In the never ending series of changes to my role and responsibilities (which I can appreciate because if we cannot change and adapt, we go extinct), I am currently in charge of the summer bridge program. This is a program where students who had some difficulty getting through 8th grade are provided support in reading or math in order to support them in their transition to high school. The students are reluctant at first to accept the ideals of the program and every once in a while, a student will be sent to my office to discuss choices that they have made that might have led them to this program and the choice they most recently made. The discussions with the students usually go pretty well and we are able to get them to reflect on their choices and be cognizant of the triggers that lead to them.
Every once in a while, one of the teachers will tell a student "This is my boss". While I would like to think that, for the teacher, the meaning is colleague, supporter, and fellow learner, I get the feeling that the teacher is indicating to the student that this is the person in charge and if you won't behave for me, you had better do it for the boss. This has left me perplexed.
On one hand, some of these exchanges will progress out of the developing teacher-student relationship. Essentially, the teacher is saying "Look, I know you are having a difficult time right now, but please, for MY sake, don't make me look bad in front of my boss". If that initiates the desired behavioral change, then that indicates to me that the teacher has made a connection with the student, and vice versa, and for each others sake, a change in choice will be made. This is a good thing that relationships are being developed, but is it truthful? Why is the external motivator of "the boss" needed?
On the other hand, the "this is my boss" comment seems to give up control, power, and authority (for lack of better terms) that the teacher of a class should have. It reminds me of when a teacher writes a discipline referral for a minor classroom issue. The referral sends the unintended message to the student that the teacher no longer cares to deal with this issue and will pass it off to someone else. Is that what the "this is my boss" comment is going for? Does the teacher lack some confidence or not feel the immediate support to enact a decision that they feel is best for the student and the class?
This situation reminded me of the "Front Porch Leader" by Jimmy Casas (@casas_jimmy). "It is in these moments that leaders must decide to leave through the back door or take a seat on the front porch". Am I being overly critical of a teacher who uses the boss as a deflection? Are they leaving through the back door? How often do I use my boss as a deflection of why we have to do something? This is something I will have to contemplate in this new school year.
Showing posts with label administration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label administration. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
What do you think the blocks represent?
I have recently gotten on the bandwagon of the importance of the instructional coach to improve both the teaching and learning in the classroom. As I search for ways to improve my coaching skills and time available to coach, I have begun to recognize challenges that have been presented in the book Taking the Lead.
Before I delve into the challenges, people new to the concept of instructional coaches might have some basic questions. Michelle Russell posted a quick introduction resource to coaching. She found the resource from Larry Ferlazzo and Elena Aguilar . This 4 minute video describes some of the key components of the coaching relationship.
As I have explored and learned more about coaching, it is very important to understand that it is a relationship that is being cultivated between the coach and the teacher. It is a very different relationship than than of the administrator/teacher and also different than the relationship between mentor and mentee.
Because it is all based on the relationship and expectation between the teacher and the coach, both participants need to know and establish the expectations with the administration to the former does not get violated.
I found the video to have some quality symbolism, some overt and some more covert. The safety net is one of the overt examples. A teacher and coach learning together should be able to fall in front of one another and know that they will not get hurt. The covert symbolism is in the vagary of the blocks. I think the blocks represent resources, pedagogy, data and the deeper understanding within each and how they build upon one another.
What do you think the blocks represent?
Before I delve into the challenges, people new to the concept of instructional coaches might have some basic questions. Michelle Russell posted a quick introduction resource to coaching. She found the resource from Larry Ferlazzo and Elena Aguilar . This 4 minute video describes some of the key components of the coaching relationship.
As I have explored and learned more about coaching, it is very important to understand that it is a relationship that is being cultivated between the coach and the teacher. It is a very different relationship than than of the administrator/teacher and also different than the relationship between mentor and mentee.
Because it is all based on the relationship and expectation between the teacher and the coach, both participants need to know and establish the expectations with the administration to the former does not get violated.
