Thread: Ahh...what a dilemna

What don't you like about it?

it is new. New takes getting used too.

Originally Posted by billybob

I've already lost 7 unwanted pounds in ONE week.
Yet, despite all this, I don't really like my new school....
I'm insane, right?

Nay, it is just the side effect of eating less. You are not half-dizzy from the junky foof any more so you absorb more information from the universe around you, and that stuff is boiling in your head and you feel strange because you are not accustomed to it.
Plus now you know how the 8th graders feel :wink:

Yet, despite all this, I don't really like my new school....

I'm insane, right?

Perhaps you have become addicted over the years to the drama and stupidity of the previous mudhole you lived in. Without it, you find a huge gap in your life. My recommendation is that you find a new addiction, something less destructive, like dealing meth or terrorism.

Come on now billybob... we are all waiting to hear why you don't like your new job. You can't just stick the statement out there without filling us in.

I personally think you just don't like 8th graders. :lol: They take some getting used to.

Perhaps Billybob has developed a fetish for abusive administrators. Here's an idea ... get a friend to play the role of "naughy administrator." Have this person dress in tight black leather clothing with spiked heels. Furnish one of the rooms in your house as an austere "office." Enter the office and admit that you've been a bad teacher and let her beat you with a ruler while screaming a torrent of verbal abuse.

Who knows? You might like it.

The former innkeeper of my B&B was a bit like a tyrannical administrator. When I first checked in, she told me that there was no smoking in the inn.

I told her that I didn't smoke.

"If I catch you smoking, you'll be evicted."

I repeated that I don't smoke.

"And don't come whining to me about your money because you WILL be billed for your room."

I reiterated that I DON'T SMOKE.

"It's our insurance policy you see," she said as if I hadn't uttered a word. "If you smoke, we could lose our insurance."

"BUT ... I ... DON'T ... SMOKE!" I all but shouted.

The innkeeper sniffed. "And one more thing, there will be no sleeping on the floor."

I started at the innkeeper. "Doesn't the room have a bed?"

"Yes it does," she replied, "And that is why there will be no sleeping on the floor."

I later told a friend that the former innkeeper's business would have done much better had she dressed in black leather and carried a riding crop. She could have advertised her business as the Sadomascochistic Inn where verbal abuse is free but beatings cost extra.

Meth or terrorism...

REALLY John Boy....

LOL

I am not sure, really, just why I feel as I do. Considering what I posted, above, you would think my situation is ideal. You won't find an overabundance of good administrators anymore (no offense intended, Mark) and one of the other things that drove me nuts at my former school was the pettiness and unprofessionalism of some of the staff. Some had been there forever and had a special status you might say. That's a kind way of saying they figured they owned the place because some had been there their entire career.

Of course, I don't see that at my new school, since it is only in its second year of operation. Still....

I am uncertain.

In an odd sort of way, John Boy might be onto something. I was six years at a school with no viable leadership. It was a feudal society. Everyone grabbed their own little piece of the turf, defended it fiercely and did their own thing. Of course, the moment someone else felt their fiefdom was threatened, they lashed out at the perceived threat. At the end, there, I was the victim of a power play by the special ed department.

At my new school, we are still developing a school culture. That, in itself, can be a challenge. So a lot of things are not "set." But the administration does lead, sets expectations, and expects them to be met. There is some favoritism towards the more moneyed families in the school (or so some say) and a tendency to allow our lower SES students get away with things. That could just be a part of trying to establish that school culture.

I just don't know, exactly, what it is.

Maybe it is the newness. It is only October of my first year there. But...sadly, I have felt this way since before labor day. That isn't a good sign.

Being new is hard and unsettling. Setting up a new culture is difficult and unsettling for all. As you say, it's only October of the first year. Even at my wonderful new school (this is my third year), I'm learning things about the school and there are times I still feel like the new person. When I came to the school, I came along with 14 other new people so the school culture HAD to change because of so many new people. There is still a struggle with some people because they are afraid of change--"but we've ALWAYS done it this way!" :roll:

If you think about it, where would you rather be? At your old school where pettiness abounded and the administration was abysmal? or here, where there are no PA announcements during the day (I'm SO jealous!!) and the administration is good? You may just have growing pains but if you still don't like it much after say, March, you can always transfer again.

Hmm....I'm more prescient than I thought.....

I just don't know, exactly, what it is.

Maybe it is the newness. It is only October of my first year there. But...sadly, I have felt this way since before labor day. That isn't a good sign.

Might I suggest that, since it is a new school, now is the time to set yourself up a fiefdom! Accrue power and influence until you can dominate all within your department first, then continue until the administration fears you. Then you can dispense favors, have toadies, hoard supplies, and crush those who oppose you....

Actually, a better idea.... Take the opportunity, along with your colleagues, to build the kind of school culture you want- and hold on to it for many years.