The Worst Meeting

Here are the teachers who got screwed.


Yesterday the school decided to have meeting about the English department's performance over the last semester. That's fine - always good to have views from outside, right? Well this was the worst meeting I've ever been in my now 51 years. Worst than HMSA, HFMC, HFDC, Kauth Brothers, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, my dad's Marathon gas station, any meeting as a student or student teaching, Econews, CATS, and even at Tom C.'s house!

here's how NOT to have a meeting. Invite all 11 members of the English department to listen to 50 homeroom Chinese teachers tell you what is wrong with what you are doing. There we were sitting in the middle of homeroom teachers launching what was on their minds at us and using a microphone to do it. I am fortunate that I only got the translated version.

It was putting us in the center of the group and having them throw stones...what the fuck was the principal of the school thinking? Having a Turkey Shoot?

This experience devastated the English department. The Chinese English teachers were hurt deeply along with our Canadian Coordinator. The feeling in the office is death-stagnate today. I was hurt too, and now I don't trust any of the homeroom teachers or staff beyond a certain point and I'm sure others feel the same way.

The issues should have been handled behind the scenes. We teachers should have received only the path the school wanted to take after digesting private comments from the homeroom teachers.

It's weird. The place was trying and attaining a "family" feeling. That's all gone and will never be attained again until the staff changes.

Me, I'll serve my 4 more months of the contract and focus on the students which is why I do teach. The kids are amazing, even the pains in the ass six graders.