I found the video to have some quality symbolism, some overt and some more covert. The safety net is one of the overt examples. A teacher and coach learning together should be able to fall in front of one another and know that they will not get hurt. The covert symbolism is in the vagary of the blocks. I think the blocks represent resources, pedagogy, data and the deeper understanding within each and how they build upon one another.
What do you think the blocks represent?
Thursday, January 03, 2013
You want the buck to stop? Stop passing it then!
This post is a commentary on the shifts that are needed in schools in order to make the role of a data coach more effective.
The shift that I will comment on is this:
As I read through Kris's accounting of the influences on modern education (Common Core, Textbook companies, Foundations (i.e. Gates, Wal-Mart), and politicians) and how it is trying to make everyone fit a cookie cutter mold and that schools will become the factories of which their design was based, I could not help but shudder at the thought of this bleary educational future.
I will respectfully disagree that the Common Core is one of the signs of an impending apocalypse. Working in Illinois, where the previous set of standards were a mile wide and inch deep, the Common Core has a lot of positive potential effects to education, if teachers and administrators only had to worry about implementing the new standards instead of making sure that every student does well on the ACT (Day 1 of the 2 day test mandated by NCLB for Illinois). Unfortunately, the latter is more the case than the former, so I can see what Kris's point is getting at.
Having, personally, eagerly awaited the release of the Next Generation Science Standards, I have a good understanding of the effort of educators who wrote these standards in an effort to directly improve instruction by narrowing the focus to the skills needed perform science at all levels--not merely focusing on a content area, but its connection to other concepts, how science and engineering work together, and a development of critical thinking skills. The Common Core for mathematics and English/Language Arts had many of the same goals.
How does all of this relate back to the needed shift? My other posts related to the shifts that are needed to make an instructional coach effective have been directed at the activities of the coaches, teachers, and administrators. I have discussed the removal of teacher isolation and that will assist with a sense of collective responsibility. Kris makes a very valid point about how all of these outside influences are pushing and pulling on education to squeeze it through a play dough mold. What made me connect his blog post with this shift if who is the individual responsible?
With all of those outside influences, the amazing (scary) thing is that the individual that the outside influences, parents, general community always talk about is the classroom teacher. I agree with what Marzano says about the teacher being one of the largest influences on the learning that the student will do in the classroom, but again, the shearing forces of those outside influences might rip that apart.
With all of the politicians, foundations, and corporations (who must have attended school therefore they know how a school should work) exerting direct influence into the classroom, I think that those people should shift from the individual responsibility of the teacher to a collective responsibility that if we want the entire nation to improve, then we are ALL in this together! It seems like politicians all want to quote Truman and have the buck stop right on the teacher's desk. I say that they need to stop passing the buck.
The shift that I will comment on is this:
- Individual accountability needs to shift to collective responsibility
As I read through Kris's accounting of the influences on modern education (Common Core, Textbook companies, Foundations (i.e. Gates, Wal-Mart), and politicians) and how it is trying to make everyone fit a cookie cutter mold and that schools will become the factories of which their design was based, I could not help but shudder at the thought of this bleary educational future.
I will respectfully disagree that the Common Core is one of the signs of an impending apocalypse. Working in Illinois, where the previous set of standards were a mile wide and inch deep, the Common Core has a lot of positive potential effects to education, if teachers and administrators only had to worry about implementing the new standards instead of making sure that every student does well on the ACT (Day 1 of the 2 day test mandated by NCLB for Illinois). Unfortunately, the latter is more the case than the former, so I can see what Kris's point is getting at.
Having, personally, eagerly awaited the release of the Next Generation Science Standards, I have a good understanding of the effort of educators who wrote these standards in an effort to directly improve instruction by narrowing the focus to the skills needed perform science at all levels--not merely focusing on a content area, but its connection to other concepts, how science and engineering work together, and a development of critical thinking skills. The Common Core for mathematics and English/Language Arts had many of the same goals.
