Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Attitude is everything
I think my attitude got the best of Spokesman today. I've been pretty stressed the last week. There have been a couple of days where I go to work and despite having 2, almost 3, blocks when I don't have to teach a class, I still get nothing done that I need to get done. It seems I'm answering people's questions, putting out fires, going to meetings or just generally getting distracted by office goings on.
Today I hit my limit. I lost patience with my Spokesman staffers' work. Now, part of it was deserved. I know the issue is short, but a week should still be plenty of time to write two stories. It might mean doing more homework, but it can be done and done well. The stories this issue, based on what I've seen (or not seen) so far, are not done as well as my guys are capable of. So I strongly encouraged the EICs to do a 10-page issue. I also went off on staffers about the crappy writing and lack of sources in the stories.
Then I crossed the line. One of my students found me during lunch to ask me a question. I made a comment in front of other teachers. It was totally inappropriate. The student called me on it later, and rightfully so. It was a wake-up call for me. I need to be aware and "on my game" even when I'm feeling stretched to my limits. It's not fair to have my Spokesman kids bear the brunt of my frustration. I think this is a lesson I will keep at the forefront of my mind from here on out. I apologized, but that really doesn't fix what happened.
Now I have to find a way to keep this staff motivated through the rest of this short issue. To make matters worse, we do not have school on Monday and therefore we lose a day of Quarking. I'm hoping that having a 10-page issue will help with this.
Now, it's back to the grindstone. Lots of papers to grade... and a good attitude to cultivate.
Today I hit my limit. I lost patience with my Spokesman staffers' work. Now, part of it was deserved. I know the issue is short, but a week should still be plenty of time to write two stories. It might mean doing more homework, but it can be done and done well. The stories this issue, based on what I've seen (or not seen) so far, are not done as well as my guys are capable of. So I strongly encouraged the EICs to do a 10-page issue. I also went off on staffers about the crappy writing and lack of sources in the stories.
Then I crossed the line. One of my students found me during lunch to ask me a question. I made a comment in front of other teachers. It was totally inappropriate. The student called me on it later, and rightfully so. It was a wake-up call for me. I need to be aware and "on my game" even when I'm feeling stretched to my limits. It's not fair to have my Spokesman kids bear the brunt of my frustration. I think this is a lesson I will keep at the forefront of my mind from here on out. I apologized, but that really doesn't fix what happened.
Now I have to find a way to keep this staff motivated through the rest of this short issue. To make matters worse, we do not have school on Monday and therefore we lose a day of Quarking. I'm hoping that having a 10-page issue will help with this.
Now, it's back to the grindstone. Lots of papers to grade... and a good attitude to cultivate.
