It's the Little Things
February 2006
What makes the difference between a pleasant and
welcoming work place, and one that inspires frustration and discontent? While
the obvious answer might seem to be major considerations such as salary and
benefits, in most instances these are not the decisive factors. Instead, what
often differentiates a job you enjoy from one you don’t are the little things.
This is especially true when these little things start to accumulate to the
extent that they seem to constitute a trend .
Regrettably, however, for far too many of us, just such
a trend seems to be emerging. Whether it be the inability to locate a
functioning copier, the door knob that hasn’t worked for three years and has yet
to be replaced, the near impossibility of having courses approved, the single,
unventilated restroom for an entire building, the indecisiveness in calling snow
delays, etc., the picture that emerges is both disappointing and distressing.
While taken individually each of these problems is hardly burdensome,
collectively, they pose a real impediment to the efficient and cheerful conduct
of our work.
When one gets things accomplished
in spite
of the
work environment, instead of
because of
it, one
has to ask WHY things are the way they are. In pondering this question, three
possible explanations present themselves - ignorance, indifference and/or
inability.
The most generous rationale for the disheartening state
of affairs is that administration is simply unaware of the existence of many of
these problems. In all fairness, this is probably the most likely explanation
for much of what plagues our schools. While one might question why some
administrators are not more abreast of conditions in their respective realms, it
is undoubtedly impossible for them to be aware of everything.
Of course, some problems persist even long after
administration has been apprised of their existence. In such instances it is
fair to wonder why nothing can be done about them. How long, for example, does
one’s ceiling have to leak before something is done about it? Is it that these
problems are simply insurmountable? Have roofs never been successfully
repaired? Given the obvious answer to this question, it would seem that what is
lacking in such instances is not the
way, but the
will. If
administration made a serious and determined commitment to fixing what needs
repair, and more generally, to making our work environments more efficient, then
these problems would be remedied.
Most troubling are the obstacles that exist due to
deliberate policy decisions. The difficulty in having courses approved is the
result of a well-considered administrative initiative. The lack of adequate
copying capacity or clerical support exists for one simple reason—to save
money. While no one would advocate wasting district resources, it would appear
obvious that some things are utterly essential for teachers to perform their
jobs adequately.
Eventually, though, one stops caring why things are as
they are. In time, the little things add up, culminating in the death of morale
by a thousand cuts.