Why Johnny Isn't Learning a Damn Thing

Today is Wednesday of the fourth week of school. Out of 17 school days (subtracting for Labor Day), we have had the following disruptions:

1. 2 pep rallies
2. a forum for seniors, which meant I had four of 20 students in class at that time
3. an early dismissal for another pep rally outside
4. forums for each grade level, leaving roughly half the student in class, depending on the class

This Friday, every class will be spent having pictures taken.

And then, the kicker:

Tomorrow, there is an 'optional' assembly that I have been roped into attending with my students, despite NO connection to the curriculum. This assembly was not announced. The first I heard of it, I received an email saying administration was "desperate" for teachers to bring some kids. The speaker was "a writer." I emailed back, asking for his name. I received back an internet site that described him as a TV producer -- nothing about his having written anything. The shows he produced were mid-quality shows like "Eight is Enough," and none of them were anything the students would be familiar with. I decided not to take them.

After school, I got a phone call asking me if I was bringing my students. I tried to be polite, saying I would need to research him further to see if his talk would be relevant to the class. I was told I needed to make a decision right then. In the past I would have said, "Okay, then, no." However:

Last year there was a similar assembly that was supposedly "optional." (See "Principal's Memo: Stop All of That Ridiculous Teaching" on this web site.) It was right before AP testing, and teachers were very busy with test preparation and other activities, so (you guessed it) only the coaches showed up. The entire faculty then received an email detailing how very ungrateful and rude we were for not bringing our kids.

So I gave in. Maybe this cooperative attitude will buy me something later. That's what was in my mind. But I doubt it.