I Haven't Had a Good Laugh in Weeks

My former school district's current superintendent, Heath Morrison, an Eli Broadie, wants his 7,000-plus employees to know he really does believe in a "culture of respect":

Culture of Respect

by Heath Morrison, WCSD Superintendent
Dear WEA Members:
First, I would like to thank all of you for doing a great job this year. From our year-round schools to our traditional schools, our opening of school was excellent, and I want to thank you for the hard work you put into educating children every single day.
Our community and state are taking notice of your work as well. As I travel across Nevada, people, including the legislators recently voted into office, tell me they are excited about what they are seeing in the Washoe County School District. From our reform efforts in Envision WCSD 2015 – Investing in Our Future to our improved test results and graduation rates, WCSD is a topic of conversation in the Silver State.
As we continue to move forward with our strategic plan, one of the most important efforts will be on Goal 4 - Value and Strengthen a Positive, Self-Renewing Culture. Central to these efforts will be the creation of an agreement or compact about a culture of respect. I have been meeting with all employee associations during the course of the last couple of weeks about creating such an agreement or compact and the subsequent understandings, procedures, and professional development that would follow. This agreement or compact will be between all 7,400 employees so that each and every staff member feels valued and respected. It will describe how we handle adversity and resolve conflicts. The culture of respect will be the way we, as an organization, value what each person does as we work together toward our mission.
The associations and I will continue to meet to create a framework for gathering input and soliciting your views on how you envision this culture of respect. It is critical the final product and implementation is the amalgam of diverse views, beliefs, and perspectives representative of all district stakeholders. In January during one of our early release days, we will focus on the culture of respect and ask you to share your ideas. What should this culture look like? What does it mean? What should go into the document that will be the agreement between all of us? A culture of respect focuses on you – the employees that make this District great.
This culture of respect is about appreciating what every single person contributes to improve student achievement. It will be a driver that leads to true professional learning communities within every school and district office in Washoe County School District. The culture of respect is one critical piece to ensuring we reach our goal of “every child, by name and face, to graduation.”

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Translated:  "Respect," when it comes to school districts, is a one-way street.  If you are a teacher, you had better bend over and take it in the ass no matter what the principal wants, even if what he or she is asking is illegal.  That is the "culture of respect" in public schools.  The principal is God, you as a teacher are nothing, and the principal's bosses are also gods.  They are never wrong, and they make sure the legal system says so, too. Also make sure the "union" is bought and paid for, which WEA is, and as I know for a fact when it sold me down the river almost three years ago.

While most of us were taught respect is a two-way street, that it is something to be EARNED, not as a matter of rank,  it is completely at odds with the structure of public (and private) school systems.   What people don't understand is the sole goal of the school district administrator is self-preservation, i.e., preserving the (overpaid, underworked) job at ALL costs.  He or she will do anything to keep it, for these administrators CANNOT cut it in the private sector.  These administrators would be fired for conduct common in public education, including criminal acts, for the simple reason private companies cannot for the most part afford malfeasance.  Public education, though, always has a steady stream of money flowing into its coffers thanks to taxpayers, so administrators can do pretty much what the hell they want.

THIS is the "culture of respect" teachers work under.  It is basically a military-like culture.  Shut up, take it, and don't complain, Morrison's high-minded rhetoric notwithstanding.  After all, he would have to do a wholesale cleansing of the green house, which is rife with incompetents and crooks, to even BEGIN to get respect in and for that district.

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