ask my partner, a teacher I work with every day, what her favorite song is and why. Then she asked me what color I would be if I were a color, and why. Then a pointless, cheery pep talk from an admin about how we are all rockstars and he knows it will be a busy week but we can do it! Then we all rushed, stressed and thinking about the long week ahead, to our classrooms for homeroom.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

At my current school, there are too many admin, and each of them is scurrying to show that their post is relevant. In my school, high school teachers share a common calendar and work together to ensure that students don't have major assessments on the same day or near the same day when possible. None of the members of our bloated admin staff have the same consideration for teachers as they all rush to create new "initiatives" and processes and meetings.

This right here. My small Title I ES has 2 admin and 4 nebulous facilitators who do not work with students and are instead supposed to be supporting teachers in improving their practice. What it really means is those 6 people spend an awful lot of time making tasks for us to do in meeting after meeting without ever working with students or in a classroom so they can see just how desperately our kids need more effective help. Their suggestions are great in theory but not in practice and most of them do not have proven experience improving a school like ours. My “planning time” is spent doing tasks they make them look and feel good without actually helping accelerate the growth of my students who are YEARS below grade level.

+1000

And these are the people who are in charge of "assessing" teachers.

20 years ago, I had so much more time to actually read and produce meaningful feedback on my high school English students' writing. All that planning time has been jerked away from me, to the point that it now takes me weeks to get papers back, and my feedback is often rushed and not as useful. Admin don't care! They are happy that I am attending so many meetings, and that I am doing so many stupid tasks that have nothing to do with actually teaching or planning or grading, because they don't understand what teaching actually entails.

I am the one who mentioned the stupid Monday morning before-school meeting about "team building" for teachers. Let me tell you what this meeting entails. Last Monday, I arrived early before school and hurried to the designated meeting room. First we stood around a big table heaped with Christmas cookies and grapes for ten minutes; everyone was to tired and annoyed to actually eat anything. Some of us chatted about all the things we had to do that we wished we were allowed to actually do instead of this. Then, we were put into pairs and given some strips of paper to draw and read at our partner. Mine directed me to ask my partner, a teacher I work with every day, what her favorite song is and why. Then she asked me what color I would be if I were a color, and why. Then a pointless, cheery pep talk from an admin about how we are all rockstars and he knows it will be a busy week but we can do it! Then we all rushed, stressed and thinking about the long week ahead, to our classrooms for homeroom.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

At my current school, there are too many admin, and each of them is scurrying to show that their post is relevant. In my school, high school teachers share a common calendar and work together to ensure that students don't have major assessments on the same day or near the same day when possible. None of the members of our bloated admin staff have the same consideration for teachers as they all rush to create new "initiatives" and processes and meetings.

This right here. My small Title I ES has 2 admin and 4 nebulous facilitators who do not work with students and are instead supposed to be supporting teachers in improving their practice. What it really means is those 6 people spend an awful lot of time making tasks for us to do in meeting after meeting without ever working with students or in a classroom so they can see just how desperately our kids need more effective help. Their suggestions are great in theory but not in practice and most of them do not have proven experience improving a school like ours. My “planning time” is spent doing tasks they make them look and feel good without actually helping accelerate the growth of my students who are YEARS below grade level.

+1000

And these are the people who are in charge of "assessing" teachers.

20 years ago, I had so much more time to actually read and produce meaningful feedback on my high school English students' writing. All that planning time has been jerked away from me, to the point that it now takes me weeks to get papers back, and my feedback is often rushed and not as useful. Admin don't care! They are happy that I am attending so many meetings, and that I am doing so many stupid tasks that have nothing to do with actually teaching or planning or grading, because they don't understand what teaching actually entails.

I am the one who mentioned the stupid Monday morning before-school meeting about "team building" for teachers. Let me tell you what this meeting entails. Last Monday, I arrived early before school and hurried to the designated meeting room. First we stood around a big table heaped with Christmas cookies and grapes for ten minutes; everyone was to tired and annoyed to actually eat anything. Some of us chatted about all the things we had to do that we wished we were allowed to actually do instead of this. Then, we were put into pairs and given some strips of paper to draw and read at our partner. Mine directed me to ask my partner, a teacher I work with every day, what her favorite song is and why. Then she asked me what color I would be if I were a color, and why. Then a pointless, cheery pep talk from an admin about how we are all rockstars and he knows it will be a busy week but we can do it! Then we all rushed, stressed and thinking about the long week ahead, to our classrooms for homeroom.

Oh, and to add to my previous comment, the admin who orchestrates these stupid meetings and iniatives has no student contect himself, and has a much higher salary than any teacher.

Do you know what would be a better use of that money going to retaining a person for such a role? Hiring one or two additional teachers to work with students.