O_o

I've been sitting here trying to come up with a suitable reply, but all I can manage is that googly-eyed, you've-got-to-be-kidding-me face.

O_o

My sympathies go out to your wife, though. The lack of sensitivity and tact that displays is simply appalling. Beyond that, she has very limited recourse now: accept the decision with no converse at all, question the obviously reticent administrator, or consult the rumor mill -- which is the least satisfying and productive alternative, but likely the only one that will provide the answers that should have been in that sorry excuse for a "memo" in the first place.

And execs/admins wonder why people prefer to get their dish from peers ...

Ah, yes. This is the reason I only lasted two years as a high school English teacher. The kids were great, but the administration made my life hell.

I think this calls for a "Fame"-like talent show on the streets outside the school building. And all are invited EXCEPT the principal.

My wife chose to fight memo with memo. Today she's slipping this baby into the principal's mailbox; what do you think?

Due to the amount of time, effort, and money I have put into the Pom team and the talent show preparations, I feel I deserve a better explanation for the cancellation of the show. I have a stake in the lives of my students because of the energy I put into creating relationships with them and their parents. I cannot tell them there is no talent show this year after three months of practicing without giving them a specific reason.

I am a teacher who is dedicated and passionate about my job and due to my proven commitment to my students, I deserve to be treated as a professional.

I would like to have a brief meeting about this as soon as possible so that I can explain to my team and the other students the reason for the cancellation.

Thank you for attention to this matter.

I think it's great. If it doesn't do the trick, would you please post the principal's e-mail address for all of us and we'll take matters into our own hands?

Good luck to her. Will be interesting to see if the principal dodges it, or faces the music. (So to speak.)

David -- having worked in an urban school district in communications, I'm not surprised by the memo to your wife. In fact, I'm shocked that she's been able to have a talent show for six years, and no one's tried to stop her before.

Basic communication principles and practices (not to mention common courtesy) have yet to penetrate the American public educational system. Not to mention the fact that the letter is badly written, most likely by someone who taught children for a long time.

I live in a suburban school district that's relatively well off -- and yet it couldn't explain to local citizens that it needed money to fix broken pipes and reopen the chemistry lab at a high school -- instead it carried on about "vital infrastructure improvements and enhancements."

Absolutely right, Glynn. I edited an education magazine for two years until I found I could no longer bring myself to read the utter nonsense that passes for writing in education. Educationists are worse double-speakers than corporations, and often with graver consequences.

I'll keep you all posted on how this thing plays out. My wife will be tickled that you all care, even if her principal does not!

What a brutal message sent to your spouse. Will there be a time when we become so attuned to language and civility that there will be laws against such rhetoric? The reg could be called "Intent to Injure with a Rhetorical Weapon."

Thanks for this posting.

Glynn Young wrote:
>>In fact, I'm shocked that she's been able to have a talent show for six years, and no one's tried to stop her before. <<

(off topic now) Well, on the flip side of that, there's always appropriateness. Some talent shows are simply very poorly conceived. I'm not suggesting that this is true of David's wife's plans (ouch, that's some nasty sibilance), but I was once treated to the horrifying spectacle of my 5-year-old daughter and her four best friends bouncing around a stage lip-syncing to "Barbie Girl" at a teacher-organized YMCA talent show. If you've ever heard it, or if you look up the lyrics now, you can imagine my mortification. I think I single-handedly squelched the planned talent show video sale, as I made it clear in no uncertain terms that I didn't want a tape of my daughter doing and saying *that* ending up God-knew-where.

The difference, of course (she says in a probably futile attempt to make her tangent relevant) is that I spoke to many people *directly*, including parents, teachers, and administrators, and they all knew exactly what I was protesting about. No ambiguous "series of events" or "unforeseen circumstances."

That memo remains the worst kind of cop out. If you can't commit the reasoning to paper for whatever strange reason (or are too lazy to find the words to do so gracefully), whyever wouldn't you schedule a quick meeting or phone call to discuss it like adults?

Bizarre.

All--

Elaine asked me for an update. Here's the update. Cristie put her memo in the principal's box on Thursday (Cristie works part time, and thus wasn't in on Friday or Monday). Yesterday, the principal saw her in the hall and said nothing about the memo, only a couple of things about the testing that's going on this week.

A couple of fifth-graders, however, had apparently asked the principal why the talent show wasn't happening. She told them--and they told Cristie--it had to do with kids' behavior problems and the fact that Miss Bosch didn't get approval for the talent show "early enough."

Can you say, chickenshit?

Cristie is going to let the matter drop on the theory that one should never wrestle with a pig (you both get muddy and the pig likes it).

David