I’ve come to the conclusion that I work in a snake pit. **disclaimer: I have nothing against snakes themselves, and am using hyperbole and stereotypical characteristics of snakes. 
In discussing my last school year I realized that it was like being in a snake pit. If I planned and executed a good lesson or unit, the kids were less than enthusiastic and it would flop. If they did well, learned and made progress, then it was someone else in the building that had to snipe, bite or stab at something I may or may not have said or done. So, if it wasn’t the kids, it could be the upper echelon.
Then, there were the co-workers. Now, I have a small circle of co-workers who are a real team and who have my back, and I have theirs, this does not apply to them and they know who they are. The rest, literally all the rest, are not trustable. They are not in education to be educators, but are there, in my opinion because they can have a schedule that is compatible with their kids’. Or, perhaps, they got into teaching, and although don’t like it, they stay and stay and stay. These people deflate my enthusiasm. They are toxic. And, their toxicity is damaging to the profession, and to the students.
I long to leave the snake pit. But, what good will that do? It will still be there, and in good conscience, I don’t want to see others have to endure that pit of vipers. So, somehow I must change things. How? I have no idea.
I feel like I should write a mission statement or something about this. That won’t do much good however. I want to stand up at the first faculty meeting and say something like this:
I and many of you are in this profession because of a profound belief that a good education is vital to our society and country. Some, if not most, of our students don’t have that belief instilled in them at home, so we must take that on here ourselves. To do that we must be dedicated to it, in word, and in deed. If you are not feeling that profound belief, if you are here for other reasons, I will no longer stand silently by and say nothing. I will point out when you don’t enforce the rules, don’t demand dedication and excellence from students. I will also insist that you allow for student success. All students don’t learn the same way. If you are losing their work, grading too harshly, giving pointless assignments, setting them up to fail, I will also point it out and demand you do better. If you mock students, tease them, bully them, and scare them, I will block you. If you are complaining that you are being dinged for not having enriching lessons, and you fail to reflect on ways you can positively change, and instead whine and moan and insist you are doing it right, I will point out to you that we all need to renew and refresh our styles from time to time. And, finally, if I am guilty of any of the above, I expect you to call me on it, and demand I get my shit together.
And that goes for the cafeteria, too. Make some healthy food that tastes good! I am sometimes too focused on teaching and all those duties to pack a good lunch, or breakfast, and it would be nice to have a healthy alternative, instead of being so tired/stressed that I opt for the easy way out and eat that garbage.
And library, look, it’s not personal, but you should be a haven for students who love to read, and an inspiration to those that don’t. Book Clubs, author visits, Literary Cafe, all of these should be going on. Book Talks monthly, coordinating with content areas, should be going on. Let’s GO!
Focusing on the positive is another area I want to improve at our school. We have a ton of great stuff going on, and an email here and there saying good job isn’t enough recognition. I want to see posters of the pics and collages in celebration, and announcements on the all-day power point, and the principals on the TV proclaiming the Raider Pride!
Steel band, step team, sports teams, music department (no one really knows what they do), the P.E. dept. –some areas where we do a lot of good things. And more can be done! If there were more emphasis on appreciating the extra things, then more extra things would be done, and more
positive to focus on!
I want the admin to own the building and be a visible presence. Encourage the kids to care for their school and the environment of the school. Back the teachers up – give us guidelines – and make us adhere to them. It is not micromanagement to communicate and enforce expectations, it is just management. To state expectations and then walk away is not really having expectations. I want community involvement, Quantico, Ft. Belvoir, the businesses and services of the county visible in the school. Our population doesn’t (yet) have a sense of pride in their community – rather they cling to the countries of their parents’ origin and don’t assimilate into America. We are the ones who have to help with that! Their parents need to be a part of our building whether they speak English or not.
Whew! I could write more, as this just all came spilling out, but I’ll stop there.