In my old career, you couldn't just shirk your job respon-sibilities. In other words, you couldn't be a screw-up at work. But there are some companies that just seem to tolerate inefficiency. Take AT&T for example. Every time...and I mean EVERY TIME...I call about a charge or I need to change/add services, the job never gets done. I always have to call back again and sometimes again AND again to rehash the story, each time to someone new. Then the wait time of a few days (or a few weeks) to see if things were done correctly before I make the next call. Maybe these companies oughta instate a mid-day napping time - just to give the old noggins a little freshening up.As a teacher, you really can't screw up. You can't even be late to work. There are 33 children lined up outside the door every morning and I have to be there. I also can't completely BS my way through the day. Imagine standing in front of a group of 10-year-olds to teach the American Revolution followed by the formula for the area of a triangle, but you've done ZERO research on either of those things. You wouldn't last long. (Yes, there are bad teachers, but that's a different story.)
But then I wonder if certain businesses encourage ineptitude. There are alot of people that don't do their jobs at AT&T but they continue to have jobs there. And if you saw the movie "Sicko" you know that some of the "Health Care" providers and HMOs would reward workers for denying claims because it saved the company money. I swear, when I call these places, I'm sure they are playing Solitaire or Whack a Mole while I relay the very sad story about my needs. Then when I finish my rant, they give me that crappy canned response, "I'm very sorry ma'am, let me see if I can help you." Blah, blah. I just know they hold the phone away from their ears while I'm talking.
Then there's the state legislators. They are supposed to have a budget by now, but they're still working on it while we all fret and suffer the consequences. This botched decision-making process is beginning to take its toll as lack of funding causes schools to brace themselves for layoffs, increased class sizes, and fewer support programs. Isn't it the legislator's JOB to do this budget thing?!?!!! Why is it always such a big surprise every year. So much of this is just poor management and people that suck at their jobs. So we don't know if education will have a budget or not. We might get absolutely nuthin'. Hmmmm. My dear friend, Helen, says that eventually we are going back to a stick and a sandbox to teach.
We'll still get the job done. Wax on, wax off.
