Time To Move On?

WCC has seen better days.

Amidst the continuing struggle to get a grip on the hundred and one issues that the school has to face, we know that teachers continue to express their dissatisfaction with the current conditions. Again, the pandemic is one of the causes but one cannot ignore the developing trend of teachers leaving or wanting to leave. This trend started before the pandemic and continues to show no sign of slowing down anytime soon. 

People entering the education field tend to be ambitious, passionate, and lively. We choose to be on our feet all day: popping from table to table, often performing to engage students, and immersing them in active, relevant, real-world issues that get them on their feet and diving into the work. However, the job itself is increasingly sedentary. Our time, instead, is occupied with filling out Google Doc after Google Doc, answering emails, filling in admin forms, temperature checks, after-school meetings. Teachers spend more time in front of the screen than in front of the students, with some seriously unhealthy consequences. Surely, much of this is the way of the new world: we communicate electronically. It allows us to be more efficient. It helps us with accountability. However, if we’re being honest, many of us went into education to avoid the cubicle.

We have seen a lot of changes lately. The problem lies in the ability for system-wide adaptations to take root and reach students in a meaningful way. As educators, we often pride ourselves in our ability to “build the plane while flying it,” but there’s a very clear reason why aviation regulators would never allow this sort of contraption to leave the runway! These fluctuations lead to severe changes in education standards, compounding the problem. How can educators improve their own proficiency when our management can’t even agree on one clear direction? We’re running a race, and we’re unsure of the finish line. This environment is an uninspiring and demotivating landscape for growth in a field. It’s a mess. And it’s taking a toll on our colleagues.

If you read through our blog entries, you will see a common trend. The school's current challenging culture, climate and leadership constitute the main reason. The reason basically comes back to the hostile relationship between teachers and management. Teachers also are increasingly frustrated with the working conditions and the lack of ability to shape them.

Students are also starting to express dissatisfaction with the school's culture. An email sent to us shows a long-running issue within the student body:

"The negative and toxic attitudes within the school sadly aren't limited towards the leadership group. I'd say a large majority of my year group were either racist or homophobic or ableist or just bigots, and the school does a great job at simply letting it slide past and not actually confronting the issue at hand. One of the largest mistakes that they do is by simply just putting whoever said slurs or made accounts harassing girls on Instagram (yes this actually happened) in isolation for a week, but not listening to the actual victims of the incident and helping them feel like they are in a so called safe environment.

The newly formed cultural committee I know for a fact is led by students that are incredibly passionate about creating a safe and welcoming environment for all students, but I highly doubt that their efforts will actually be taken seriously. I know what went into their planning, I know they did this because they wanted to make the school a better place, and not to put it on their Uni applications or their CVs." [Minor typos edited]*

This is part of the email and we may publish the rest another time but we do encourage the students to express their concerns to the Welfare Office. Staff are keeping their anonymity because they fear reprisal from management. However, students, in our honest view, will be listened to and given full attention with guaranteed safety. 

It is becoming dangerously urgent that the whole school take a clear and transparent stance now. The so-far observed shenanigans do not stop just at the staff level. The marketing drive observed lately may fall within the Principal's objectives but it is now highly questionable that this is a priority when academically and in terms of welfare there are more pressing matters to be dealt with.

Parents are wondering if it is high time they moved on and took their children elsewhere. Teachers are overwhelmed by meaningless tasks, revengeful leadership (namely Mr Zimmer and Robocop) and the risk of having 'Gross Misconduct' stamped on their professional files. The farther from management you are, the safer it is. 

Meanwhile, some have opted to hand their notice in and look for alternative schools with lower pay but safer environment. The Exodus we wrote about months ago (see Exodus blog entry) is continuing. The ship is sinking and everyone is looking for a lifeboat. Alas, only a few can jump in whilst the rest have to swim or sink. 

* Email received on December 14th.