12 real school rules for teachers you need to see to believe

1. Toxic positivity… or otherwise

We all know positivity goes a long way. But toxic positivity বর dismissing all negative emotions or critical responses করতে can lead to frustration and disconnection. Take this from the educator whose principal took the next level of toxic positivity: “I once worked for a school district where the superintendent would not allow us a lounge / workroom because ‘teachers go there to gossip.'” Sorry? We also use it for peanut M&Ms.

Some schools try to apply toxic positivity outside their walls. “When I was hired, I was told that I was not allowed to complain about any work-related issues with anyone, including my husband … who does not work for the school,” one teacher shared. I would ask, “Do I want to press her down to see if she’s wearing one?”

2. Dehydration is an expectation

Now it’s sad. “I had a principal who banned coffee,” one teacher told us. “The argument was that if the students couldn’t do it, neither could we. I went to university for 5 years to be a teacher… I got that coffee! ” Another teacher said that their principal was fine with coffee but not soda, again because the students could not eat it. “I was depressed. I have to eat my diet coke in the morning! ” Me too, teacher friend.

Some principals don’t make school rules about what you drink, but How do you drink. “All drinks have to be in a traditional coffee mug with no lid, not even water. I don’t know why, but when someone’s water spills on the computer, we are suddenly allowed to keep the water bottle with the lid on again. ” All of these teachers may consider themselves lucky, though, as we have heard from a principal who does not allow their teachers to drink anything in the classroom. “No coffee, no soda, no water. Nothing. “Urologists may have something to say about that.

3. Bonkers parking rules

Bet your “cookie school rules” bingo card doesn’t have it. A school measures how far each car is from the line, issuing bad grabs for those who don’t park perfectly. On the other hand, teachers have to go back to their parking spots every day (e.g. teachers don’t need to think enough in advance on their way to work). And don’t try to hang out in this school’s parking lot: “Our principal said that staff can’t talk in the parking lot, as everyone does when they come to work or leave at the end of the day. He felt that the teachers were talking about him. They may have rules, Janice!

It can’t get any worse than that, of course? Okay, we learned about a school where there are no parking lots at all. Teachers have to park on the street all day and feed the meter.

4. Cloaking as micromanagement

An amazing number of school teachers have to sign in to the office every morning, which causes an amazing number of problems. For example, many teachers often arrive before their administrators. “We had to remember to interrupt our work in the classroom and go back to the office after the sign-in book was out,” reports one teacher. “Every teacher has to stop at the office and say hello to the principal before school starts,” said another. “I have kids in my classroom an hour before school starts … she arrives half an hour later.”

One teacher said they would not be paid for the day if they did not sign (we are sure) That Not valid). Another teacher once walked into the school with her principal an hour earlier. “When I went to the office to sign, he said, ‘Come back later; It’s not ready. ‘ I came back just before I started my duty, and he identified me late! ”

5. A real, real life end book

Running late? Be prepared to be ashamed The Late Book. “Our secretary has observed the sign-in book,” one teacher shared. “At 7am, he removed it and replaced it with a horrible late book. Employees waiting in line must be informed of the reason for their late arrival. One friend wrote, ‘I’m having sex with my husband.’

Who needs a late book when you can just be embarrassed in public? “When I arrived at the cafeteria for lunch, one of the principals once angrily asked me in front of my students when I went to bed at night because I was a few minutes late that morning. This is when he yelled at me from the end of the building, ‘You’re glad to join us today!’ When I was talking to a parent at the door of my classroom. When I told him I didn’t feel the need to discuss when I went to sleep with him, he literally sent me to the office to grill me (at my lunch). The crying in me ended, and then I was sent back to my first classroom, and I never had lunch. “

And then there’s a school that wants you to plan your emergency: “I had to leave during the day to pick up my injured child. I informed the front office staff, who arranged coverage for my class. The next day the principal announced a rule that he had to clear all emergencies 24 hours in advance. Um, what?

6. Staff meetings must be skimpy

Speaking of running late, it’s best for a school teacher to be on time for their morning staff meeting. “The staff meeting starts at 7:30 am on the DOT. The principal checked the time on his phone and changed the time to 07:30:00 and immediately locked the door. He then proceeded to laugh at the teachers walking across campus and encouraged us to laugh and joke with them as well. They were not allowed to enter and were later reprimanded for missing the meeting. ” Their chief Michael Scott?

