Staff meeting. A new approach, apparently!

I’ve been teaching for a few years now, so it’s safe to say that in those years I’ve attended my fair share of staff meetings. I have also experienced these regular meetings, which occur weekly or twice weekly on occasion, in three different countries now. I’ve found that they don’t seem to differ that much really. However, some headteachers can be more eccentric than others with their wacky ideas, and occasionally characters can clash! Staff meeting a new approach, apparently!

Admittedly, there hasn’t ever been a single one where I’ve sat there and not been thinking, ‘Are we nearly done, shouldn’t we be wrapping this up by now, why does this time seem to go ridiculously slow!’ As I sit there, nodding, taking notes, and (hopefully) appearing to come across as focused and taking it all in. At the same time, silently sighing to myself, hoping I don’t get noticed by the head or anyone else in management as I casually look over to the clock on the wall. Waiting for the hands to move to the correct numbers so we can all finally head home!

It’s also safe to say, that in that time I’ve witnessed some highly heated differences in opinions at times! I myself, being the introvert I am, prefer to stay silent and observant in such situations! Like one particular meeting, thankfully not long before I left this particular school! Where the majority of the team were waiting for the meeting to start, and wondering where the head was, so we could just get started. I was in a ‘I’ve been teaching all day before we had to have this meeting. I want to go home already. These notes could have been put in an email, surely? I’m hungry and in need of a long, hot shower followed by a glass of wine and an evening of travel and trips planning for when I move to be making’ sort of mood!

Eventually, one of the teachers we have been waiting for emerges into the room looking rather red-faced, and frankly, like she’s about to smack someone in the face! I’m just thankful that she opted to sit at a table on the opposite side of the room. The head shortly follows her in, who is also looking rather red-faced! There’s obviously been some sort of heated debate beforehand between them!

The head begins by making her apologies for being late and attempts to get started. Which only seems to rile up the red in the face, want to smack someone in the face, angry teacher some more!

All of a sudden, she stands up with force, knocking her chair over backwards. Everyone turned in her direction, looking stunned and confused. Angry, red-faced, looking like she wants to smack someone in the face teacher then proceeds to scream at the top of her voice that she, ‘won’t have her f**king meeting be changed again.’ Before storming out of the room. Leaving everyone else looking at each other open-mouthed, and wondering where the hell that came from! Obviously, on her part, some unfinished business between her and the head! I just remember sitting there and thinking, ‘I hope that’s not another meeting we all have to attend!!’

Then there was the meeting we had about the Christmas show. In this particular school, it was tradition for all the teachers to sing a carol. So this meeting was specifically for us all to get together and practice, with the music teacher playing the piano.

Now, this was for us to be on stage for all of two minutes in order to wish the parents and children a Merry Christmas. Get off the stage and let the children continue performing for their families! The song we were to sing had already been chosen. So you’d think that it would be a quick sing-along around the piano, and then we could all go home.

But, somehow, those two minutes seemed to turn into some grand performance in some people’s eyes, and they all had these wacky ideas. Like the English team singing one part, then the Spanish team come in after for the chorus. ‘In order to really show ourselves as an international school.’ The English head put it.

Some, like the two heads, were really enthusiastic and wanted to put their two pennyworths in. However, others, like myself, weren’t really that bothered. I mean, it was all of two minutes. We were only wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. The parents wanted to see their children perform a Christmas service, not watch us prancing about on stage!

And, with overenthusiasm always comes someone who disagrees with the somewhat grand performance and has their own grand thoughts and ideas. So, this inevitably resulted in the Spanish and English heads having quite a heated dispute over the matter. In Spanish, of course, as Spanish head didn’t know a word of English! Ending with English head telling those who attempted to calm the situation to be quiet, and even shut up at one point as she continued to organise everyone into place for the ‘grand performance’ on the very snug stage. Informing the poor music teacher to wait for her cue before he could begin to play!

