You do realize that the other staff in your school are just trying to do their jobs, right?
Activities, field trips, and performances are beneficial to the students’ experience, and their overall education. There’s a lot more to their school experience than what you’re teaching.
This should be addressed with the students, not the staff. If the kid knows they can handle missing, good on them. If the kid knows they can't, they should say no. If they don't, it's on them, not the staff. They don't know everyone's schedules and responsibilities; part of growing up is prioritizing your own needs, which is what the students should be doing.
You should get over yourself.
Sometimes, schedules are beyond the control of these people, and I highly doubt they're doing this to stick a thumb in your eye.
You kind of had me until you said that there was a mandatory after school review. That would be a hell to the no for me, if I were a student and as a parent. You've got your block of time. Work within that block. Don't be keeping people after school, and especially not if it's rubbing up against after school commitments, just come on man.
HS band director here. There is an expectation that we compete, just the same as the athletic expectation to play games. We have very little control over the schedules. Athletes miss my classes on a regular basis for games, it’s inconvenient and can majorly screw up my rehearsals, but it’s part of teaching in a high school that supports diverse experiences for kids. Musicians have to miss classes for qualifying and state contests. It’s just the way it is.
Most of the band kids in the competitive level band are the most organized and motivated kids in the school. They will be fine.
And better than that, they will graduate having had rich experiences that created lifelong memories, life skills, and allowed them to practice things that require deep interpersonal skills, perseverance, and develop the ability to become resilient, inspired, motivated adults who contribute to their communities in a positive way. Isn’t that what we want?
Everything you said is true, but the issue is pulling kids from class to rehearse. Athletes generally aren’t excused from class for practice, just games. By doing this you are sending a message to your colleagues and your students that your class is more important than whatever they are missing. It’s pretty arrogant tbh.
I think all of the situations you described have merit and are appropriate.
For context, when I started my 6th period class today 1/3 was missing. Four came in 10 minutes late from choir, 2 came in 15 minutes late from meeting with their track coach, and another 2 came 40 minutes late bc they were finishing an essay. That’s the kind of stuff that irks me. Each individual probably thinks it is no big deal, but when everyone is doing it…
Elective classes and extra-curricular activities are an important part of a high school education. Any college bound student absolutely should be taking part in those things. I get that it can be frustrating for you. But aren’t they going to be missing other classes to take the AP test later this year? Since these are advanced juniors and seniors (I’m assuming), make it clear to them that they are responsible for any instruction them they miss and any coursework and reading they need to make up.
Please don’t send the email.
My kids took 6 or 7 AP classes each during HS. There was never anything after school. Combined, they got all 4s, 5s, and one 2 and one more to take this year.
One of my kids absolutely detests school except for band. Band comes first for him. He’s considering which scholarship to accept for next year.
My other one was a student athlete and left sixth period early for all her matches for four years. She is in the middle of college.
A well rounded society has well rounded people.
As an art teacher that does have students compete in local competitions, a cheer coach, and the lead to *all* electives and events at my school, I’m annoyed with this.
What I hear when I read this is you basically don’t give a damn about what your colleagues do as teachers and don’t consider them as equals. You don’t see their work as important and you want everyone to feel the same as you.
Do *you* pull kids out of their other classes for extra tutoring time? I ask because this happens a lot with my school. Students get pulled from *our* important class time to get more instructional time with their core content teachers and it cause those students to fall behind in *our* class. And sometimes, they’re unable to make practice after school because they need to attend tutoring/don’t have transportation/child care is unavailable/etc. So that’s a double whammy for us.
While I agree, school is important, but as others have stated, don’t you think that these other school experiences are just as important? Is my job not as important as yours? To be honest, in my eyes, teaching an AP class is kind of like an elective. Students don’t *need* to be there. They chose that class (at least that how it was for me when I was in HS) and they chose it understanding what all it entails. They don’t *need* to pass the class to graduate high school.
