No talking in the parking lot!

[c6g]

I worked for a number of odd and/or controlling principals over the years, but none who were as extreme as this group!
https://www.weareteachers.com/crazy...DNDsmp1EXfb_yEj3KHj8SAs2Zs#Echobox=1656774911

 

[marguerite2]

This brought back memories of my subbing days before my first contract. There was one school in the district that had a crazy recess supervision rule. There were two circles painted in the recess area. One in each half of the recess area. Two teachers on duty. Each teacher had an assigned circle. You needed to stand there to supervise. You were not to talk to the other teacher on duty.

 

[Tori58]

Each teacher had an assigned circle. You needed to stand there to supervise. You were not to talk to the other teacher on duty.

This will be an unpopular opinion, but I actually understand the thinking behind this. In my last job, my room overlooked the playground. I can't tell you how many times, when I'd hear a ruckus out there, I'd look out the window and see kids fighting while the teachers on duty completely failed to notice because they were engaged in conversation. This happened frequently when I was a sub, too: I'd have to deal with problems that the regular teachers didn't notice because they were so absorbed in their conversations. Of course, these days the assigned circle strategy probably would accomplish nothing because some teachers would stand there and look at their phones rather than watching the kids.

 

[Shelby3]

A former

principal felt many teachers were dressng informally, so rather than speak to them individually, he came down hard on the whole staff. He insisted on professional dress. OK, fine, i can do that. Buy then he insisted that women wear skirts/dresses three days a week, men dress shirts with ties for three. For one PD, part of the time was spent on having several teachers model examples of acceptable professional attire (See, show, do) Ha! I haven't worn dresses to work for a few years and didn't begin for him.

He began to show some odd behaviors and was gone in less than a semester.

 

[Ima Teacher]

We had a parent call to complain about those of us who were wearing coats at bus duty in February. She said that if her kid couldn’t wear a coat, then why did we get to wear them.

We were outside in February monitoring busses. The kids were not allowed to wear coats in class. It had nothing to do with being outside.

 

[brooks56]

Sadly, as bad as they are, I am not too surprised. During my 32 years of teaching I had every kind of principal, many who were similar to these. One lied to our students about different things, hired his family for summer school who were not at our school, blackballed teachers, and had definite favorites. I finally left the school before he retired. On top of that he was a minister and wore a big cross around his neck!

 

[jks]

One of my principals would stand at the window and watch to see what time everybody left between 3 and 3:30 (when the last bus left). On the last day of school she threatened everyone about leaving early, before all the buses were back. Those who normally left early still left, so her point was moot. She was a micro manager and tried to bully everyone by putting them in "uncomfortable "situations... moving them to different grades or subjects.

 

[dutchgirl]

I'd forgotten this! One year, my principal said that she should be able to go to the next same grade teacher and hear the end of the sentence you had started. Yeah. That never happened. So much micro managing. Why do teachers even need college degrees? Wait - they don't anymore. Anyone who wants to be a teacher can be hired and work on the teacher ed classes while working.

 

[cvt]

dutchgirl

One year, my principal said that she should be able to go to the next same grade teacher and hear the end of the sentence you had started.

dutchgirl, were you in my building? We had the same mandate, and it came after the district implemented a publisher's expensive new curriculum which basically had teachers regurgitating word for word what the teacher's edition told them to say. It was soon evident that it didn't work.

 

[linda2671]

Dutchgirl

Our principal said a similar thing. He wanted to be able to go from one classroom to the next and see the same lesson being taught. Sorry if the class didn’t get a lesson. You can’t retract it. Just go on.

 

[cvt]

one more

A new superintendent did the rounds and decided that kindergarten teachers were no longer allowed to sit on the floor with their students during certain times like circle time/story time. He felt that it was unprofessional and inappropriate, and demanded that K teachers wear professional clothing, e.g., business-style dresses and skirts rather than comfortable pants. The union got involved, and the practice of sitting on the floor was reinstated. The superintendent lasted less than a year.

 

[luvtulearn]

" One year, my principal said that she should be able to go to the next same grade teacher and hear the end of the sentence you had started. "

I forgot about that line!!! Don't kid yourself the lines I hear now are quite similar. . .just different verbiage. !!!!!

We had a super once that mandated her women principals wear high heels no less than 3 inches. ( raved about stilettos ) So our then thin, petite , and young and new principal would hide her "witches shoes" under her desk and when the secretary gave her the heads up signal she would switch her shoes out before she entered.

Same super who came for a writing lesson / eval. in Kindergarten on Halloween to make sure the "core" was being taught.

 

[JanetL]

It is amazing there are any teachers left in our beloved professtion!

 

[Ruby tunes]

Principal horror stories

As far as administrators go, there certainly are some crazies out there!! Overall, I think I was fairly lucky, but I do remember some incompetent ones in my district.

LuvTuLearn, that is over the top ridiculous! I would have gotten a note from a podiatrist that said I couldn’t wear high heels.

 

[calumetteach]

When I started teaching the evaluation included an evaluation on your sense of humor. At one point we couldn’t have electric pencil sharpeners because they used too much energy.

 

[Meiam77]

This brought back memories of my subbing days before my first contract. There was one school in the district that had a crazy recess supervision rule. There were two circles painted in the recess area. One in each half of the recess area. Two teachers on duty. Each teacher had an assigned circle. You needed to stand there to supervise. You were not to talk to the other teacher on duty.

Sounds more like a prison yard than a school yard.

 

[EdfromBama]

Good morning to all-
This is a very interesting discussion.

I got along pretty well with most of my principals. I almost never sent a kid to office for discipline, so that in itself made me a good teacher in the eyes of most principals.

But there was one... this feller and I just saw the world through different eyes. He was a controlling personality who wanted things done HIS way at all times, and to say that he was a conservative person, well, that ain't half enough.
Anyway, I got tired of getting nasty evaluations- not poor evaluations, cause my classes and kids always did well on standardized tests and on their grades and projects and such.
So one year for his scheduled observation, I got my class in super order. Desks in line, projects neatly presented, work completed properly on display. I even made sure the floors were picked up and swept.
So what did I get written up for on this evaluation? It seems my window shades were at different levels in my classroom.
I realized that I would never make this principal happy, so I quit trying, and soon after, he was promoted to superintendent,, but that's another story...

you all be safe and keep well- Ed

 

[cabernet]

Thanks for the laugh, Ed! If a principal is looking for something bad to say, s/he surely will find it!