micromanagement

[vateacher]

I'm feeling very micromanaged right now and it's driving me insane. Anyone else feel this way at their school? I am also very frustrated by the amount of non-instructional responsibilities I'm being asked to fulfil. I feel like I don't have a life because if I don't turn things in on time I get in trouble so I am now having to jeopardize my health (by staying up and not sleeping to complete these tasks) as well as jeopardizing my class' education because I end up multitasking during instructional time. The forms are getting filled out while I'm listening to children read in reading groups, papers are getting graded while I monitor calandar etc. It's just crazy how much we have on our shoulders. I feel very overwhelmed and I keep asking myself if I wouldn't be happier in a 9-5 job where work can get left AT WORK. I know thought that I love working with the children too much and I would miss those moments the most. Are things this bad at every school now or is it just where I am?

 

[mrsb203]

totally agree

I hate the fact that I have to multitask so much of the day. There are a few kids that could use more of my attention , but since there are so many extranius things that need done I can't always give them the attention that they need.
Quite often anymore I feel like I'm inside some type of educationl pressure cooker that sooner or later is going to blow.

 

[NoVaTeacher]

We must teach in the same county!

I definitely agree with you. There is a new deadline everyday. We just finished our school's improvement plan, and I was going crazy because all we did was look at disaggregated data. What a waste of time! I know the job that I'm doing in my room; I don't need to look at disaggregated data to figure this out. It's just more paperwork to show to the government. I mentioned to the others that this is not what I went to school for. You're not alone!!

 

[looloo]

I hear ya!

I have had the same thoughts about the 9-5 job. The only thing keeping me going in teaching is the fact that I have the same schedule as my son and daughter. When they are a little older and babysitting isn't an issue on no school days or after school, I'm out of teaching. Not bragging, but I already put pressure on myself to be good. I don't need all the other stress that comes from this other nonsense. My principal keeps telling us that schools are better these days. I agree, but how long can the human body tolerate this kind of stress. I'm very strong willed, but I'm ready to hang it up. The anxiety and migraines are about to do me in.

 

[Mom4a_and_c]

Pressure

I feel it as well. Everytime I think I have found a way to manage something and keep up with what is due, something new is added to my to so list. It has to end, I hope, someday.

Marie from PA

 

[Anonymous]

Yes!

Our staff has definitely felt this type of micromanagement this year. We are being told how to do every little thing, there are new rules popping up constantly, etc. It has not been like this at our school previously so I don't know if the higher-ups are cracking down on administration, or what. Things were fine before so I am not sure what prompted the sudden change. It is hard to feel that you are not being treated as a professional who has some common sense!

 

[Tounces]

micro

Yes, we are micromanaged a lot here. I've never before been told what to put up in my classroom. My principal actually gave us a list of things she wanted to see up in our room at the beginning of the year. Now she still checks and adds things as we go. One teacher was even written up because she didn't like her walls. The thing is, we aren't given any money for anything either. I could go on........

 

[oh yes!]

micromanaged

We have 8 teachers leaving at the end of this year. Two are leaving teaching altogether and the others are heading to private school. It is absolutely incredible what is expected. We have zero planning time because we are always meeting. We also have a list of things we have to have up in our rooms. I can't keep up.

All of this extra stuff just leaves me so exhausted. IT really takes away from the students.

 

[Newbie]

Understand

I understand your pain. I remember student teaching and asking my CT, "How in the world do you do it all in one day??" She said, "You just learn to manage." I don't think that's possible for me.

 

[bamateach]

and don't you just love it when....

They come over the loud speaker and say teachers you need to get this paper work done and turned into you building secretary by noon today. It is 10 am! Alright kids time to do some independent reading while I do this paperwork! It is so frustrating.

 

[RedSoxGirl]

I Used To Feel That Way

But not anymore. We got a new admin team 5 years ago. One was loosey goosey and SO easy to talk to while the other one, the head principal, was so cold and unassuming. She rarely smiled. She was so unapproachable! She seemed to need to know EVERYTHING that was going on, she seemed to have all this confidential information that she would tell you she had and you felt like you were in trouble. Needless to say, she made me nervous.

Here we are, five years later, and I feel anything but micromanaged by her. She's sweet, cute, funny, and has really stood up for us teachers in a pretty tough community (our community is hoity-toity in many cases!). Don't get me wrong, she is VERY involved, and she means business, but I don't feel at all like she's watching over anyone's shoulder. The more I get to know her, the more I feel like she's pretty ok.

