- Receiving ten days a year as sick leave/personal days to use at one's discretion.
This past week, a fellow colleague booked a 'sub' for four days as personal leave. He left instructions and worksheets for the substitute. Sounds like he covered his bases, doesn't it?
Now let's view this scenario through the eyes of Fearless Leader:
- Teacher X didn't notify him that he was going to be out those four days.
- Teacher X teaches 8th grade Social Studies which is TAKS tested ~ April
- Teacher X and FL have MAJOR professional differences reagrding instructional delivery.
- Four days is too long to be without a 'real ' teacher so FL asks his department chair to "think about covering the class for three days" which translates into: consider yourself teaching the class. (Yep, that would be me!) Plus the fact that worksheets were left for that amount of time went over like a turd in the punchbowl with FL.
My question to you, my ardent readers, was Teacher X supposed to notify FL about his absence? No, he wasn't sick and there was no family emergency. I honestly do not know why he was out and it really isn't any of my beeswax.
I just want to know what you would have done if you were Teacher X or FL.
~butterfly angel~
4 comments:
Better now than in the March.
I would think courtesy would compel one to tell a Fearless Leader if one were going to be gone. But then I've never worked anywhere where I didn't have to personally notify a Fearless Leader of my absence.
If the work left for the students was just busy work, that is not a good thing, but if that work was somehow preparing students, then what would it matter if the teacher needed to be gone.
Personal days are personal days. They are given to us to use at our discretion. I know that sometimes people who have been in the profession for a long time have accumulated tons of days and then decide to use them.
Somehow, I have a feeling that the kids got more from your teaching than they would have if the missing teacher was there.
-WTS
We are supposed to notify our Fearless Leader regarding sick days and personal days, but I've never had anything said to me. The most I've every taken in a row is two. There are some in my district through that take a week at a time to go on trips with husbands, cruises, etc. It's not a monthly thing though with those particular people.
If I were to try that kind of stunt where I work, my boss would allow me to personally take advantage of extra time to read the classified ads.
Then again, personal time in the private sector is treated a lot differently than those working in the public sector, depending on the type of boss/owner in charge.
For myself, I am allowed to rack up 2 wks of Vacation / 1 wk of Sick per year. I can use the vacation hours pretty much as I please, but approval for the time off is always at the boss's pleasure.
If I had a major batch of projects due in April that would require my undivided attention until then, I wouldn't be allowed to take vacation time until after the project is finished.
The only excused absence I'd get during that time are either my normal days off or if I get a Dr.'s note for being afflicted by some horrific disease.
From my standpoint (and with my limited understanding of how personal time works in educational positions), I would say that:
1) He was within his rights to take the time. He wants 4 days off, that's his business - providing that he had the time saved.
2) Common sense dictates that if you are planning to take more than two consecutive days off in a row, you should notify your boss.
It's just good manners.
It's kind of a dick move to just leave four day's worth of worksheets on the desk and just dial into the sub-finder and forget about it.
Especially when that has the end result of his colleagues having to double up classes for four days. Perhaps with a little better communication, a qualified temporary teacher could have filled the slot for four days if needed.
Besides, four days of worksheets? If I were one of his students, I'd be smashing my head against the desk in complete boredom...
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