How does all of this relate back to the needed shift? My other posts related to the shifts that are needed to make an instructional coach effective have been directed at the activities of the coaches, teachers, and administrators. I have discussed the removal of teacher isolation and that will assist with a sense of collective responsibility. Kris makes a very valid point about how all of these outside influences are pushing and pulling on education to squeeze it through a play dough mold. What made me connect his blog post with this shift if who is the individual responsible?
With all of those outside influences, the amazing (scary) thing is that the individual that the outside influences, parents, general community always talk about is the classroom teacher. I agree with what Marzano says about the teacher being one of the largest influences on the learning that the student will do in the classroom, but again, the shearing forces of those outside influences might rip that apart.
With all of the politicians, foundations, and corporations (who must have attended school therefore they know how a school should work) exerting direct influence into the classroom, I think that those people should shift from the individual responsibility of the teacher to a collective responsibility that if we want the entire nation to improve, then we are ALL in this together! It seems like politicians all want to quote Truman and have the buck stop right on the teacher's desk. I say that they need to stop passing the buck.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Being the data coach
I have had the opportunity to attend a 6-day coaching institute from Learning Forward. For those who may not know, Learning Forward is the new name of what was formerly the National Staff Development Council (NSDC). Learningforward.org has some wonderful resources surrounding the latest research in providing professional development and professional learning. (e.g the newest version of professional learning standards can be found here.) Each standard begins with the stem of "Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all students...". Within the stem of each standard exists the emphasis of professionalism, continual learning, increasing effectiveness, and equity for all student...and that is just the stem!
I digress...
The coaching institute has provided me with the opportunity to reflect on how I have worked with teachers in professional development, evaluations, and even day-to-day interactions. One of the great things I have learned is that in the coaching role, as opposed to the administrative/evaluator role, there is no preconceived answer or solution. The coach is a support and an equal partner in the learning that will occur between the two professionals. While there are times that the administrator is needed, I think leaders should emphasize the coaching aspect more often.
My current position involves looking at all of our data and making it meaningful to those who need it. There are a lot of spreadsheets, equations, and bar graphs. Luckily, I like exploring Excel.
One of the things discussed today in the workshop were the critical shifts that needs to happen within an organization in order to make the role of a data coach more effective and successful. They are as follows:
I digress...
The coaching institute has provided me with the opportunity to reflect on how I have worked with teachers in professional development, evaluations, and even day-to-day interactions. One of the great things I have learned is that in the coaching role, as opposed to the administrative/evaluator role, there is no preconceived answer or solution. The coach is a support and an equal partner in the learning that will occur between the two professionals. While there are times that the administrator is needed, I think leaders should emphasize the coaching aspect more often.
My current position involves looking at all of our data and making it meaningful to those who need it. There are a lot of spreadsheets, equations, and bar graphs. Luckily, I like exploring Excel.
One of the things discussed today in the workshop were the critical shifts that needs to happen within an organization in order to make the role of a data coach more effective and successful. They are as follows:
- Individual accountability needs to shift to collective responsibility
- Optional data discussions need to become essential parts of teaching and learning
- Placing blame needs to shift to inquiries in examining potential solutions
- Teaching in isolation NEEDS to shift to collaborating with colleagues
- Adults need to focus less on the teaching and more on the learning
Monday, December 17, 2012
Learning from tragedy
Friday, December 14th is now added to a growing list of atrocities that have occurred in schools due to gross acts of violence. Unfortunately, I cannot categories this as a random act of violence because as more details come out, the more it is discovered that there were big flashing neon signs pointing to help that was needed by the person who committed this heinous act.
Patrick Larkin posted "Back to School With New Worries, But the Same Plan" with a link to his blog post on this tragedy. It is a very thoughtful post about how he is dealing with this event, both with his children and the students in his care. He provides two key quotes about how parents and educators deal can help young people deal with the aftermath of this event. I will not provide spoilers, you will just have to read his post.
A friend of mine on Facebook posted that no child should have to worry if their school is safe or not...we need safe schools. While I understand his intent, the implications of his post may go off course. Our schools are safe.
