Dear Admin, This is NOT the circus and we are not performers

Dear Admin,

I like to imagine you mean well, but maybe I am an idealist. I see you looking at uninterested students when you come into my classroom and thinking I should be more engaging with my classes. I see you listening to parents complain that their child has a low grade and then email me asking why this student isn’t succeeding. We all know you think it’s our fault. We have students not doing the work or acting up in our classes, so obviously, we are the problem. I’ve heard it all before. “How are you engaging them? They are bored so they act up. What are you doing to keep their interest? Why are they missing work? Why are they failing?“.

Guess what!? This isn’t a circus and I am not a ringmaster. I have standards that I am trying to uphold. You judge me on these standards, so you should know them well. These standards are achieved through lessons that convey information so that they students can understand the concept. Can I do that with a fun activity? Sometimes. Am I going to do that every single time? Absolutely not. Students need to know how to do things that are not always fun. Writing a story is fun, but they need to know how to have character conflict and what a complete sentence looks like before we get to stories. Could we reenact the Boston Tea Party? Absolutely, but not until we know each side of the conflict and learn what led up to that point.

Sometimes, a classroom isn’t ’fun’ according to the student. That’s life. It’s not always fun. What you seem to not realize is that if students don’t actually DO these activities, fun or not, I can’t give them a grade. I know, I know. Crazy concept! When they parent calls, did you look at the grade book and addressed the complaint by pointing out that their little angel hasn’t put in the effort? Have you asked the student WHY they are missing so many class assignments? I didn’t think so.

When you show up to observe me, you come into one small part of a lesson and give feedback like you‘ve been there the whole time. Please stay in your lane! You think that if I make a class ‘fun’ then students will do the work. Think again! I have students that refuse to pick up a pencil because they don’t want to write a sentence. One sentence in their own words that is literally what they observed in the lab. Nope. Refusal. This is what we are dealing with while you stay in your office and tell parents it’s our fault.

If I thought it would help, I would send them to you. However, you can’t be bothered to deal with it, so you send students back with candy which reinforces the class culture of apathy. Instead of hindering our success, why don’t you ask teachers what you can do to support them? Hold students accountable and let parents know that we can’t grade work that isn’t there.

When you are done allowing us to do our jobs, maybe walk around the school and make sure students are out of the bathrooms and halls. That is YOUR job after all. Pop into difficult classes and support the teacher dealing with them. Please don’t find more useless motivational videos for us to watch during staff meetings. Find us time on PD days to plan and grade. And please, for all the teachers out there, back us up when parents call complaining.

We are all at our breaking points and need your support. Try and remember why you became an administrator and help us take back control at our schools.

Sincerely,

Teachers Everywhere