special days (e.g., the day before the winter recess) and events (e.g.,
retirements, marriages, etc.). He was a factor in building department
camaraderie and morale.
Second, Mr. Rust was very organized. He became the book manager for
the department. He kept the book rooms organized and kept careful track
of the distribution and collection of texts and paperbacks—an immense
task in an English department—and he did this during his prep period and
by donating his own time during other free periods. When the department
was given a new book room, consensus was that it should be named after
Mr. Rust.
Third, he was a good teacher to assign to graduating seniors who had
already passed the required state exit exam. His style of teaching would
prepare students for what to expect in college—lecture. He also tended to
have a soft heart and passed almost everyone in his senior classes. This
was a great advantage for students suffering from senioritis.
Another school leader might have seen only the negative aspect of his
instruction and decided to seek an unsatisfactory rating. To Mr. Thelen,
the positives outweighed the negatives. Good department morale will lead
to better overall instruction. Good control over book ordering, storage,
and distribution makes the teachers’ lives easier, allowing them to con-
centrate on lesson planning and instruction, not on worrying about what
books will be available. His was the stereotypic professorial type, so his
style of teaching would prepare students for college. Finally, is it so bad to
reward students scheduled for graduation with a teacher who will almost
surely pass them?
Years later, Mr. Rust took on the difficult task of hall dean and fulfilled
this function very well. His affable manner helped him defuse situations
and maintain the positive ambience of the school.
All supervisors must remember that the process to remove an unsatis-
factory teacher, despite all the confidentiality requirements, is very public
in the rumor mill we call a school. Somehow, every teacher knows when
one of their peers is being observed more frequently than usual, a sure
sign that the procedure for supporting a negative rating is operational.
When the teacher involved is seen as incompetent by his peers, when
his relations with his colleagues are strained, when he has not helped the
department or school in other ways, the members of the department will
see the school leader as rightly doing his or her job.
122 Chapter 9