Whole group faculty meetings have to happen once in a while. No ever wants to go to a faculty meeting, just like our students do not necessarily want to go to our classes every day. If you take a moment and look around your faculty meeting, you will see that we are just like our students, even if we don’t want to admit it.
The Beginning…We walk in and no one knows where to sit. We all look at each other, “Do we have to sit by departments? Or can we sit where ever we want?” Slowly, we choose our seats and the talking begins. The principal walks in and we are instantly silent. Or if we have an easy-going principal, no one even notices she has arrived until she flicks the lights or does a hand signal. Then among tables you hear, “Did we have to bring anything?” or “I don’t have a pen.” The meeting begins.
Student types:
Straight As. These people sit in the front and have pen and paper ready to go. These people follow the rules and never deviate from them. They take notes the entire time and ask questions. There is always that one that asks fifteen questions and makes the meeting run over while the rest of us groan.
Class Clowns. All the way in the back, the coaches are there. (Of course, this is light-hearted. I love our coaches I know how much they do for our kids; however, many dislike faculty meetings and I have seen this for myself first hand. So this is out of love). Half are not paying attention and the other half are trying to get the principal off topic. Some toss paper or are looking over other things. The straight A people are constantly annoyed the clowns are not being quiet and secretly know they will have to give their notes to them because they will have no idea what to do later.
The Rest of Us. Then there those that internalize everything. When the principal makes a blanket statement, we think, “Oh no, is she talking about me? I don’t think I did that, but I might have. Oh no, did I turn that in? Wait I did.” Then the principal asks a questions and you see him scan the room. Secretly we beg, please don’t call on me, please don’t call on me… Great.
The End…
By this time we are all staring at the clock. We don’t mean to, but we are ready to go. It has been a long day and we have kids to pick up, papers to grade, and now, new things to add to our calendar. We sigh at our new homework and will finish it to the best of our ability. As we shuffle out the door, we run to our department heads and ask, “You are going to help me with this right?” Or the coaches whisper, “Now what do we have to do?”
At the end of the day, we are just like our kids. We may not cause the ruckus in the meeting like our kids do, but we do act like them to some degree. It is just something to think about next time you decide to lecture for forty-five minutes straight, do you want to sit and listen to a faculty meeting for forty-five minutes? Remember how it feels when the principal makes a blanket statement? Our kids feel that way too. It is just food for thought.