What kind of paperwork do you have to fill out that's taking that much of your time? We DO have to fill out paperwork and hand things in and be organized, but I don't feel that it's anything unreasonable. Documentation of students, report cards, assessments, and other professional forms are part of the job, so I accept it. I am sure if I felt it was far too much and completely pointless (and I have felt that way with a couple things) I would be just as mad as you are.

But I don't think a boring 9-5 job is your answer. You'll likely lose motivation, hate your job a lot more than you do right now, and probably make less and have less benefits (all the school vacations, summers off, snow days, holidays, sick days and personal days).

Maybe you need to seek out a different school?

 

[Gina TX]

9-5

Just coming into the profession, and working many, many years at a so called 9-5 job...please let me clear up some major misconceptions. There really is no such thing as a 9-5 job. You don't get to leave work at work and there is just as much micromanagement. I left a great job with the State of Tx to become a teacher and took a pay cut. You know what? It's worth it. The stress in that job was absolutely unbearable. Maybe try another school. I am amazed to see so many people say that they are told what to put up in their classrooms. That's awful in my opinion. The only rules we have on that is to keep it in good taste (of course) and no hanging from the ceiling (fire hazard). If you really want to leave teaching please don't do it under the misconception that a 9-5 job is truly 9-5 and you leave your work there. It rarely is really that way.

Good luck to you. I hope it all works out how you want.

Gina

 

[Tounces]

and there's more

Just when I thought I heard it all, there's more micromanagement. I just finished my report cards. Maybe I shouldn't say "my". Our principal informed us again that she needed to "OK" all our report cards. She actually looks over them all and makes sure she agrees or we need to redo them. Then she wanted us to make our comments be all the same for every student in our class. This is because she needs to read and edit all of them too. Its easier for her to do that if we give her one vague comment for all. She wouldn't sign our report card slip if we didn't. One teacher I know had do do her over because she individualized her comments. If it wasn't signed, we couldn't leave yet to go on our winter break!

 

[ncteach]

We must teach in the same SCHOOL! I have experience in 4 other school districts- which can be a bad thing because I can compare my current position to those schools at which I taught previously! At the school I teach in now, we are told what to put on the walls, where to put it, when to teach which subjects, what to teach it with and exactly how to teach each subject. I must turn in a schedule at the beginning of the year and adhere to it religiously. If I change ANYTHING by more than 2 minutes, we are written up. This schedule must be posted outside the classroom door, so the administration can constantly check to see if we are following it. It gets very frustrating to constantly hear from the principal, "I have been here 16 years and this is how we have always done it here." It has apparently never occured to anyone that pedagogy has changed slightly since 1989. I am glad to know I am not alone in frustration! My school has an incredibly high turnover of teachers every year (the principal typically hires between 10-15 teachers each summer for a school of about 550 kids). Makes you wonder at what point a higher up notices!

 

[mrsb203]

to nc teach

after today I know for sure I would never last there. My 20 minute review of Landmarks turned into a 50 minute discussion that went from Mount Roushmore, to the Lincoln memorial in DC to the civil war and slavery. My student ask a lot of questions that get us off track. When I mentioned that fact they all agreed that it was ok because they learned a lot today.

 

[NCteach]

to Mrs. B

That sounds like so much fun....if my students (2nd grade) show a lot of interest in a subject and ask lots of questions, it makes me so sad to have to say, "I am so sorry guys, but it is time for math now. We'll have to pick this up tomorrow". They get so upset and personally I think it makes them feel like what they want to know isn't important. Today we were kicking off a new non-fiction story about spiders and my lower reading group went bananas with excitement. They were flipping through pictures and asking a million questions and making comments.....I taught middle school for almost 10 years and know how incredibly invaluable that kind of energy is....but I have to stop just when they get into it and move to the next thing on my schedule. It leaves me exhausted every day....because of course, it makes the transitions between subjects almost chaotic- the kids can't get their brains to switch gears after getting all worked up about "ooooo the spider web comes right out of the spider's butt- instead of his 'hands' like Spiderman!" Sigh...

 

[mrsb203]

I do enjoy the discussion, and the interest shown by the students but when it comes time to put a grade on the report card and have evidence to back it up----well that's a little difficult. My lesson plans are always a mess because we do get off track and move things around.
I subbed for a number of years. There are pros and cons to it. I frequently fly by the seat of my pants and get off track. But when something happens that I have to make adjustments I'm great at it.