And what a cunning web of tape it is. One may feels as though they had better not enter the domain otherwise known as the main office for fear of becoming ensnared in the sticky mess. We all abide by the rules to a certain extent. I am not saying that rules and regulations in public schools are a bad thing. However, there are times when these educational laws of the realm hinder education and hold some students back from using their full potential. It even limits some teachers from getting the most out of the classes they teach. Like any decent recipe, these tiresome bureaucracies begin with several ingredients. If we boil them all down to their bear basic components, we are left with some sizable amounts of fear, rigid attire, and imposing letterheads, with just a pinch of unneeded self-importance to give it all some flavor.
Bureaucracy and supremacy in public schools is by no means a new concept. Teachers and students alike have tolerated this state of being in academic institutions probably since the dawn of the public school era. Perhaps it even began before that. Of course this mess extends past the iron grip of the administrative personnel. It all ends up in some supply closet in the government center labeled “Danger: Do Not Enter.” Every once in a while, some brave soul on the Board of Education withdraws into the closet’s depths. They sometimes emerge a fortnight later, if they’re lucky, with a small bundle of semi-important documents dating back to1990. These bundles most likely include requisitions for the removal of carcinogenic sustenance served in the cafeteria, equipment requests from teachers well into their Florida retirements plans, and several grants from the Chamber of Commerce that could have been used to improve the quality of education several times over. Let’s not blame the sole document retriever though; the more intelligent of the board members are just really good at nose-goes.
Upon asking administrative officials whether it was possible to purchase new equipment, I was greeted with severe opposition. Firstly I was told that I, as a student, despite my close connections with teachers and club positions, could not talk to her about purchases. Secondly, the forms to request any large piece of equipment had to have been filed before the school year had started (which makes everything so damn easy to get.) Those forms would take over half a year before they are even discussed by the board upon which time they would be promptly discarded into the circular file due to lack of importance and “a limited budget.” Thirdly…and this is the kicker folks. When equipment is needed, the teachers must fill out their forms and give them to their department heads, who incidentally work only part time at the school and the rest at the government center doing who knows what. Thus they become further detached from the needs and problems of the school just like the administration who like to keep warm in their cozy offices with wall-to-wall carpeting. The “limited budget” is a bit angering too. There shouldn’t be a price on a good education although in reality, this may never be the case. There is a threat (relayed to the students by the teachers themselves before it hit the news) that many of the staff without tenure may be laid off at the end of this current school year. This is completely ridiculous. If anything, the school has a lack of teachers.
We only have one French teacher. He’s been retired for two years but out of kindness, he stays to teach part time so the school keeps the French program intact. The second French teacher was drafted back to the other high school (which from what I’ve heard, is in worse shape than our own). These bureaucrats are ruining the education system with their “I’m get paid enough to safely say I’m doing my job well although I do as little beneficial work to help the school” attitudes. We need administrators and officials who are in tune with the inner-workings of schools. They need to be able to confer with their staff, understand and deal with problems efficiently, and have a positive outlook for the future of the school itself. As long as they feel that can run a school without planning to improve it during their employment, our public educational establishments will continue to decay. It’s all the red tape folks. Administrators and officials stick to it…and at times it sticks to them too. That giant bureaucratic spider that weaves the tape into the fine mess one can find in the main office has to be killed.
Quick! Someone get a can of Raid!
