Does anyone have administrators that micromanage what you do in the classroom?

I've been feeling frustrated by how much the administration at my school micromanages what we do in the classroom. This is less about curriculum (we are not provided any) but more about instructional time, etc.

-The expectation is that we teach from bell to bell. This is honestly fine with me and I generally do teach from bell to bell. But I also think it is ok to occasionally give kids 1-2 minutes to talk at the end of class if we finish the lesson early. I have 72 minute periods. One teacher got docked on an evaluation because she had the kids clean up from a lab and didn't have an exit ticket for them to do for 2 minutes. So, if I let my kids pack up one minute early and talk and admin walked in, they wouldn't be happy.
-We are not allowed to show any movies...even the day before break!
-The kids have standardized testing soon. They are testing for 4 hours in the morning. We have one class afterwards. I would love to take my class outside afterwards, but we are not allowed to. We are supposed to teach regular lessons. (I will probably play a game with them or something. This other teacher says that she usually does a coloring activity that is kind of math related in case admin walks in).
-The kids were supposed to have a "fun day", but our principal canceled it because the teachers were behind in our pacing. We already told the kids about fun day, so we had to tell the kids again that it was canceled. They had one period where they had an activity in the auditorium, but classes the rest of the day. This was the day before break. Again, we were told that we have to teach normal lessons this day...
-Admin checks our gradebook constantly and sends out lists of struggling students as well as CUSP students. We shouldn't have too many F's in our gradebook. I have started giving minimum 40's on assessments just to make sure I don't have over 4 F's. All of my F's so far are VERY deserved and some kids with D's should have F's.

 

I’m not sure I’d consider all of that micromanaging.

 

^
Yeah, I'm not sure what the right word is. It just seems like the expectations are very strict...

 

I don’t mean to be a contrarian, but these expectations, save for the lab cleanup one, all seem reasonable to me.

 

So, you and your colleagues don't like when you're expected not to waste time in class?

 

Good!

As a parent, it drives me nuts that there are all these throwaway days where my kids are in school. Some districts I have lived in, I find out through word of mouth that certain days, half the kids are absent because they're known to be blow-off days. So then I'm in a bind about whether to bother sending my kids to school or not.

If it's not a real school day, then don't put it on the calendar. If it's an actual, honest to God school day, then treat it like one.

 

I get what the OP is saying. Yes, we should teach bell to bell, but if you need to have a lab cleaned up, that should not count against you. If the teacher wants to take the children outside, provided there's a reason, that shouldn't be a problem. I also get not wanting to waste time, but sometimes, everyone just needs a break--if kids have been testing for 4 hours--what are you really going to get accomplished after that? I'm ok with checking the gradebook, but what is too many Fs? What are the criteria? If the child deserves an F, then they should get an F. My entire AP Lang class has Fs right now, because they don't do any outside class work. When all is said and done, they will have Cs, because I have to allow makeup work--even in an AP class (that is my school mandate). I also understand no movies, however, films are a great teaching tool, if they're used properly. Throw on a film to keep the kids quiet--no, absolutely not! Throw on a film as a reward for the kids excelling at something--absolutely--can be a great incentive, as long as its not done too often. Throw on a film that supports curriculum or ideas, good idea.

As for having a fun day cancelled because everyone is behind on pacing--I think that's unfair. Why? Is every single classroom and every single teacher behind? Why? Was there missed school days? Are there children really struggling, so a teacher reviewed concepts instead of moving on? What about the classes that are on pace? Every classroom is different. Kids look forward to those kinds of days-and often they will work a little harder knowing that day is coming--but then to take it away from them can be disheartening. At end of year testing time, I always promise my kids a pizza party if 80% of the students pass--its a little incentive to do that one more test review, or pay attention a little longer--if they know they're going to get a break, it might push that one borderline kid to focus just a little bit more. It's a small thing--but when they're sitting in that long boring test--it might be that incentive of the pizza party that keeps them awake.

I don't think it's truly micromanaging, but I do think the OPs admin is exerting a little too much control.

 

Agreed with regards to the lab cleanup. Very reasonable. But I don’t think the students should have a movie day unless it was educational in nature and I believe that the children should read quietly after taking their state tests or do crossword puzzles or play sudoku or make origami — something stimulating and productive.

My admin routinely check my gradebook, as does my department chair, and I have no trouble at all with either doing that. I think it is tremendously important to have a daily updated gradebook and so I like that my superiors require it, too. When I was a student, I wanted to know how I was doing in ALL of my classes, but some of my teachers took *months* to grade assignments (even non-writing courses), which was ridiculous considering that some classes didn’t have very many assignments to begin with.

