I just sent an email to my principal, and I often wonder if I annoy her. I get really wrapped up in logistical things, and ask a lot of questions. For example, we have an assembly once per month, and it's always from 8:50-9:15. Second-graders have specials from 9-9:30 on some of those days. My principal dismisses classes in grade order so it usually takes about 5 minutes before 2nd-graders can get out of the gym. This leaves 10 minutes for specials (and 10 minutes of prep time for teachers). So, I emailed her asking if it was possible to dismiss 2nd-graders first, so that we could at least have half of our special time. I email her about this type of thing once and a while, and I sometimes wonder if she gets annoyed. Is this kind of thing petty and pointless? I was just wondering what other teachers thought.
If an assembly falls during a class special time, the special teacher stays with the class they have at that time. Teachers still get their prep. If the special time ends before the assembly, teachers come back. We have staggered assembly days and times over the last few years because the special teachers were saying that the same class was missing out on art, music etc... and falling behind the rest of the grade level. I think it is okay for you to ask.
Thanks for the feedback! We have been asking for staggered assembly times for 3 years, and have been told no.
The special teacher is expected to take the class. As per our contract we are entitled to a 50 minute prep. If for some reason the teacher wishes to attend the program they do so, giving up some or all of their prep.
I agree, the specials teacher should come and cover the class during the time they would normally be in special
If a special falls within an assembly time frame in my school, the specials teacher comes to the assembly to relieve the classroom teacher. We have contracted prep time and if we lose that time we put in a voucher to pay us for the lost time. Read your contract. Get your union on board (if you have one)
At my school, you would lose all your specials time because the specials teacher wouldn't want to take the class for 10 minutes.
My current P, it wouldn't bother him at all, my former P, it would drive her nuts...I can't comment on your P, as I don't know which one she is like. As for myself, it wouldn't bother me at all.
At my school, the specials teacher would take over during the assembly so the classroom teachers still get their prep period. If the specials teacher does not relieve you for prep when there is an assembly, do they stay with their previous for an extra long time, or are they getting a little extra prep themselves by not having any class? I'm curious how that would work.
Like others have said, in my school the assembly would be the specials teacher's responsibility. As for the questions, I think that totally depends on the personality of your P. At my first school I asked tons of questions and at one point apologized for always "bothering" my admin, and my P said that she liked that about me because it showed that I cared. My next P would have seen asking questions as a sign of incompetence and would have been extremely annoyed. At my current school, I feel very comfortable asking my AP questions but will only approach the P in a formal setting (such as my goal setting or evaluation meetings). Some people that I work with think that they've actually set that dynamic up on purpose- like they want "dealing with" the teachers to be mostly the AP's responsibility so that the P is not getting bogged down all the time. You just have to know who you work for!
I usually ask them what they want me to do. Sometimes they'll take them for a bit, and sometimes they don't. I'm glad to hear you all don't think I sound like a crazy annoying person, though.
Unfortunately most of the assemblies that take our specials time are put on by specials teachers. We have the last specials time of the day by choice. (A perk of being the high-stakes testing grade.) the downside is that we occasionally lose our specials. (Maybe 3 times a year.) if it happens too often we'll ask for a modified schedule so that we all get time, I wouldn't think it was an annoying question at all. As my principal has often told us, she doesn't know what's going on if we don't tell her.
Trust me--if you knew some of the petty things people brought to my attention, you'd be shocked! Last Friday it was, "Can you talk to my teammates? They didn't invite me to lunch today and I feel very left out." Anyway, your question/concern was not annoying at all.
It may be annoying(when it is 1 of 50 such "things"), yet it is still a very valid question and concern and should be asked.
Haha, that's crazy! She actually responded that will be ok, and I just need to remind her to dismiss us first at the next assembly.
Your concern is absolutely legit and your P really doesn´t have any reason to get annoyed. Also, I think we can do just as much damage with what we don´t so as with what we do say. If you don´t bring something to one´s attention they might never realize it and hence it will never be resolved.
For once a month I don't think it would really make that much of a difference. I don't think it seems annoying though.
You know, I had to think about this for a while. Assuming 10 assemblies a year and just picking some of the days to mean a couple of days a week, which could be way off, admittedly, that would mean maybe four times a year would this occur for second grade teachers. I would not bother my principal for that little time. Maybe more importantly, and it isn't addressed, is that if it is a day you are not affected, I would bet my bottom dollar that someone else is, kind of "in your spot instead of you." Have you opened the door to the principal having to sit down and call the grades in a different order every time, to accommodate every teacher and grade fairly? When I think of your email in that sense, I see that it is much more involved than it appears on first look. Which brings me to this - if your principal sees your logic in these matters and appreciates the suggestions, it is not an annoyance. However, if all she wants to do is have the assemblies, get everyone out reasonably quickly with little confusion, and now she has to sit down and calculate a precise order for dismissal based on a ton of variables, well, I could see where it might be an annoyance. It is no longer about just you, but about doing the same fair thing for every grade for a few minutes maybe four times a year. Does that make sense? I'm lucky - I have a supervisor who I can bounce things like that off of, without going to the head honcho. DP, you have an ability that is both a gift and a curse. You see the inequality, which is great, but maybe you need to look at the big picture, too? I have been in your shoes, trust me, and my solution in a situation like this was to create the chart that would allow the principal to accommodate every grade on the date, making her life easier and bringing fairness to all. Sometimes I send the email I am about to send to the principal, superintendent, supervisor, etc., to myself first and look at it 24 hours later, maybe have hubby, who sees things very differently than me, take a glance. Based on the reflection, I will send, not send with less worries about whether or not I am annoying anyone.
