>In Hong Kong, I find the work
>load of school teachers pretty heavy; however, whenever I mention it to
>administrative people they tend to say it's like that everywhere and that
>Hong Kong teachers do not have a particularly bad lot
I can't help wondering how school teachers and school-level administrators
are related to each other in Hong Kong, and around the world. In Ontario,
Canada, for example, principals and vice-principals are currently part of
the teacher federations. However, the provincial government (about whom I
have expressed such fondness in my recent note . . .) was incensed,
apparently, at the decision of these administrators to support their staffs
during our recent political protest. The result is that the govt. has
passed a bill item to take the administrators out of the teacher
federations. This government reaction clearly indicates that the
politicians want to use administrators as local antagonists opposed to the
teaching staffs and their organizations.
The result is that our administrators (the ones I know, at least) are quite
concerned that this political distancing could force them into a serious
adversarial relationship with their teaching staffs (I am not considering
the effect of personality here). So . . . in light of this, I am wondering
whether such political opposition, rather than simple lack of knowledge,
could be behind Angel's adminstrators' lack of appreciation for the
apparently heavy teaching duties of teachers in Hong Kong? Does anyone on
xmca have experience whether this kind of non-teacher affiliation for
school-level administrators does typically lead to adversarial roles in
different jurisdictions?
Rereading my recent note to xmca (in the clear light of the following day),
I suspect that my comments may have sounded highly critical of
university-level workers' opinions of education in public schools.
Actually, I was trying (none too gracefully, unfortunately) to simply point
out that each of us has different pressures which we must contend with.
University education faculties are forced to publicly express their views on
education as part of their job roles. Lower school staffs have the
privilege of ducking such public discussions (which freedom I occasionally
use to my own advantage). As far as the university staff members on xmca
are concerned, I have observed over the years that they have always been
highly supportive of their colleagues in the lower school system. I
certainly hope nobody felt attacked by my comments. Believe me, xmca
members do not have to feel defensive about anything.
--glenn
Glenn D. Humphreys
P.O. Box 11
Echo Bay, Ontario
Canada, P0S 1C0
Telephone: (705) 248-1226
Internet: glenhump who-is-at soonet.ca
Fax (Phone/Email to arrange fax transmission): (705) 248-1226