 

I have to agree. My gradebook is usually week to date up to date — my assignments are weekly basis not daily. If a student wants to know how they're doing, I can give them the most up to date data available, not counting the current projects that are in work. Part of cleaning up the lab areas is a requirement for my classes — good lab safety and protocol is essential if you go into a science career. I usually allow 2-3mins at the end of class in order for students to clean up and get the lab back to order for the next class, which isn't held against me.

Otherwise @op everything seems pretty business as usual for me. We don't show videos — we're expected to have a less strenious lesson plan ready to go for days like the testing days. Even after finals we're expected to use the time wisely. I generally use the time to do some of the more fun labs I have which aren't in my standard agenda. Students are still learning and having fun so there's no problem.

 

I think I get what she's getting at a little.

Things I think are important and proper to a school: Minimal wasted time. Accurate data and current data. A certain professional visibility between administration and teacher. Reasonable pacing. School to be, primarily, educational.

That said, I think it's entirely possible to make those into monstrosities of their intentions.

Teaching bell-to-bell: Good in theory, stupid to 100% adhere to if it puts the focus on "teaching bell-to-bell" and not "teaching a quality lesson and assuring students have learned it". Sometimes lessons end a few minutes early. Sure and absolutely, if this is a constant thing, perhaps something should be looked at (lesson length, school schedule, etc.) But sometimes it happens and it doesn't necessarily mean education has been wasted. Research has shown that students do need a bit of downtime in lessons to actually process and a constant info-dump doesn't allow for that. If that downtime is two minutes to clean up or, heaven forbid, chat, so be it.

Data: I've been in situations where Assignment X was not graded and not graded... so I threw it out. At that point any info I could have cleaned from Assignment X was useless. It's important to have up-to-date gradebooks. I don't know how much "constantly" is, but I could see where a line between responsible administration duty and principal-has-too-much-time-on-his-hands is crossed. Does the school have an agreed-upon official policy across the boards (teachers, parents, other faculty) of how often gradebooks are updated?

Pacing: Now, a good scope and sequence to assure reasonable coverage of lessons is good. A military pace calendar obsession is not if one's goal is to actually teach students. Does the school have a good Tier 2 system in place?

School is for education: Here are my ramblings: If what we've decided is that school is going to be education-only and that all physical, emotional, and social wellbeing needs to be tackled outside of the school, then we need to best be seriously shortening the school day for efficiency (and I've actually seen some theoretical models with potentional on this). As it is, school takes up enough of most kids' day that it's only reasonable we incorporate the rest in. Which is why I'm an advocate of recess and, yes, occasional fun things at school. If the whole day is going to be a throw-away day, announce it so families can make a choice, but a short activity once in awhile is hardly going to keep kids from college.

 

I have experienced micro-managing admin, and trust me, this isn't it. It could be much, much, worse.

Take, for example:
* being forced to follow a semi-scripted ELD curriculum that is not research-based and just generally awful
* having "coaches" come in to watch you and interrupt you when you go off -script, in front of your class
* being told you can't teach novels because they are "too hard" for your learners, and instead being forced to use old, outdated, awful hand-me-downs from SPED...for ELD
* being non-renewed for not following all of the above to a T despite 100% positive evaluations

...for starters!

 

My school is kind of going in the opposite direction. They used to tout "bell to bell", but our new theme is on SEL and student's emotional well-being, so we are encourged to allow short breaks, mindfulness exercises, and down time for the student's mental and emotional well-being. I think this is a positive. No subject is SO important that you can't spare a few minutes each day.
I don't like the admin pressuring you to give higher grades either. I honestly don't know if admin checks my gradebook, but if they do, it's fine because I haven't heard anything about it.

 

Some of those I don't see issues with, but a couple that I would question:
-After 4 straight hours of testing, I don't think regular class will be productive. When I was a student, I wouldn't have been able to concentrate properly! When we have state testing until lunch time, students are provided lunch and then released early that day (if they have a parent permission slip)!
-Going outdoors--Is this just a blanket "You can never take them outside?" That I don't agree with. I have taken classes outdoors to practice running their speeches with a partner when the weather is nice, so we can spread out and they can actually hear themselves. I have taken classes outdoors to practice descriptive writing by writing descriptions of what is happening around them, etc. There are valid reasons to go outdoors.
-Never showing films--is this just against frivolous movie days or you are never ever allowed to show films clips? If it's the latter, I have an issue with that. I think showing a clip of a film can sometimes be a wonderful way to reinforce or show an example of a concept. I have used film clips to show examples of ethos/pathos/logos. I have shown an example of juxtaposition in a film before, etc. There is always a purpose and I think a blanket "No films ever" rule is silly.