Reactionaries over the weekend were stating that we need more armed security in schools to even the extreme that teachers should be carrying weapons. I have worked in schools with armed security forces (off-duty police) who assist the school as a part of a police liaison program. The goal of the police liaison is not to have a cop on duty with a gun, but to provide a positive interaction between students, community members, and the police to help build relationships. We had questioned whether we should install metal detectors at the entrances and use them at all home sporting events. We have, thankfully, not installed them because of the potential change in climate that it would create. As a school and district, we wanted to focus on creating a culture and climate of learning and safety. Added to that, we have spent a large amount of time and effort in developing policies and procedures to follow in the event of a crisis.
I want to comment on the title of his blog post: New worries, but the same plan. When we examine the events and our own crisis plans and drills, we find that the school did what they could to protect their staff and students. After this event, another plan goes into effect to help counsel the students and staff and provide grief support. The plan is to provide a quality educational environment that supports the academic and Social/Emotional learning for students. His title is accurate, the same plan in in place because it was not the plan that failed.
As an Associate Principal, I had the opportunity to attend an administrator academy on security and loss prevention that was put on by Paul Timm from Reta Security. Paul discussed how most people think of loss prevention as insurance and recovering tangible items that might be stolen. The most important items found in schools are the students. The crisis plan that goes into effect now for the students and staff for Newtown will help protect those students from the emotional damage.
Patrick Larkin posted "Back to School With New Worries, But the Same Plan" with a link to his blog post on this tragedy. It is a very thoughtful post about how he is dealing with this event, both with his children and the students in his care. He provides two key quotes about how parents and educators deal can help young people deal with the aftermath of this event. I will not provide spoilers, you will just have to read his post.
A friend of mine on Facebook posted that no child should have to worry if their school is safe or not...we need safe schools. While I understand his intent, the implications of his post may go off course. Our schools are safe.
Reactionaries over the weekend were stating that we need more armed security in schools to even the extreme that teachers should be carrying weapons. I have worked in schools with armed security forces (off-duty police) who assist the school as a part of a police liaison program. The goal of the police liaison is not to have a cop on duty with a gun, but to provide a positive interaction between students, community members, and the police to help build relationships. We had questioned whether we should install metal detectors at the entrances and use them at all home sporting events. We have, thankfully, not installed them because of the potential change in climate that it would create. As a school and district, we wanted to focus on creating a culture and climate of learning and safety. Added to that, we have spent a large amount of time and effort in developing policies and procedures to follow in the event of a crisis.
I want to comment on the title of his blog post: New worries, but the same plan. When we examine the events and our own crisis plans and drills, we find that the school did what they could to protect their staff and students. After this event, another plan goes into effect to help counsel the students and staff and provide grief support. The plan is to provide a quality educational environment that supports the academic and Social/Emotional learning for students. His title is accurate, the same plan in in place because it was not the plan that failed.
As an Associate Principal, I had the opportunity to attend an administrator academy on security and loss prevention that was put on by Paul Timm from Reta Security. Paul discussed how most people think of loss prevention as insurance and recovering tangible items that might be stolen. The most important items found in schools are the students. The crisis plan that goes into effect now for the students and staff for Newtown will help protect those students from the emotional damage.
Friday, December 07, 2012
Trying to enlarge the thimble...
 |
| http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-12-04/
Once again, my daily Dilbert desk calendar is prophetic!
While it does not amaze me that all superintendents and assistant superintendents are not up to date on the most recent trends in instructional technology, it continues to baffle me when these leaders do not consult with the people within their organization that does keep up with the trends.
Too often we see grant dollars spent on technology equipment at the last minute without consulting educators who have used the equipment in the field or have at least had discussions with people using the equipment. Authorized signatures seem to always believe the technology sales rep who collects their check and leaves the bulk of the work to people who were not involved in the development of the project.
Case in point, I know of a district that is purchasing low-cost tablet laptops. Great idea...except with this new purchase, the director of IT was never consulted (about the purchase, the effect on the infrastructure and wireless network, manpower needed to physically ready and tag all of the machines...), nor did they talk to a neighboring district who went through this process and could describe the pitfalls they went through and how to avoid them. And guess who is going to be left holding the bag? Teachers who will get about one hour of PD on how to turn the machine on...
