Friday = Department Meeting

Friday, November 13th
Well, not much new to report on the situations of the last few days. Our phones weren't working so I couldn't call out of the building and there is a chance that no one could call in to us.

We had some "trainings" about policy during our weekly department meeting where we were handed a power point in written form and reviewed it and then signed an attendance sheet as evidence of our presence for the training. At least in my old career, we would have had to take a post-test.

One training was on the 12 protected categories, meaning that you can't discriminate due to age, race, nationality, creed, religion, etc. All I could think of during this was a quote from an Austin Powers movie: "There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch."

The rest of the meeting revolved around measurable goals and objectives and the need for teachers to be able to measure the progress of goals and objectives. This also sparked conversation about how teachers get so caught up in curriculum that they don't look at the data that they may get from standardized teaching programs. Our literacy specialist mentioned that one teacher had been telling her about how this student, who should have been kept back last year, wasn't progressing in the Project Read program that is being used in the district. So the reading specialist looked over the results of the testing and saw where the student was getting caught up. When she approached the teacher about the diagnostics of the testing and tips for remediation, the teacher just came back with the student should have been retained last year.

Another issue is that the educational programs that are instituted in the district aren't being followed as they should and are done piecemeal, so of course they aren't effective. I think that this is an issue with administrative support. When any new program or technology is instituted in any organization, it needs close oversight and support to ensure that it is being done properly and that the staff receives the support it needs to get past any roadblocks they encounter. If the line staff are just given something to do with only minimal training and no additional support then people shouldn't be surprised when it isn't followed.

Well, enough of being on a high horse. It is Friday night. Time to relax.