Just how different are schools from the industrial or corporate world? Unfortunately, there is a big difference. Basically, schools are there to prepare the individual for the real world. And yet, schools oftentimes are not microcosms of what the world truly is. In schools, we see an ideal world or how we perceive what the world ought to be. We have rules and regulations that are bound to be followed, no matter how mundane these are. We impose them on our young on the premise that if we train the students hard enough, the same will be imbibed on their young minds. How naive can one get?
Another difference is the promotion of employees to administrative positions. First, there aren't as many administrative posts in schools than in some of its corporate counterparts. Basically, you have the EVP, Principal, vice-principal, Directors in various offices and the lesser ones like the coordinators which is not actually an administrative post in the true sense of the word. At most, it is a primus inter pares or first among equals, kind of thing. Hence, you have a hundred or so individuals aspiring for very few slots.
It is but natural that the best worker be the one to be promoted to an administrative post. Hence, the best lathesman is given the supervisor slot. This is not accurately true in education. A good teacher may not necessarily be a good administrator. If a good teacher is promoted on the basis of his/her capabilities as a teacher, and proved to be inefficient, what happens is the school loses a good teacher and gains a bad administrator. Instead of a win-win situation, we have a lose-lose situation; and that doesn't sound good in english, much more in tagalog.
Comes now the question of what should be the bases for promotion in a school setting? While it is disheartening, it seems like promotions in schools should not be based on how well a teacher teaches but on capabilities of handling the job. Problem is, if you're weak as a teacher, chances are, the subordinates will think they're better than you are, hence it would be very hard to gain their respect. Ang gulo no? What do you think?
10 comments:
when i started university few years back i never intended to be a teacher but a writer, one of my best teachers said, if your want to read go and teach because you will be paid for doing what you like. I became a teacher and really loved it, then another teacher (Dr. Isagani Cruz) told me, if you are a very good classroom teacher do not get an administrative position bec. you will be hopeless. I think that is true bec. a lot of good teachers who became admin. in
part 2
in the school where i used to teach are really very idealistic. Why? bec. they have a lot of ideas and they can not put it in practice, so they ask their teachers to try, if it fails, they blame the teacher and not the method. Just a thought ; ; ;
PS
two weeks before Johann François comes into the world
joan
Jonix, manganganak ka na in two weeks! BA, sabihin mo dyan kay fred barmes alagaan kang maigi, ha. The more that he should treat you like a queen. Just like we did here in the Philippines. hehehe
Anong eskwelahan ba yung sinasabi mo? yung sa Antipolo no? :-)
may catch nga sa mga promotion ng mga teachers ano? yung isa sa mga regrets ko nung elementary/high school ako ay kapag na promote ang mga magagaling kong teachers into supervisory and non-teaching roles. what a waste at talo ang mga estudyante, isip isip ko.
nakapasok ka na ba ngayon sir?
That was well said Bayi. Actually, the only point I was trying to make was that should a good teacher be promoted to an administrative post, sayang because he/she loses contact with the students who could get the most out of him/her. Kaya lang, one should be rewarded din naman for one's efforts, di ba? You're right, a well-paying or ranking scheme should be sufficient. kaya lang, the prospects of landing into an administrative post is good for one's resume. Oh well...
Batjay,
Yes, I did go to school today. May morning assembly ang first year which I have to address prior to the principal's talk with them. Besides, nagagalit yung mga anak ko pag uma-absent. Ibang-iba sa tatay nila, hehehe
The situation in schools is pretty much the same situation we have in the hospitals where nurses are concerned. If I remember right, we have the Nursing Director, Department Heads and Head Nurses. That's saying there's a very small room for career growth so it's either you tough it out until you retire (or win the lotto, marry a rich, corrupt politician, break your spine doing your job or unwittingly catch one of your patient's diseases) or leave and work for the almighty dollar and hope to make enough money for an early retirement in the Maldive Islands... hehe.
Likewise, not all good nurses can be good administrators. And for us, malaking bagay ang therapeutic communication, which we have to excel in using not only when speaking with our patients but with our co-workers and subordinates as well.
For example, let's talk about time management. There's this one nurse, one night, who woke up a patient cause she has to give him his meds.
Patient: Di ba pwedeng bukas na lang yan? Kung kelan naman tulog na ko e hirap pa naman akong kumuha ng tulog. Ano ba'ng gamot yan?
Nurse: Pampatulog ho.
Nakakatawa but it's something that really happened where I was working back then and when you think about it, would you like a nurse like that supervising you on the floor?
I wouldn't.
Jet, after reading your comments and Bayi's, I think I'm beginning to understand that there are more similarities then I imagined. Darn! And I thought we were exceptional!
Musta na pasyal sa Malaysia?
nn a school set-up, i think, only those who have been trained in educational management and leadership programs must be tapped for administrative positions...pasintabi po sa mga nandun na.
though teaching can be equated to a supervisory task in a corporate set-up, most of the classroom management we teachers do are play-by-ear sort of stuff...i've not heard of any training in that particular area, at least in the schools i've been. ergo, you're practically on your own. maswerte po yung mga katulad nyo sir na may kakaibang background sa legal management. depending on your personality and background, not all teachers can become good at classroom management over a short period of time. it takes a lot of pain and experience before you can finally get styles that work for you and your students. So what am i saying? hindi rin porque't magaling ka sa classroom management, pwede ka nang administrador. it takes a special training in management and years of studies for one to be able to qualify for such tasks.
another quality that administration probably considers in choosing a person for an administrative post is attitude towards work...apparently, that's a plus factor. but diligence and the right attitude towards work are just few of the good qualities of being a manager. they are not the only qualifications to consider.
I have raised two concerns here: first, perhaps the school can devise a crash program in management and leadership before considering uprooting a good teacher from her post, and giving her and administrative task which she probably never even dreamed about; second, i think it's about time that admin should provide training, not only in pedagogy, but in classroom management as well, since they insist anyway on evaluating us in this area also.
I believe you cannot attract "A Real Good Teacher" into accepting or being promoted into an administrative position. Teaching is their life and their students is what gets them going. I have one teacher like this in high school. He really devoted her life to teaching and she is well loved by us/her other students. Now I know the reason why teachers like her chose to remain single.
- Santi
Hi Santi,
You are blessed to have had a teacher like that. Yes, a real good teacher is someone as committed as your beloved teacher. they're hard to come by now but are not a dying breed. My suggestion to you is to keep in touch with her to show her how you value her efforts. A lot of us thinks teaching is a thankless job. We believe this until proven wrong. Thanks for dropping by.
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