It's Teacher Appreciation Week?

Heh. I teach in a California junior high school and didn't even know that it was "Teacher Appreciation Week" until I read Ms. Cornelius' letter to school administrators everywhere. Here's a small sample:

It would be nice if administrators would realize that they are managers of teachers, not just commanders. Teacher motivation is part of the job of an excellent administrator. As it is, many of the administrators I have known-- not all, but many-- seem to view teachers as tools to be utilized rather than as the people who do the work of a school. They seem oblivious-- willfully so-- to matters of school climate that they could control which impact morale. How many schools have you walked into in which the administrators have preferred parking places, upholstered furniture, their own bathroom, air conditioning and heating that they actually can control, carpeting, and the like?

Consider reading the whole thing.

Sadly, a good school administrator is hard to find and a great one is a treasure beyond price.

Maybe the lack of merit-based promotion in many school districts has something to do with that rarity... --------------------------------See our latest entries.