Now, part of the issue may be with the state and the fed. Grant notifications seems to always come with less than a 2 week turn around time. School districts do not want to look bad to their court of public opinion by denying an opportunity for funding, so they quickly put together a proposal and then heaven forbid the proposal gets approved! Now, comes the scramble of trying to make a pipe dream a reality.
But, I am not about pointing out problems. I want to try and fix them.
I am thrilled that I have had the opportunity to go to some wonderful conferences this year and I have learned a lot and connected with a lot of great people. The ISTE Leadership Forum was a wonderful event and I have made the recommendation for as many administrators attend this conference as possible next year. I informed my boss that I was approved to present at ICE with some great people (@stumpteacher, @principalkmelt, and @tomwhitby) and she told me to extend an invitation to some teachers to attend!
These are some good steps, but I have realized something...when technophiles attend a technology conference, we are the choir getting preached to. I presented some methods of immediate student feedback using mobile devices at a science teacher conference and this is where I may have added a new tenor or two to the choir...I think we need to expand our outlook and begin presenting at our content area conferences about technology. This might plant some seeds in maiden fields and really expand the 21st century learning pedagogies into more schools.
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Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Have you thanked your IT director today?
We use Microsoft Outlook for our email system.
The long pause was for all of the Google Apps for Educators users to finish booing and throwing fruit...
Over the past 3 weeks, we have had some interruptions in service. Usually, when we have an interruption in Internet service, it is due to a small power outage, a server switch getting reset, overly stormy and windy day that causes havoc with the alignment of our microwave dishes, website provider server crash, etc. For my 6 years in my current district, these are the first instances of the issue being actually on the Microsoft side.
If you would like to skip the diatribe that will follow and get to my main point, scroll past the section enclosed by the row of asterisks...
********************************************************************************
The first instance happened on the Monday before Thanksgiving. I was going to do some substitute professor-ing at a local university for a colleague of mine who teaches an evening course in methods of reading to pre-service teachers. I have been doing this every semester for the past 4 years and love the opportunity to introduce pre-service teachers to Web 2.0 and technology that can be infused into instruction to increase student engagement. The local university has been under construction and thus, the room where the class is held each semester has changed.
When my colleague asked me to talk with her class again, she sent me a calendar invite with the room number and the time she told the students to show up. I was ready. I had my interactive presentation ready, brief hand-outs, exit slip...these students were going to do some exploring and learning! I arrived at the university about 45 minutes before the class was scheduled to begin, park my car and check my calendar one last time to note the room number...that was odd, the calendar on my iPhone didn't show the event anymore.
I got out of my car and gathered my materials and walked toward the building thinking it must be something with my phone. I would go into the building and log into my web access email and verify the room number. Only problem was that when I logged into the web access email, the calendar was showing a date of November...of the year 2000! This was impressive on multiple levels, one being that for an instant, I thought I had successfully travelled through time, and the other was that I did not work for this district in 2000 and yet they prognosticated that I would grace them with my presence and had established an account for me 6 years before my auspicious arrival. Unfortunately, neither was true.
What had happened was that the authenticating time server that we use (from a US Naval base on Colorado) had an error and its clock got reset to the year 2000. (Those Y2K people weren't wrong about problems that would occur!) While I was in a mild panic, I was texting our IT director to inform him of the issue and see when it would be resolved and my colleague (who was on vacation in AZ) about where the room was.
Long story short, my colleague got back to me 8 minutes before class started with the room number and things went flawlessly for the rest of the evening. Unbeknownst to me and, I am assuming, everyone else in the district, our IT director spent the next 12 hours dealing with Microsoft and making sure that the issue was fixed for no noticeable issues during the next school day.
Most recently, last Friday, the email system shut down again and I received an erroneous meeting reminder that I was 15 minutes late for a meeting 15 minutes away from my office. After burning rubber out of the parking lot to get to the meeting, I found out the the meeting is in one week and I made it back to the office...slowly and sheepishly.