I have to say that out of all the heads I’ve worked with, this particular head was very highly strung, actually, she was completely bonkers!! This was just one of a few instances with the English head in this school!

The school I’m currently working in is the biggest school I’ve ever worked in by far! Names come up, and I have no idea who that person is yet. Or I’ve met them, been introduced at least, then I bump into them in the corridor, and still have no idea who they are! There are just so many people here! Staff meetings take place in the hall once a week. Again, meetings take place after school, and you just want points to be made etc, so that you can go home!

(I’m aware that I may be coming across as a meeting moaner, but I do like my job. Just not a big fan of staff meetings after school, especially if they overrun!)

The head is usually quite a down to earth, chatty, giggly type of character. Which means you can talk to her and she’s approachable at least. However, she does have a tendency to go off on a tangent, and quite quickly, too! But, saying that, my experience of these particular staff meetings so far are that everyone seems to leave feeling generally happy, and knowing what’s what until the next meeting. Despite the fact that the head can go off on a tangent. There are one or two others who have worked with her for a few years now. So they are good at bringing her back to focus, so we can continue to talk about what we should be talking about!

However, there was one particular week we met for our usual staff meeting that was very out of character. We seated as normal, and the head started by saying she had a few questions for us and a few points she wanted to raise. She went on to say that she had met with some of the other managers. She then continued with this by informing us that it would be a different type of meeting. That she was trying a new approach with us. Gone was the calm, down-to-earth, giggly type character this meeting!

You couldn’t help but pick up on the vibes and change in atmosphere! She’d obviously got in the neck from senior management for something, and now that was being filtered down to us! She began with her first point! ‘I’ve been hearing things from some others that some of you aren’t happy with the way I’m doing certain things. Now, I’ve got you all here in one place. Who wants to tell me what they’re not happy with first? I can take it, just say it like it is.’

And she said it just like that, too!

No one said anything. There were a few teachers who looked at each other through the corners of their eyes, waiting for someone to say something, but nobody did. To be honest, I don’t think we could quite believe how it had been put to us! There was a long pause before the head continued. ‘So, nobody’s got anything they want to say to me? I’ve been hearing all of these things, and nobody wants to get it out in the open?!’

Again, a long pause. People continued to look at each other from the corner of their eyes. ‘Ok, well, don’t say I didn’t give you the chance to speak up!’ She added. Seriously, what was with the aggression?

This only appeared to make her more agitated as she went on to her next point. It was like she was deliberately looking for an argument! She wanted to know when we were teaching the new times tables scheme and when we were testing our classes. The obvious thing here, surely, would have been to ask us to send her our class timetables so that she could have popped in and see that these things were in place and how they were being run.

Then our meetings could be more about how to support each other and give ideas and examples, and improve on our practice. But instead, she felt it was better to let us know who had been informing her that we were supposedly moaning about her. You’ve just gotta love her professionalism! Talk about making things awkward and potentially causing conflict between people!

Some of the braver amongst us, and rightly so, disputed her claims. This just made her even more aggressive as she leaned across the table with her head swinging like one of those Churchill dogs in the back of the car window. Only with long hair placed over one side of its head and over the shoulder. The most annoying part was that all the while she was asking for people’s thoughts and opinions, and then when they chipped in with something, she stopped them and shot them down! Only to reiterate the point/comment/rumour that was made to her rather than actually discussing it and trying to resolve and overcome the, or rather her, problem! There really wasn’t much point in asking people to express their thoughts if her aim for this meeting was just to gripe at us!

We (finally) got towards the end of the meeting, and it seemed like she had reflected for a few seconds before ending the meeting. ‘I think you’ll all agree that this hasn’t been the most successful of meetings today. This was meant to be a different approach to get to the bottom of things. To get things sorted so that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet. However, it hasn’t worked today!’

Here’s hoping that the next meeting we go back to a calm, down to earth, giggly type character! What a load of unnecessary nonsense!