Australia's Science Forum

Really! Bragging...tsk tsk. Yes, where's the medal emoticon! You win.

I usually ask for 48 hours but last year a Graduate gave all the Yr 11 & 12 Chemistry Pracs for the YEAR!!!!! That put everyone on notice, for about a week.

24 hrs!!!!! 48 hrs!!!!!
HOW SPOILT you are!
I am lucky to get 48 hrs for a prac exam!
I often get a request[?} ie ORDER for period 1 just before the class is due to start.
It is usual to get a phone call from HOD to bring this and that to her lab NOW, or can you prepare this for next period [ie in 10 mins or less]
I get emails now from staff, and if I dont hear the 'ping' of a new message - then I am in trouble because they have emailed me an order for the very next period they are up in a lab..

Last week I failed mind-reading 101, this week I failed mind-reading 102.... sigh....

Sunray......Time to get tough.

They are showing you absolutely no respect.

Put out an email to all science staff HOD included, stating that from now on minimum 24 hrs notice is required. No negotiations.

You have to stick by the rules or they will keep taking advantage.

Put this poster up where they will see it "Poor preparation on your behalf does not constitute an emergency on mine".

Not enough notice = no prac. Its easy. You will be surprised how quickly they will learn. You need to be strict on this, after all its in your best interest. Yes you will always have ONE... we all do, but one is easier to handle then 9 teachers doing the wrong thing.

Good Luck

48 hours of MY time. I work a four day week. My HOD backs me up all the way. I did however, have a previous HOD who came in at the start of lunch and request a titration experiment for the next period. One look at my face and he said "You need help with this don't you?" He also went without lunch.
Cheers,
Patrat

I once had a discussion with a teacher who flouted the rules all the time by ordering at the last minute. He tried to order a prac at 3.30pm on a Friday for 8.30am Monday morning, claiming he was giving me 65 hours notice. My response was that since I worked only 8 hours a day and not 24, in future he could assume that 24 hours notice meant 3 'working' days and he'd better get himself organised!

poster for lack of planning does not result in emergency for me

Love it I think I will print it off and put iit in my Prep room

Mine would just nick stuff behind my back...

curie wrote:Mine would just nick stuff behind my back...

Yep, and then leave it out assuming I will put it away... (Which I generally eventually do after someone says "I finished with that a while ago"...)

I think that is my biggest bug-bear ever in this job. That assumption that I will put it away if they get it out.

Yeees, they do seem to think we magical pixies will flutter in & clean everything up don't they?
Here's my whinge.....last week, a teacher had nothing organised for her lesson, so she came in & took the bathroom scales & a big tape measure, the 50m type they use on field trips.

After the lesson I went into the lab & found the scales on the floor, box kicked under a bench, lights & air con on.....& the 50m tape measure completely unwound, snaking all over the floor right across the front of the room!!
Absolutely impossible not to notice it was there, so I guess she couldn't even be bothered to pick it up, let alone wind it back up

Also..... we have a shared coffee machine in our little staffroom of 5 people......they keep leaving it switched on, & it's never switched off at the end of the day when I close up, so I used my dymo to make a label saying 'please switch machine off after you use it' in big bold type on a white label, & stuck it on top of the black coffee machine....stands out a mile......this morning I went in to make myself a cup & found it on, little standby light blinking. I politely asked why I should bother making labels if no one reads them, & the guy who left it on said 'oh, did you mean for us to switch it off?'

Some of these people are definitley swimming in the shallow end of the gene pool!!

Some of these people are definitley swimming in the shallow end of the gene pool!!

little whinge or lack of planning, all I know is I have a headache already

11 pracs for today over 5 periods, shuffling the lack of equipment from one tub to another. Period 1. three pracs. 1 done, 1 forgot, 1 booked the wrong prac.
Period 2 NOW another 3 pracs booked none done, peer suport year 7 on the year calender not the weekly bulletin

It's only got to get better.

And as if to prove the point - teacher stole 10 scalpels from another teachers tray when I was out, as well as metho and iodine - and left them in the lab!!!! This was after my email (rather politely) asking people to leave the place tidy and work safely. So apart from leaving me wondering where 10 scalpels have gone (we have 2 labs and a classroom that open onto the prep room with NO LOCKS on them)It's just b****disrespectful I wonder what the hell I have to do.

Wow..it's so nice to know i am not the only one who has to put up with this crap!! I even had a teacher say " jodye we are out of milk!," i said yeah, so?? To which the reply of " isn't it your job to make sure we are looked after & that means milk for coffee! " He was given a lovely reply & has never mentioned milk again.
I also have the teachers who will get equipment out at the last minute then expect me to put it away,which i do end up doing. How can we train these type of teachers into doing the right thing??? Any suggestions??
I need to learn to say the word NO more often!

Saying 'NO!" doesn't help. I've found it's just easier to get it because if I don't they try to get it themselves then ask "where is this?" and "where will I find that?" and then end up getting bits and pieces for them here and there and if I had just done the whole lot at once would be quicker...

Hi macca
I have days like that I glad I am not the only one
Here the Teachers have to get every little thing done so I have 6 labs and 8 teachers all doing pracs every lesson and some even in a classroom .
Retirment is looking good 3 terms and 4 weeks to go but whos counting