co-curricula+at+IST


 * < This is a letter I want to send to Steve M to get the ball rolling on the classification of roles in the school. Defining what is a paid role and what is not. It is really important that this is a positive experience (you know what I mean) and that the generosity of many teachers is not diminished by talk of money – some will definitely feel this way. I have written it in the first person as the current chair of the committee as I want to reinforce my experience with this process. When I did this in my last school the whole process was very smooth accept for one case which was eventually solved through dialogue – this case actually was already an area of conflict that was eventually resolved with this process.

Please do not share this with anyone at this stage – we will naturally need a meeting at some point. I will make a wiki today to track our discussion.

This is first draft so lets play spot the inconsistency, spelling mistake, semantic issue etc

Steve

Hi Steve, the Teachers council are about to have a go at categorizing the various activities for example show, clubs etc. The idea is to put together something for presentation to you. My idea at this stage is to create 3 categories from a master list of activities currently done in the school:

a/ part of a normal teacher duties (this includes some sports, all after school clubs, some show roles etc b/ above a normal teachers duties (a/ plus more) negotiated with teacher (inc stipend, time, in place of something else or teacher volunteering “I do it for the love of it”) c/ paid positions, or time allowance - coaching etc

In any school the majority of co-curricula activities is done as part of the normal expectations of a teachers duties.

The expectation is that we will be quantifying what is done in the school and encourage a generous spirit lead by the faculty itself.

The following quote from: [] Who is quoting: Martin, J.R. (1995, January). A philosophy of education for the year 2000. Phi Delta Kappan, 76 (5). (see below)

“Of course, a schoolhome will teach the three R's. But it will give equal emphasis to the three C's of care, concern, and connection---not by designating formal courses in these fundamentals but by being a domestic environment characterized by safety, security, nurturance, and love. In a schoolhome, classroom climate, school routines and rituals, teachers' modes of teaching, and children's ways of learning are all guided by a spirit of family-like affection (p. 359). “

The plan from here is for the council to develop a definition for each of the categories – and have these accepted by you before they goes to staff.

It goes without saying – if you are not comfortable with the next step it will not happen and the general staff will not be aware of this.

The next step will be the generation of a list of current activities in the appropriate categories (if a master list is not available then this needs to be generated) This would be the job of the whole consultative committee (teacher council and admin) and should be a fairly straight forward task.

The next step will be to publish this list as incomplete and requiring staff input. Teachers will be encouraged to list other things that they do – not on the list. Staff will be encouraged to separate their commitment from the activities they give. This is important because someone may feel they do enough to be a c/ activity but they have to see it in terms of what the schools own goals are in terms of the extent it can support any/all activities.

I have lead this process at a previous school. It was very successful as it cleared up a lot of misunderstanding about the role of a teacher and that the norm involves a level of co-curricula, pastoral care (duty is part of this) and committees - as paid for in the normal salary of a teacher. Another way of stating it – you have already been paid.

The other big advantage for admin is that it is clear that the school makes the decision as to what is paid and what is not in the document that is produced (I know this would seem unnecessary but for some it needs to be said) – it also acknowledges teachers who are happy doing more for no gain as they are in b/ and happy not to receive little or no compensation – things like the show have relied on this with teachers playing significant roles for the love of it and this should not change. Posted Mar 5, 2009 2:46 pm - [|[delete]] ||