During our talk about managing our bosses today, I had several thoughts about how important school climate is to what we do. It truly isn't just about managing our bosses, it is about managing the other faculty members as well.
This year, as we do every year, we featured the FCCLA club. They had a great year, unfortunately, most of what happened for them happened after spring break. Our last deadline is before then and we do not do a supplement (I am going to remedy that this year). The teacher who advises our FCCLA chapter called out the spread designer in class, in front of everyone when she saw the yearbook. I was livid. I called her after school and told her up front and honestly that my student was very upset and came to my class crying. I wanted her to feel bad about what she had done. I'm a little bit of a mama bear when it comes to my yearbook staff. I know how hard they work, not many others do.
With that said, one of my goals this year is to inform the faculty of what is going on in my room as much as possible, maybe even have a teacher appreciation day. Any other suggestions, I'm completely open to hearing!
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteYou are spot on. The more you inform people and invite them in to see what your journalists are doing the better. People begin to gain more respect for the process. One thing I do to say thank you to the faculty is I have the Publications staff sponsor the faculty back to school t-shirts. It's a win-win for me because I am able to tell everyone thank you at the start of the year and I am able to prevent the faculty from having to buy their own school t-shirts. I truly believe in giving back to those that help our being. My program would not be as strong or well-respected without the help and support of the staff at my school.
Debra Klevens
Parkawy West High School
Ballwin, MO
Amanda - I'm right there with you. I hear more negative comments from faculty than my principal. I try to consider their position—that they are just looking out for their students and their programs—but at the same time, they need to understand what we do, why we do it, and the constraints under which we have to do it. With our deadlines, whether it's newspaper, yearbook or broadcast, sometimes events just don't happen happily according to schedule. Maybe have the newspaper or broadcast team put together a feature on how the yearbook gets made. I think a lot of people would be surprised to learn how early the book needs to be done in the year, and it might explain why coverage is the way is it.
ReplyDeleteKris Urban
Corona del Sol High School
Tempe, Ariz.