I also agree that the lab cleanup thing at the end of class is unrealistic. Some kids are really pokey when it comes to cleaning up from an activity. You don't want them late to their next class or leaving your room a mess for the next group coming in by starting cleanup too late.

 

^
For going outside, I would like to be able to take the kids outside after MCAS for about 15-20 minutes (out of a 72 minute block) but we are not allowed to. We are supposed to teach regular lessons and I honestly don't see how the kids would be able to focus after 4 hours of testing. My student teaching school was different and we had recess after MCAS.

 

This is what I was upset about as the fun day was already planned by a bunch of teachers. We told all of the kids and some of them started signing up for it. It also helps with behavior because kids who do not behave do not get to participate. I had one girl who told me that she was behaved and listened all week just so she could go to the fun day. One of my coworkers worked in a different district and said that his other school had more fun days and the kids behaved because they wanted to be able to participate.

We are behind on the pacing because the pacing guide is unrealistic!! The only teachers who are on track are the honors and pre-AP teachers.

 

This is crazy!!

 

I am always looking for ways to get the kids up and moving in my math class (and in every other class as well!) Can you plan a math activity to do outside with them--something that will work better in a larger space?
- Investigating ratios by creating scale drawings of areas of the school yard
- Photo scavenger hunt of real life examples of math concepts you have covered
- Scavenger hunt with different problems to solve at each location

 

Admin perspective: Movie Days & Fun Days (OP’s words) help perpetuate the public’s view of teachers as glorified babysitters.

What the OP mentioned is not micromanaging. It’s admin expecting teachers to do what they were hired to do: teach.

It’s crunch time and teachers and students should be preparing for the state test. No time for fluff.

ETA: we have plenty of lunch time activities and contests that keep kids looking forward to coming to school.

 

Our current admin is the king of micromanagers. He is my 4th admin in 6 years and until now never had one.
Can't do much in terms of classroom because I'm doing independent study so honestly, I don't even think he knows what exactly we do.
But here's an example: he tells us where to come in in the morning. We can't come through the back office (that's where our secretaries are), we have to walk around to the front office (that's where his office is and the secretary for the other part of the school is). It's not enough if we come in the back kdoor and still go up front so he knows were' here. No, rain or mud, we must go around.
Now he tells us which door we have to use to leave. We have to go through the back office, (or front, but we park in the back), although there is a door in our classroom that locks from the outside once we close it. it's a strong door with a strong lock and custodians come and check doors, but we were careful to make sure it was always closed.
These are 2 small examples, I can't even imagine what he does with the teachers that are actually in a classroom. All I know is they hate life and are stressed out every day.
WE don't like him and hope he leaves.

 

YTG, I usually agree with everything you say, and I admire you as an administrator, but somewhere, some how the line has to be drawn on this fixation with testing. So, the teacher can't finish a 72 minute lesson a couple of minutes early and give her kids 2 minutes of downtime?! And the teacher had to keep going with regular lessons after testing all morning without giving the kids a break?
As an adult, we have trouble sitting through a day of PD...and they give us breaks. How can kids be expected to sit through a whole day with little more than a short lunch break?

 

I had one that got so bad, I quit mid-year.
She started coming into my classroom, telling me how to teach while I was teaching, sometimes she would just take over ("here, let me show you"). She started doing my lesson plans for me and telling me what I could or couldn't put on the walls.
No, it wasn't my first year. It was actually my 3rd year working under her. She never did any of this prior to that year. She loved everything I did and trusted me and always sent other teachers to me if they needed any ideas. So I don't know what changed.
Then she got really mad I took 2 days off for vacation, which I had already gotten approved from the people above her.
So I said, "okay, here is my notice, I will not be coming back after my vacation"

 

I should’ve given a bit more explanation. My comment was written on the heels of yesterday’s meeting with the superintendent. We got the “you’re-not-good-enough-and-your-scores-need-to-improve” speech.
I finished our site testing schedule, though, and were only administering tests in the AM with a 2 hour max per day. I also included snack time (PTA purchased snacks for each class for each day of testing) and a stretch/brain break during the testing block.
It’s hard—especially when we are told that the kids’ scores are a reflection of our effectiveness as administrators.

 

I'm in agreement with the comment about teachers being there to teach. However, it's completely inappropriate that they told students they were working towards a "fun day" and then took it away. That will have all kinds of consequences with students trusting the teachers and admin down the road. They never should have said it could happen if they weren't serious about it. If you change your mind, fine- don't ever do it again, but don't take away something that was already promised.