Our email system was just restored as of 9:32 am today. Our IT director and his team spent the entire weekend working with Microsoft to fix the issue, which was a corrupt administrative directory that led to the need to create a back-up of 80 GB of email at a rate of 3 GB/hr, then a defrag of the both the main and back-up servers (remember having to defrag your hard drive?!), and finally a reconstruction of the main server to restore service.
********************************************************************************
During this time, everyone was having some difficulty dealing with the lack of email and cursing the system, the IT department, and life in general.
Once everything was restored, I sent an email to our IT director and his team saying thank you for their hard work and long hours getting us back up and running. It got me thinking, how often do we thank people for the thankless jobs they do? If the technology is running properly, you may never have to deal with the IT department. When there is a political issue that is erupting in the newspaper, do you realize that the Superintendent has probably been dealing with this issue non-stop for the past 12-48 hours, speaking with the BOE, lawyers, key personnel involved, reporters, etc?
You might make the argument that this is what they get paid for or why they make the big bucks, but as an educator, doesn't that get under your skin when the general public makes statements about compensation for the work that teachers do?
November just ended and thus the 30 days of thanksgiving that was popular on multiple social networks. While I do not advocate for any religious group, in particular, we should take a moment to thank the people that make it possible for us do get through our day: maintenance, custodial, IT, clerical, and administrative staff, parents, students, etc. Let them know that their everyday work that usually gets overlooked or taken for granted is appreciated and essential.
YOU can make THEIR day!
The long pause was for all of the Google Apps for Educators users to finish booing and throwing fruit...
Over the past 3 weeks, we have had some interruptions in service. Usually, when we have an interruption in Internet service, it is due to a small power outage, a server switch getting reset, overly stormy and windy day that causes havoc with the alignment of our microwave dishes, website provider server crash, etc. For my 6 years in my current district, these are the first instances of the issue being actually on the Microsoft side.
If you would like to skip the diatribe that will follow and get to my main point, scroll past the section enclosed by the row of asterisks...
********************************************************************************
The first instance happened on the Monday before Thanksgiving. I was going to do some substitute professor-ing at a local university for a colleague of mine who teaches an evening course in methods of reading to pre-service teachers. I have been doing this every semester for the past 4 years and love the opportunity to introduce pre-service teachers to Web 2.0 and technology that can be infused into instruction to increase student engagement. The local university has been under construction and thus, the room where the class is held each semester has changed.
When my colleague asked me to talk with her class again, she sent me a calendar invite with the room number and the time she told the students to show up. I was ready. I had my interactive presentation ready, brief hand-outs, exit slip...these students were going to do some exploring and learning! I arrived at the university about 45 minutes before the class was scheduled to begin, park my car and check my calendar one last time to note the room number...that was odd, the calendar on my iPhone didn't show the event anymore.
I got out of my car and gathered my materials and walked toward the building thinking it must be something with my phone. I would go into the building and log into my web access email and verify the room number. Only problem was that when I logged into the web access email, the calendar was showing a date of November...of the year 2000! This was impressive on multiple levels, one being that for an instant, I thought I had successfully travelled through time, and the other was that I did not work for this district in 2000 and yet they prognosticated that I would grace them with my presence and had established an account for me 6 years before my auspicious arrival. Unfortunately, neither was true.
What had happened was that the authenticating time server that we use (from a US Naval base on Colorado) had an error and its clock got reset to the year 2000. (Those Y2K people weren't wrong about problems that would occur!) While I was in a mild panic, I was texting our IT director to inform him of the issue and see when it would be resolved and my colleague (who was on vacation in AZ) about where the room was.
Long story short, my colleague got back to me 8 minutes before class started with the room number and things went flawlessly for the rest of the evening. Unbeknownst to me and, I am assuming, everyone else in the district, our IT director spent the next 12 hours dealing with Microsoft and making sure that the issue was fixed for no noticeable issues during the next school day.
Most recently, last Friday, the email system shut down again and I received an erroneous meeting reminder that I was 15 minutes late for a meeting 15 minutes away from my office. After burning rubber out of the parking lot to get to the meeting, I found out the the meeting is in one week and I made it back to the office...slowly and sheepishly.
