Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Some of them are pretty incompetent too. I have worked for many administrators who look at a discipline problem as the "poor little victim of poor classroom management." Discipline problems are then kept in the classroom so the teacher is then forced to deal with that one little discipline problem instead of devoting time to the kids are there to learn. Maybe getting rid of bad adminstrators would be a start to fixing the public school system.
My school has pretty much gotten rid of our air conditioning system. Those that are affected are teachers and students. The administrator is up there in their cushy, cool office. My superintendent is even allowed to keep a refridgerator in his office filled with snacks and soda that the district pays for.
They need to use some of that money to fix up some of these schools. I had a co-worker who lives down the street from her kids highschool and she said they come home to use the bathrooms because they are in such poor condition that they should be condemned. The water fountains are unuseable. When it rains some of the classrooms cannot be used because of multilple leaks in the roof. Its a shame how can kids learn under these circumstances.
I guess that's why some schools make it so difficult for parents to visit their child while at school. I wanted to apply for a building maintenance position in our local school district. First, there are only a few building maintenance people for the entire parish school system instead of one per school. Second, their workload is so great that all they can do is try to keep up with the most important repairs and hope housekeeping staff can do the small stuff (change lights and keep AC filters clean). Third, any problem with the school board offices are instant top priority. Fourth, forget funding unless the local TV news does a segment on the condition of a particular school cause then that school will be top priority and even then not everything will be fixed,...only enough to show for the cameras. School maintenance workers (not the engineers) know what needs to be done and at a cost effective manner that would save the school system a lot of money in the long run. Engineers (many of whom never touched a wrench in their life) look at big expensive ideas that will cost a lot of money in upkeep and technician callouts since they're the only ones with the software codes to make corrections and changes to the system.
The following are things schools should do if they aren't done already
1. Computer control HVAC system. This would allow for the maintenance people to set minimum and maximum thermostat settings and allow the staff control of the thermostat. Settings could be minimum 68 and maximum 75 an hour before staff begins to arrive. An hour after staff is suppose to leave the building the settings would change to 65 for the heating to kick on and 78 for the AC to kick on. This would keep the building air running at a reduced capacity and run less when it's time for school to open. The evening settings would also be the weekend and holiday settings.
2. Install UV lights in the ventilation system. This would help to prevent the spread of viruses.
3. Hire mechanics to do low level maintenance checks like AC filters, belts, and vent duct cleaning on a regular basis
4. Set the interior lights on an occupancy sensor.
5. Set all water heaters to 115 to 120,...no more, no less.
6. If the school has an elevator, get a service contract with an elevator service company. This could lower insurance rates and provide better repair technicians for when it breaks down.
7. Set up a computer based maintenance request system that all faculty can access to report problems to the school system's maintenance dept. This would provide an electronic and paper notification of the date, time, location, and person of contact to maintenance. Maintenance can't fix a problem if they don't know there is a problem.
8. Contract out the photo copy machines. Sometimes I do miss the memeograph (sp?) paper. Loved that smell. I hope public schools keep that as a backup for when, not if, the photo copier breaks down.
9. Don't call maintenance to fix your computer. Your wasting our time when you do this. And don't call us to fix your car,...we aren't your personal auto mechanic.
Some of them are pretty incompetent too. I have worked for many administrators who look at a discipline problem as the "poor little victim of poor classroom management." Discipline problems are then kept in the classroom so the teacher is then forced to deal with that one little discipline problem instead of devoting time to the kids are there to learn. Maybe getting rid of bad adminstrators would be a start to fixing the public school system.
My school has pretty much gotten rid of our air conditioning system. Those that are affected are teachers and students. The administrator is up there in their cushy, cool office. My superintendent is even allowed to keep a refridgerator in his office filled with snacks and soda that the district pays for.
Hmmmm sounds like you have some issues. They seem fine. Perhaps you might want to internalize.
Soldiers die in battle while their commanders sit in war rooms giving orders.
CEOs make millions while they lay off their underlings and the company goes bankrupt.
It's the way it is. Change? Reform? Sure, just like NCLB... That worked wonders.
Excellent observation.
I have often wondered the same thing re: budget cuts.
Administrators make much more money than anyone else at the school. This is valid if their job entails more responsibility or more work, which it doesn't if they are giving the responsibility of discipline to teachers and blaming poor classroom management to justify their refusal to handle discipline issues.
I have found that when administrators do this they are, in essence, "passing the buck"--they simply do not want to deal with discipline issues, especially b/c disciplining can become very political (i.e. when parents get involved) and can jeopardize the administrators' jobs. So they give even more responsibility to the person who is making far less money in order to avoid the liability. And they usually get backed up by the disctrict who views teachers as more expendable (i.e. it's much easier to replace a teacher than it is an administrator.)
So I totally agree with the initial post,as well as the observation re: leaders and subordinates. If you are getting paid more, your responsibility/liability should be greater to justify your pay. There is a definite lack of leadership--not just in education but in all fields--in this country b/c the priority is to look out for yourself and protect your job rather than to be the noble captain who saves everyone else and goes down with the ship.
I have often wondered the same thing re: budget cuts.
Administrators make much more money than anyone else at the school. This is valid if their job entails more responsibility or more work, which it doesn't if they are giving the responsibility of discipline to teachers and blaming poor classroom management to justify their refusal to handle discipline issues.
I have found that when administrators do this they are, in essence, "passing the buck"--they simply do not want to deal with discipline issues, especially b/c disciplining can become very political (i.e. when parents get involved) and can jeopardize the administrators' jobs. So they give even more responsibility to the person who is making far less money in order to avoid the liability. And they usually get backed up by the disctrict who views teachers as more expendable (i.e. it's much easier to replace a teacher than it is an administrator.)
So I totally agree with the initial post,as well as the observation re: leaders and subordinates. If you are getting paid more, your responsibility/liability should be greater to justify your pay. There is a definite lack of leadership--not just in education but in all fields--in this country b/c the priority is to look out for yourself and protect your job rather than to be the noble captain who saves everyone else and goes down with the ship.
Why is it that many parents when their kids are disciplined are mad at the administrator and feel they are just punishing their kids to make the teachers happy and that they are afraid to stand up to the teachers and their union? Don't administrators get it both ways?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
