More admin hijinx

The administration of MHS has scheduled meetings every single day except Friday from 1:45 (when school ends) to 2:45. Many of my kids have asked numerous times if they could come after school to get tutoring or to make up quizzes or tests, so I've told them I'd stay every day Monday through Thursday from 2:45 to 3:45. They, of course, want me to be there at 1:45 so they won't have to kill an hour waiting for me. My initial response is essentially "tough beans, my friend. You want the help, here's when it's available." But the truth is, it's hard enough to get kids to care enough to want the extra help, I'd like to make it somewhat easier to get.

So... I found out last week that for various reasons, my Tuesday afternoon meeting was cancelled, so I could offer 1:45 to my students. This is especially helpful now, because the end of the quarter is Friday, and they have a test Wednesday or Thursday. Several kids appropriately saw this as their last chance to make up a test or quiz they'd missed.

Five kids showed up at 1:45. At 1:50, an announcement over the loud speaker asks all math teachers to report to the conference room. I ignore it. It gets announced again. I go next door to Mrs. CowCulus's room and ask her to find out what's happening and call me if I need to show up. Another announcement. I finally tell my kids I'm probably going to have to leave, and then there's an announcement specifically for me to come to the office. When I get there, the first words out of the principal's mouth are that when he calls impromptu meetings, we need to show up for them... it's all part of moving our school from a D to a B. My first thought was that when I tell my students they have to be responsible, and expect them to look to me as an example, part of that is keeping one's commitments -- like being available during the times I have previously scheduled, and have cleared my calendar to accomodate. My second thought was that I'm not likely to win any influential friends with that comment, so I keep it to myself.

Mr. Principal isn't winning any friends, influential or otherwise, in my neck of the woods.