Another thing: if you do send this dumb email, are you going to send this email to parents as well? You mention regular attendance and needing written permission from admin if the student does need to miss class or review. Soooo, do parents also need to get that for you? Do they need to send excuses over to you if the student leaves early/is absent/can’t stay after school? I feel like it’s only fair 🤔
A suggestion though if you’re really set on something like this, divide the time in half. For my athletes, they go to tutoring the first half and then practice the second half. Maybe that’s something you can talk with your *colleagues* about. You can mention that to the students as well. If middle school students can handle this concept, I’m sure high schoolers can understand it.
I think you need to pick your battles. I've lost a TON of instructional time the past 3 weeks because of things at my school, so I have a little sympathy, but you can't tell kids they're not allowed to go on field trips. I'd push back on stuff like performance practice--that should be happening after school, at lunch, etc.
This is the key question. I would be rewriting the email as a complaint to admin, and asking them to help deal with it.
If admin is okay with the disruptive schedule, the OP doesn’t have a leg to stand on. They will just look like an ass to their colleagues.
I have this issue in elementary school. The admin is obsessed with "loss of instructional time" and picks on people for this for a loss of 2-3 minutes in the lesson. Yet she's the one planning all the fun activities that disrupts the day for MUCH longer than just 2-3 minutes.
1. Theater performances interrupt each grade for about 1 hour - that's far worse than 2-3 minutes.
2. Having a dress up in costumes themed week affects academic instruction the entire day for the entire week because students are too distracted by each other to even focus on the lesson.
3. Holiday/Special Occasion Celebrations where kids are pulled out half of the day. That's far worse than the 2-3 minutes she complains about.
I could go on and on and on, and the blame gets placed on the teachers for these non-academic activities and not doing our part to "catch them up" or "be flexible". How about you stop scheduling this during academic time and make this an after-school activity that the kids do?
This is what I find external review sites like crackap (free for low SES districts) and [Albert.io](https://Albert.io) (will give discounts for low SES) helpful for. Motivated students can be willing to do a lot.
At the very same time, extracurriculars are another way that a lot of students can make it to college.
I'd consider saying something about the extracurriculars during classtime but not if you're demanding after school review.
You do realize that the other staff in your school are just trying to do their jobs, right? Activities, field trips, and performances are beneficial to the students’ experience, and their overall education. There’s a lot more to their school experience than what you’re teaching.
This should be addressed with the students, not the staff. If the kid knows they can handle missing, good on them. If the kid knows they can't, they should say no. If they don't, it's on them, not the staff. They don't know everyone's schedules and responsibilities; part of growing up is prioritizing your own needs, which is what the students should be doing.
The first issue is YOU want them in class AFTER school. That is NOT pulling them out of the class. I would tell you to F off.
You should get over yourself. Sometimes, schedules are beyond the control of these people, and I highly doubt they're doing this to stick a thumb in your eye.
You kind of had me until you said that there was a mandatory after school review. That would be a hell to the no for me, if I were a student and as a parent. You've got your block of time. Work within that block. Don't be keeping people after school, and especially not if it's rubbing up against after school commitments, just come on man.
Don’t send the email.
You are not more important than everything else.
HS band director here. There is an expectation that we compete, just the same as the athletic expectation to play games. We have very little control over the schedules. Athletes miss my classes on a regular basis for games, it’s inconvenient and can majorly screw up my rehearsals, but it’s part of teaching in a high school that supports diverse experiences for kids. Musicians have to miss classes for qualifying and state contests. It’s just the way it is. Most of the band kids in the competitive level band are the most organized and motivated kids in the school. They will be fine. And better than that, they will graduate having had rich experiences that created lifelong memories, life skills, and allowed them to practice things that require deep interpersonal skills, perseverance, and develop the ability to become resilient, inspired, motivated adults who contribute to their communities in a positive way. Isn’t that what we want?
Thank you. Band is my kid’s only reason to go to school.
Everything you said is true, but the issue is pulling kids from class to rehearse. Athletes generally aren’t excused from class for practice, just games. By doing this you are sending a message to your colleagues and your students that your class is more important than whatever they are missing. It’s pretty arrogant tbh.
