Teachers, Subs, and Questioning My Job

I don't have research on this, but in my experience, other than days when teachers are out for Professional Development, teachers miss more days due to illness, their own or a family member's, and take more "mental health" days when they are not happy in their job.  Right now, these are colliding at my school.

With a new Principal, new Assistant Principal, and second year of the other Assistant Principal, we have seen a lot of change this year.  All change for the better.  Systems are either being fixed or being put back in place.  Accountability is happening.  We have had changes in some positions already this year--as soon another secretary is hired, everyone in the front office will be new (except our phenomenal Principal's Secretary).  Teachers are being asked to step-up and do their jobs or do them better than they have been.  With all the changes, accountability, and systems, teachers are stressed, crunched for time, and finding it much easier to be negative than positive or to do what's best for our students.  It is not easy working at my school and teaching our students, but our students need to get a great education and realize there is a way out of the situations they are in right now.  It can be done.  We need teachers modeling for, teaching, and loving them.  There is so much negativity and griping that we have this core "cancer" pulling everyone down.  People are unhappy.  They want out, but they either can't find another job or are waiting until the end of the year.  The more stress teachers feel, the more they don't want to be at work, they more they call in.

This time of year hits everyone hard with Strep, the Flu, Bronchitis, colds, and so much more.  Teachers are out b/c they are sick or their children or a loved one are sick.

No matter the reason for being out, we are short subs. Every day last week, we were short 1-2.5 subs.  Decisions have to be made about how to cover those classes.

It isn't just that teachers are out.  We completely understand illness and that things happen, but the teachers have to leave their rooms ready for the next day.  Work, directions, and sub information (schedules, seating charts, rosters, etc.) must be left on desk tops before leaving every day.  It would also be nice if the desk was left in such a way that it is easy to find paper and pen when needed.   Whether or not we have subs or not, classes are being left unprepared and messy, making it quite difficult for anyone trying to work in that room or assist the teachers/subs to be able to do a good job.

The misconception in the building is that it is my job, along with my co-worker with the same position, to cover classes when teachers are out and there aren't enough subs.  That is not my job. I can help, but it is not MY job.
1.  I have been told by several people that b/c of the funds that pay me, I cannot cover classes b/c that involves different funds, and if anyone found out about this, we could all get in trouble.  (That wasn't the best explanation, but I know what they meant.)
2.  I have a job.  My job is multi-layered, involves a long list of things daily, and a lot of what most teachers probably don't realize.  If I'm constantly pulled to cover for missing subs and teachers, I would not get MY job done, and then other things would not get done across the building/curriculum.
3. If students are split into other content classes, they are going to get a better lesson.  Those teachers know the content, where they are in the curriculum, and can assist the students the best.
4. I assist people all over the building, cover for ARDs, attend meetings, and more, and it isn't always feasible for me to be in a classroom.

Twice in the last two weeks, that I know of (it was probably far more than that), comments were made about me and my job.
1. When I created a meeting agenda for Department Chairs to follow on our Professional Development day, one teacher felt I was "justifying" my job by doing that and giving it to them.  Really?  I don't have to justify my job to anyone.  Period.
2. After spending a week splitting classes every day, a teacher questioned if I ever cover classes.  Yes, I do, but not every day or even every week.  It completely depends on the class period, the day, and what is on my daily agenda.  I have huge things coming up, and I can't be in a classroom all the time.

Bottom line is that we need teachers to be at school unless it just cannot be helped.  We aren't a business where you can put work off until tomorrow.  Our jobs involve humans who must be supervised when in the building on the 177 days they are required to be at school. If teachers have to be out, they must have something for their students to do, and if they are prepared before they leave every day, it would be easier on everyone.  Also, if teachers do not want to be there, they need to resign and move on.  Let us get someone in there we can count on day in and day out so we can educate our students.

Attentiveness and Respect

My pastor shared the following on the church's Facebook page a few weeks ago.

We talked last Sunday in worship about the compassion of Christ that we are called to emulate. This is a great meditation on the topic.

These are excerpts from "How Not to Be Alone" in The New York Times Sunday Review. The piece is by Jonathan Safran Foer, a novelist who delivered the 2013 commencement address at Middlebury College, from which the essay was adapted:

Simone Weil wrote, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”

By this definition, our relationships to the world, and to one another, and to ourselves, are becoming increasingly miserly.

....everyone is always in need of something that another person can give, be it undivided attention, a kind word or deep empathy. There is no better use of a life than to be attentive to such needs. There are as many ways to do this as there are kinds of loneliness, but all of them require attentiveness, all of them require the hard work of emotional computation and corporeal compassion.

We often use technology to save time, but increasingly, it.... makes the saved time less present, intimate and rich.

Being attentive to the needs of others might not be the point of life, but it is the work of life. It can be messy, and painful, and almost impossibly difficult.

I have been struggling lately with feelings I could not quite pinpoint.  When I read the last two sentences, I figured out what I was feeling . . . disrespected.  After reading those last two sentences, now I feel . . . guilty for thinking of myself instead of others. 

Let me explain.  In one area of my personal life, I feel left-out, unwanted, forgotten.  I used to be very involved with a group of people, but due to some decisions, things have changed, and we communicate rarely or only when needed, which is a far-cry from communicating numerous times a day like we once did. This may sound silly, but it has completely changed my life, and I have had a hard time processing the changes.  When I read those last two sentences, I realized that being attentive is who I am.  I am all about the details, but I can also see the big picture.  No matter where I am or whom I am with, I pay attention to others' needs and wants.  I do whatever I can to make sure others are comfortable, have what they need/want, and assist them however needed. 

Not everyone is like this, and as each day passes, it becomes more and more obvious.  I was getting to the point of asking, "What's the point? Why try?" I linked this lack of communication and behavior of others as being disrespectful to me. 

After reading this, I know that I should continue to be attentive, care about others, and do what is best for others despite how I am treated or feel.  Yes, my life has become "messy, and painful, and impossibly difficult," but I will continue to be who I am and do for others even when they do not do for me.  It is the right thing to do.