Our email system was just restored as of 9:32 am today. Our IT director and his team spent the entire weekend working with Microsoft to fix the issue, which was a corrupt administrative directory that led to the need to create a back-up of 80 GB of email at a rate of 3 GB/hr, then a defrag of the both the main and back-up servers (remember having to defrag your hard drive?!), and finally a reconstruction of the main server to restore service.
********************************************************************************
During this time, everyone was having some difficulty dealing with the lack of email and cursing the system, the IT department, and life in general.
Once everything was restored, I sent an email to our IT director and his team saying thank you for their hard work and long hours getting us back up and running. It got me thinking, how often do we thank people for the thankless jobs they do? If the technology is running properly, you may never have to deal with the IT department. When there is a political issue that is erupting in the newspaper, do you realize that the Superintendent has probably been dealing with this issue non-stop for the past 12-48 hours, speaking with the BOE, lawyers, key personnel involved, reporters, etc?
You might make the argument that this is what they get paid for or why they make the big bucks, but as an educator, doesn't that get under your skin when the general public makes statements about compensation for the work that teachers do?
November just ended and thus the 30 days of thanksgiving that was popular on multiple social networks. While I do not advocate for any religious group, in particular, we should take a moment to thank the people that make it possible for us do get through our day: maintenance, custodial, IT, clerical, and administrative staff, parents, students, etc. Let them know that their everyday work that usually gets overlooked or taken for granted is appreciated and essential.
YOU can make THEIR day!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Copiers -- Possibly the new bane of my existence
As I am getting to know the staff at my new building, it is fortunate that there are some people that I know. One of these people is very friendly. As I was in her office, I noticed a stack of final exams and textbook samples. Jokingly, I said to her that with my new position, I do not have to worry about those things anymore and my life got much simpler with my new job. As I was having a good laugh near her expense, she said “Bob, I have 1 word for you…copiers”. And that is when something hit the fan.
For anyone who has ever worked in a school, you know that the one thing that breaks the most is the photocopier. Machines purchased for the school are typically smaller than what is needed and cannot process the volume or sheer abuse that faculty can dish out. People will try to copy pictures that are mostly dark and wonder why the fuser will overheat from too much toner trying to be processed. Staples jam in the machine. Colored paper is in the wrong drawer and a sheet of green or pink will randomly be inserted into your test. Staff members will begin a copy job and when the machine jams, leave it for the next person. The list goes on and on…and right on to my desk.
We have two machines in the copy room (and a few others, but those are not for general consumption). One machine in the copy room is for anyone to use; the other is strictly for our copy person. We are fortunate to have part-time person in the copy room. Her job is to process copy jobs for the teaching staff. This is meant to increase efficient use of time by the teachers so they do not have to wait for copies. All a teacher has to do is drop off the master and then pick up the final product the next day. The part-time person also has access to her own machine so this will hopefully reduce the havoc wreaked on the machines. She has had training and can handle most minor hiccups that others would leave for “someone else” to fix.
This system is a well oiled machine that has been in place for a number of years…long before I arrived. At the start of the semester the principal received a few emails about “problems” in the copy room and asked me to look into it. I found the copy room, met the copy lady, asked some questions and found that the problem was with our network printers and that issue had been resolved (I can talk about that one at a later date). After I met who I needed to meet and saw what I needed to saw, I sent out a carefully crafted email thanking everyone for my warm welcome and explain how copies should continue to run.
Then the emails came to me, directly. I guess I was asking for it by describing policies and procedures. Teachers asked if the 2nd machine would have the lock removed to they could use it all day. Teachers grumbled that they like to make their copies their way and need to make sure it is done correctly. Teachers just wanted to moan that machines are ALWAYS broken. I listened and carefully responded. Then watched the replies to my reply come in and respond carefully again. Some people stopped by the office…not to say hi or welcome, but to discuss the copiers.
One question…can I go back to exams and textbooks?
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