The rest of it doesn't seem that micro-managing to me. I think you'll run into similar expectations (or other expectations that you may not like, even if not these exact ones) anywhere. The extreme focus on data and test scores means that all admin are going to be extra concerned about what's going on in classrooms. My dad works in one of the wealthiest schools in his state and he still has the same pressure, so I don't think it's just title 1 schools either. Their scores are obviously very good, but they have pressure to keep that up and get the few kids who aren't passing to pass. One year my dad had 89% pass the state reading test and he literally cried and thought he was in danger of losing his job. He prepared this speech for his admin about being "humbled" by those scores and shared a plan to avoid that for the next year. I'm in an extremely low SES school and there would be dancing in the streets if we got those scores.

 

Can I just tell you that are just too sensible? You and your logic.

 

YTG's reply underscores the problem that testing has brought to our educational system...students and schools are numbers...teachers and administrators are numbers...no one is worth their salt unless the numbers are good...
Hence, we have micromanaging administrators who are trying to keep their own jobs.
And the good ones give up and leave...

 

But numbers drive the global economy. They are used for literally almost everything, so it’s kind of hard not to base things around them. Businesses, for example, make annual quarterly reports about their profit margins and how well their stocks do in the stock market. Companies and governments look at facts and figures to make determinations about the effectiveness of programs and policies all the time. Just about about every part of our society is built around numbers as progress is entirely data driven, so I don’t see why that’s surprising to people that teaching is, too.

 

I have a student who has been absent 59 (!) days, so far, this year. Yes, his test scores count for me.

 

Wow...and I thought I had it bad with a student who has been absent 32 days!

 

Yes, there are numbers in the business world. But, there are people in schools. The damage that testing stress does to people far out weighs some business quarterly earnings.
Yes, data is important. Since I have taught for more than 40 years, I think I can reliably report that data has always been collected, but in a much less stressful manner before the testing mania evolved.
I am just suggesting that those in power recognize that we are dealing with human beings here not spread sheets.

 

In situations like these, they (the powers that be) should only count students who have regularly been in your class all year. That’s where I am 100% in agreement with you and my administrators don’t count truant students in the data, although very few of our students are truant.

 

I wanted to add that in the business world, if we stopped treating employees like numbers and started treating them like people with unique talents and stories then we would truly see a new dawn.

 

This is true. Is the business world really what we ought to be emulating in our schools?

 

So the alternative is to what, emulate non-real world situations for students? That helps them how?

 

A company cannot stay in business if you just rely on intuition. You have to use the data to make important mathematical decisions for pretty much everything.

 

My uncle is a business man. He's a VP at Walmart. You know what he would tell you? He would tell you that when big companies take care of their employees, empower them, care for them, and help them rise, they will always take care of the customers who take care of the business. Your employees are the backbone of your business. That's what makes your company great or terrible. If you always treat them like numbers, don't be surprised when you drive out the great and you're left with the terrible.

 

Yes, our main priority is to teach, but as teachers we also need to read our class and be flexible at times. We do much more than just "teach". Building relationships, inspiring students and promoting health and well-being are just as important.

After a 4 hour test, it is not unreasonable to give them a break. You might deliver a regular lesson, but it isn't very useful if they are overwhelmed and don't absorb the information. When I was a student, we had a bunch of fun activities each day after testing and a class party at the end. I don't think my results or education suffered. I remember my 8 year old self learning some awesome magic tricks from my teacher and feeling a lot less stress.
Sometimes, less is more. So many studies show that breaks help increase student productivity.

I rarely have time to show students movies, but if there are only 5 students in my class the day before the break, I am going to find a movie to show them.

And being docked on an evaluation for 2 minutes of clean up? Cleaning up is part of doing science.

 

I’m not saying that you should treat them as numbers, but that you *should* use numbers for evaluation purposes. ALL businesses do this as do governments the world over. After all, all measurements are numerical or numerical in nature. To think or say otherwise is disingenuous.

 

...I never said you shouldn't?

 

I couldn't help wonder if it were the job speaking instead of the man.

 

I like data just fine.

But while grades and scores may be numbers, people aren't.

And I worry too much of the data measured is more or less useless data chosen more for the ease of data collected than any real long-term focus of improvement.

I'm a clock-watcher by nature. I like timeliness and I like things to fit into neat little time slots. But can we really prove, with data, that two more minutes of a lesson taught for the sake of adding two minutes while taking away breaks and processing time really and significantly improve test scores? And not just test scores, future long-term success of students? Or is does it just sound nice and filling in every minute just something easy to measure?