The Teacher Meeting Paradox
If there’s one thing that teachers hate it’s meetings. I don’t think I’ve ever met a teacher that is excited to go to a meeting where the higher ups tell them how to do their jobs. Here’s the thing though, get a bunch of teachers together (especially the female teachers) and you will see that while they may hate the meetings they do nothing to help the cause and get through the meeting quicker. Teachers have to make comments and tell stories about their students.
Tonight I had a meeting at Sylvan. The agenda was 26 points long. If I was running the meeting we would have been out of there in 30 minutes tops. I don’t need to expound on every single point. I don’t need to hear stories from every teacher about an experience with that point they’ve had. It is not necessary. At all. Especially when the meeting is all just a review of your job description and how you should be teaching. How long did this meeting last? 3 hours. Yes, 3. And we weren’t even covering new material, it was all on how everyone should have been teaching to begin with. I know I’m not perfect and I have probably made some of the mistakes covered in the meeting, but we really didn’t need to sit there for 3 hours and go on and on and on these topics. Talk about beating a dead horse. So yes, teachers hate meetings, but more times than not they are willing to extend everyone’s pain and misery just so they can tell stories. Give us a break and be quiet so everyone can get out of the meeting after a reasonable amount of time. Remember that feeling you had before the meeting started. We all feel that way. We all want to get out of there as soon as possible and you aren’t helping.
Is it that they hate meetings, or that they like to gripe about meetings. Many times it’s actually the latter, at least, around here.
@mikelietz
Well, they say they hate meetings. Maybe they secretly love them and that’s all they want to do all day is have meetings. Freaks.
Oh, we hate meetings.
If it’s an informational meeting, I keep my mouth shut (other than to quietly mock everyone else). If it’s a decision-making committee meeting (and we’re volunteers being there), then I talk a lot so that the idiots aren’t making the decisions.
I think there are two reasons that teachers can be chatty in meetings. First, they want to impress the boss. They’re usually off in their own little classrooms, and the boss has no idea what’s going on… so here’s the chance to shine. Also, it’s the only adult contact they have had all day, so they can hardly contain themselves.
I generally don’t mind the ones who are always running their mouths off… it gives me GREAT material. :)