Job Discussion Forums

Capergirl · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 1:24 am Post subject: Capergirl in charge?

I was talking to my boss this evening after my tutorial and she mentioned to me that she is planning to take a vacation this summer (she has some time owed to her and wants to take it all at once). Anyway, she went on to say, "While I'm away, I'd like you to fill in for me as coordinator." Shocked

I know that I should be flattered and excited, but I feel like I'm going to toss my cookies. Confused

I know that some of you have experience in this area, so....what's it like to be in charge? Question

khmerhit · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 3:28 am Post subject:

I have no experience in that area. Sorry. Anyone else?

Marcoregano · Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 872 Location: Hong Kong

Tampoco....

johnslat · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 4:05 am Post subject: It's a dirty job, but . . .

Dear Capergirl,
Well, I was a coordinator for 5 years, but I'm not sure if the duties involved would be the same. I also taught while I was coordinating, a reduced number of hours. What I had to do was run the day-to-day operations of the center: make out teaching schedules/assigments; set up all the general testing schedules; act as a kind of liaison between the rest of the staff and the (Saudi) administration; occasionally sit in on some other teachers' classes (usually when there had been "complaints" from the students). Speaking of "complaints", that took up a lot of my time: ones from other teachers, students, even a very occasional parent (farher, of course). One thing I learned fast was - you can't make everybody happy, so just do whatever you think is best. And another tough area was - can you treat ALL of the staff exactly the same? Well, no, I don't think you can. There's probably no "fair" way to handle such situations (unless you want to "draw lots" every time - and even that won't make the "loser" happy), so I usually gave preference in, for example, class assigments, to those that had been there longest. If you don't already know, you'll likely soon find out that there are some staff you can always count on while others are less reliable. This puts you in a bad place, for you end up "punishing" the good guys and "rewarding" the not-so-good ones. The good guys get stuck with all the "extra work" while the not so good ones skate. It's a lousy deal, but when you want results - good results - fast, you have to go with those you know can produce.
As coordinator, you are probably going to get people mad at you, no matter what you do; so, once again, don't worry about popularity (that's lost, anyway), just do what you think is right. But let the other staff know that you're always available and open to suggestions. Who knows - you might even get some good ones.
I have no idea if any of that will be of any help whatsoever, but let me know if you have any questions/comments.
Regards,
John

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

Delegate, delegate, delegate

woza17 · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 602 Location: china

Authoritaire South, park take it baby.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

It has its pros and cons. I have about 5 years of 'being in charge' The advantages of it are in some respect you can be more flexible with regard to times. You can implement your ideas. A little bit more money. Most of all I think I grew as a person. Having more responsibility and caring about my jobs I grew in confidence.
However it does have its downs aswell. You are 'in charge'? Not really. At the end of the day the owner of the school is 'in charge' .You can disagree but its his/her business and thay will do what they want. Also you are always in the middle. You want to support the teachers but you want to help the students. It doesn't always work. Someone is always going to be disappointed. Long hours is also a bit of a bummer. I've been in the situation where I was supposed to be doing 40 hours a week but doing 70 hours because I felt I had to (I was in charge)
Obviously, evey school is different. But if you are looking for a new challange then go for it Caper.
BTW, I gave up the management thing because I wanted to get back in the classroom.

johnslat · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 2:22 pm Post subject: A Class Act

Dear dmb,

"BTW, I gave up the management thing because I wanted to get back in the classroom"

Ditto - administration did have its satisfactions, as well as its downsides, but I much prefer teaching to "manipulating " (and, when you get right down to it, that was a lot of what coordinating consisted of in my case) people.
Regards,
John

leeroy · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 777 Location: London UK

As bizarre as it may sound, my management is fair, objective and efficient. I have no problem with them whatsoever, no-one who works for my company does (I promise my boss isn't looking over my shoulder as I type!).

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

It's just aswell leeroy. Your boss probably wouldn't approve of the beer

Capergirl · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:10 am Post subject:

@johnslat...Your experience as a coordinator sounds a lot like what I'll be doing (minus dealing with all those complaints...I hope). It will only be for a month or so, but I'm pretty much expecting not to sleep at all for that month. It will be a great experience, though. (And look nice on my CV. Very Happy

)