The inservice routine

Yes, that does sound familiar.  Wasted time and energy when everyone wants to be in their rooms working!  One time they even sent us on scavenger hunts.  All I wanted to do was get ready for the kids.

Wow, I like that. Very good description of reality. I know friends who have had good inservices before...

Have you been sitting in the back of my school district?  It sure sound like it.  You described it perfectly.  We are not allowed to bring grading, or cutting, or any kind of work to the inservice because we have, I mean HAVE to pay attention.  Do they really think teachers are this stupid or is there some rule someplace that admin must bore teachers before school starts and during the year in order to keep them on their toes?  Do you know how many times I had to sit through Master Teacher with the EXACT jokes and examples?  I didn't even need to take notes.  I just saved the year before's.

The only inservices I enjoy are the ones from technology.  They always try to challenge and teach us new things about the computers and how to use them in our classes and lives.  They are awesome.

This post has really struck a nerve!  It is absolutely ridiculous to make us all sit through inservices the week we get back to school! My district gives us 1 1/2 days to work in our rooms and the other 3 days are for "professional development".  

Last year our curriculum resource teacher, (who was told to conduct the inservice on the first day) had NO materials for her presentation.  The district was supposed to send them the week before so she could look at the materials, but of course they didn't. She called the district office and was told that morning that she was still responsible for doing the inservice! Talk about asinine!! She had to create something, and a lot of it had to do with us talking in small groups and making posters that listed our goals on grade level.  The rest was looking at standards!!

What kills me is the constant demand that we know the @@#$%&*@ standards!  How in the @#$^%# do they think we plan in the first place?  Of course we use the standards!  I think the fact that the big bosses make us post the standards we are teaching for the day indicates that THEY don't know the standards!  If they did, they should be able to tell what we're teaching in the first place!

The best use of our time would be to actually be able to do extensive planning on grade level.  The planning period we get one day a week isn't long enough. By the time we get our kids to their related arts classes, use the restroom, and meet, it's already time to go back and get them!