the dude does not abide

This aggression will not stand, man!

How do you ruin a whole week on the first day? Tell me, one of the unlucky few that won 3rd block planning through one of Satan's slot machines, that people with this formerly fortunate ailment are going to have to turn over even more of their precious time "for the good of the school." Why? Because they need more supervision (aka babysitters) in the cafeteria. Makes you feel super, don't it?

For those not in the know, our school is on a 4x4 block schedule. It was dreamed up by some hippies out in California from what I've heard and as soon as it failed to pass muster there it was immediately adopted here on the east coast. That follows other educational trends, but I digress.

The 4x4 block works by having students take four classes per semester, each for 90 minutes a day. They get four completely new classes in the spring. It has its pros and cons like any schedule, but for me in science the pros definitely outweigh the cons. Anyhow, students are provided with a 30 minute lunch period during their 3rd block class each day in four shifts. These are called A, B, C, and E (fooled you! it is D) lunches. That makes 3rd block two hours long with B and C lunch having a 30 minute break, one of the cons of the system.

Each full-time teacher is given a schedule with 3 classes and one planning period. They are also provided with a 30 minute lunch. Effectively, each teacher would have two hours each day for these activities, including those on 3rd block. So why did it at one time seem to be advantageous to have 3rd planning?

Lunch is during 3rd block. It can never be shortened because the law requires us to feed the children. You can't serve food faster or ask the kids to eat faster so 3rd block never gets cut. Not for homeroom, not for pep rallies, not for assemblies. Even on the rare early release days when the kids leave 2 hours earlier than usual 3rd block is still 2 full hours. Nice, right? Well, when you crunch the numbers, each person on 3rd block gets a whole 3 hours of extra time. Woo! 3 hours! Maybe I can finally shine my shoes with all of that extra time. Not to say it's nothing. It is something. But scheduling is done by a scheduling committee and a computer program so getting this extra time is like winning the lottery, not something you have a lot of influence over. And very rarely does someone have the same schedule every year, the love gets rotated around.

But this year is the year for change, by golly! We've got a problem and these guys are an easy target for our solution with their 3 whole extra hours each semester and a perfect schedule to help us out.

I'd go through a lot of my problems with this here but I've already drafted my response to their proposal. As a matter of fact, I am proud to say that productivity was lost by these guys today because I spent part of my work day writing this up.

Here is the rough draft.

I have two major problems with this proposal that aren't related to the proposal but rather to people involved.

My first beef is with the affected people. I was the only one with the testicular fortitude to say something in the meeting where they announced this plan. Not only that, I was continuously the only one to speak on the behalf of about 20 people that were being shat upon. I got some nods, but what a bunch of pussies. I need some support people. I'm not asking for a union here, just some justice. And not just for me. For you too. Help me out here.

My second beef is with an administration that doesn't have a single person that stood up and stated adamantly something along the lines of "you can't do this to my people."

Is there such a thing as "buyer's remorse" for someone that signed a year-long contract last April? Because that's what I think I'm feeling.

You want to know the real reason public education is a waste? You have fourth-tier managers running the show and people that have intelligence and other alternatives see through this. Those people tend to leave. What are you left with? That's who is most likely teaching your youths.

There. I just saved billions of dollars for educational research with five sentences.