| The Schechter Saga, Part V -- The Anti-Disney World | for everyone |
You know Disney World, "the happiest place on Earth." I'm beginning to think SSDS is the anti-Disney World, "the unhappiest place on Earth."
That is obviously hyperbole (in both directions) given what's going on in the world, but I'm not sure I've worked where there is more dissatisfaction and unhappiness, and, believe me, Hancock certainly had its moments.
But most of those moments came to me second-hand, about life at one or another of the elementary schools. Morale at the high school and middle school had its ups and downs, no doubt, but most tales of woe flowed from the elementary level. That may explain the unhappiness that seems to float like a dark cloud over the Schechter staff. SSDS is, despite some (what seem to me) haphazard efforts to create a middle school atmosphere in the upper grades, at its core, an elementary school.
Elementary teachers are, almost by definition, overworked and under-appreciated. The demands are ever-expanding, the challenges endless and the expectations relentless. I don't care how much you love the kids, love the job, it has to wear you down, and when you feel stressed and taken for granted (let's just assume no personal issues or problems), it creates a fertile breeding ground for unhappiness, and contagion is almost inevitable.
Maybe that's what's going on at Schechter. Teachers tell me this year is just one more in a downward spiral. My world-view is so different that I don't feel the impact directly. I come in, do my thing(s), listen sympathetically, and leave. This is not my livelihood. I can quit or stay, depending on how things go. Assuming I get an offer, and based on what I'm hearing lately, I expect I will (but unless they have big endowments, private schools are dependent on enrollment for funding, and SSDS is expecting to take a significant hit -10/11, so who knows), I'll probably stick around. If my job is identical, the 8th grade will consist of 7 or 8 girls -- not the toughest gig.
I kind of figure I heard enough unhappy people in my years at Hancock that I've built up an immunity and am unlikely to join the Pout Parade. I'll just watch from the street and wish the best for underpaid people working hard and doing their best in a job that gets lots of lip service thanks and facing (what I see as) insurmountable obstacles over which they have no control.
Saint Pat 2 wrote on Jan 20, '10
ReplyDeleteWell, Bob, you've described teaching! I remember my biology teacher saying "All trees fall." Well, maybe all private schools do too? p.s. Any teacher who takes a private school job joins a quasi-religious order (no matter who is the founder) with built in vows of poverty and suffering. Here is the best advice of an old experienced woman for a teaching career. They treat you well, but pay you lousy, stick around. They treat you lousy, but pay you well, stick around. BUT....when they pay you lousy and treat you lousy, vanish like the weasel they want you to be. For true job satisfaction, say by way of good-bye, "Here's my size (##) butt and you can just kiss it!"