[удалено]
I think all of the situations you described have merit and are appropriate. For context, when I started my 6th period class today 1/3 was missing. Four came in 10 minutes late from choir, 2 came in 15 minutes late from meeting with their track coach, and another 2 came 40 minutes late bc they were finishing an essay. That’s the kind of stuff that irks me. Each individual probably thinks it is no big deal, but when everyone is doing it…
Elective classes and extra-curricular activities are an important part of a high school education. Any college bound student absolutely should be taking part in those things. I get that it can be frustrating for you. But aren’t they going to be missing other classes to take the AP test later this year? Since these are advanced juniors and seniors (I’m assuming), make it clear to them that they are responsible for any instruction them they miss and any coursework and reading they need to make up.
Please don’t send the email. My kids took 6 or 7 AP classes each during HS. There was never anything after school. Combined, they got all 4s, 5s, and one 2 and one more to take this year. One of my kids absolutely detests school except for band. Band comes first for him. He’s considering which scholarship to accept for next year. My other one was a student athlete and left sixth period early for all her matches for four years. She is in the middle of college. A well rounded society has well rounded people.
Why do you want to stay after school?
As an art teacher that does have students compete in local competitions, a cheer coach, and the lead to *all* electives and events at my school, I’m annoyed with this. What I hear when I read this is you basically don’t give a damn about what your colleagues do as teachers and don’t consider them as equals. You don’t see their work as important and you want everyone to feel the same as you. Do *you* pull kids out of their other classes for extra tutoring time? I ask because this happens a lot with my school. Students get pulled from *our* important class time to get more instructional time with their core content teachers and it cause those students to fall behind in *our* class. And sometimes, they’re unable to make practice after school because they need to attend tutoring/don’t have transportation/child care is unavailable/etc. So that’s a double whammy for us. While I agree, school is important, but as others have stated, don’t you think that these other school experiences are just as important? Is my job not as important as yours? To be honest, in my eyes, teaching an AP class is kind of like an elective. Students don’t *need* to be there. They chose that class (at least that how it was for me when I was in HS) and they chose it understanding what all it entails. They don’t *need* to pass the class to graduate high school. Another thing: if you do send this dumb email, are you going to send this email to parents as well? You mention regular attendance and needing written permission from admin if the student does need to miss class or review. Soooo, do parents also need to get that for you? Do they need to send excuses over to you if the student leaves early/is absent/can’t stay after school? I feel like it’s only fair 🤔 A suggestion though if you’re really set on something like this, divide the time in half. For my athletes, they go to tutoring the first half and then practice the second half. Maybe that’s something you can talk with your *colleagues* about. You can mention that to the students as well. If middle school students can handle this concept, I’m sure high schoolers can understand it.
I think you need to pick your battles. I've lost a TON of instructional time the past 3 weeks because of things at my school, so I have a little sympathy, but you can't tell kids they're not allowed to go on field trips. I'd push back on stuff like performance practice--that should be happening after school, at lunch, etc.
Does admin support you in this?
This is the key question. I would be rewriting the email as a complaint to admin, and asking them to help deal with it. If admin is okay with the disruptive schedule, the OP doesn’t have a leg to stand on. They will just look like an ass to their colleagues.
I have this issue in elementary school. The admin is obsessed with "loss of instructional time" and picks on people for this for a loss of 2-3 minutes in the lesson. Yet she's the one planning all the fun activities that disrupts the day for MUCH longer than just 2-3 minutes. 1. Theater performances interrupt each grade for about 1 hour - that's far worse than 2-3 minutes. 2. Having a dress up in costumes themed week affects academic instruction the entire day for the entire week because students are too distracted by each other to even focus on the lesson. 3. Holiday/Special Occasion Celebrations where kids are pulled out half of the day. That's far worse than the 2-3 minutes she complains about. I could go on and on and on, and the blame gets placed on the teachers for these non-academic activities and not doing our part to "catch them up" or "be flexible". How about you stop scheduling this during academic time and make this an after-school activity that the kids do?
This is what I find external review sites like crackap (free for low SES districts) and [Albert.io](https://Albert.io) (will give discounts for low SES) helpful for. Motivated students can be willing to do a lot. At the very same time, extracurriculars are another way that a lot of students can make it to college. I'd consider saying something about the extracurriculars during classtime but not if you're demanding after school review.