Although we are all in favor of keeping the meetings short, this seems a bit of an exaggeration: “During the district staff meeting, a superintendent insisted that instead of clapping more than once for whatever reason, we could only clap once. He claims that a lot of time is wasted with applause! I just I can’t.

7. Oh, don’t be late anymore

Not enough time in the day, right? Well, that’s too bad! One teacher admitted, “I was once told by other teachers to stop working in my classroom on weekends, or I would be reported to the district for working long hours.” Where is this district that forbids working hours after hours? Ask for me.

“I had a major cry for spending too much time (in the evening),” shared another. “The next morning, I had a very successful book fair / carnival. We spent the week working with Junior High Volunteers who designed and created all themed games for young students. A great learning experience of creativity, charity, kindness and leadership has been overlooked. “

8. Soap is more dangerous than germs

One teacher said, “We snatched all the hand sanitizers from the school because it was burning. “I mentioned that all the paper is so and a very good reason for the students not to match!”

It is more difficult to understand. “In my daughter’s kindergarten classroom, they weren’t allowed to eat soap (if the kids ate it ?!),” one reader shared. “He would bring it in and hide it from ‘health and safety’ inspectors.” Or, I don’t know, host an intervention with children eating soap?

We also liked the story of the principal who will monitor the use of paper towels Staff bathroom Next to his office. If he hears someone “pumping” the paper towel dispenser more than twice, he will scold them for wasting the paper. One teacher got so tired of it that she started using the students’ bathrooms.

9. Copier privileges are given to those who deserve them (so, someone)

Copies have always been controversial, especially as schools try to save money. For a principal, teachers need to prove their copies are “academically useful.” Another allocates only $ 20 per teacher per year for the cost of copying. And then it says: “Our administrator would give us one paper per semester, and if we ran out we would have to buy our own. What usually happened was that teachers would break into other teachers’ rooms and steal papers. Like many of my colleagues, I always kept my paper case in the trunk of my car. “

Then there’s the laminator. Many teachers report that a trained assistant has to do all the work of laminating. It may sound right, but what if the helper’s schedule is unexpected? Or going on an anxious power trip? “Our helper will ask you why it needs to be layered and you had to promise to use the item for at least three years!” What I want to know is if you can sign a laminating contract with your own blood or you can use a sacrificial animal instead.

10. Pretend bad behavior does not exist

Of course do not try to involve parents as partners in their child’s success. “We were not allowed to call or even email our parents. We were only allowed to communicate positive notes by writing on the students’ agenda. ” Too Positive, though, as one teacher told us, “I can only use two exclamation points when writing notes and things to parents. I don’t want to show too much excitement.”

All children need a period of adjustment when school starts in the fall, but how long should it last? At one school, “Teachers cannot write or suspend any disciplinary referrals before Christmas. As a result, by Halloween, students are running the school, not the staff. A lot for the consequences of behavior.

11. Drones as pedagogy

Prepare yourself for one of the most nutritious school rules for teachers we’ve ever heard: “Every teacher at a grade level had to teach the same thing at the same time. The rationale was that if a student needed to be transferred, they would walk where they left off. ” Maybe not Too Bad? How about this twist: “When we were observed, if the administrator left my room and went to another class of the same grade level, the administrator would be able to hear the same text as if we were on the same script. But we were not allowed to share the lesson plan. ”

In the same note, one teacher said, “If you put something on the wall in your classroom, the same thing will happen in all other grade-level rooms. It has to be in the same place so if the students moved the room they would know exactly where to look. “

12. The principal is always correct

Teachers generally respect authority. Until that power would become completely irrational. For example, all window shades are required for a main The whole building Being at the same height (still scratching my head at him.) Another teacher reported to a principal who came regularly and took pictures of his messy desk, then examined him. “He would ask for random items that he thought I wouldn’t find. I have a filing system that says ‘if I can’t see it it doesn’t exist’ so everything is on my desk, but I can find it. Put it in a neat file in the cabinet and it goes away for life. ”

Here’s one last gem. “I had a principal who was an extreme micro manager. He had this rule about data charts. They were specially color-coded. Anyway, okay. I forgot the color-code and got a bad email about efficiency. Anyway! Okay, I’m color-coded. Got it and done with. Then another junk email. I did not use The right shade Blue, red or green and I had to give up what I was doing and fix it as soon as possible. So I put it off. I got a lot of bad emails that were on the verge of harassment. Because the shades I used weren’t the principal’s preferred shades. “

12 real school rules for teachers you need to see to believe