Day ten: Wednesday, December 20, 2006.
New and interesting tidbits here and there today. Nothing earth-shaking, but as the AFN commercial says, "when you put the information all together, it reveals more than it first seemed." That was not a direct quote! But you get the gist of it I hope. So then, where to start? Perhaps with the under-handed efforts of the administration to have me out of the country before they actually have to pay some heed to the calls for explanations the school and the district have been receiving. I am so very indebted to everyone for the enormous support I continue to be graced with, however I am confused by the hypocrisy of the DODEA organization. The emphasis to teachers has always been preached from above with assessing and meeting the needs of the students and with meeting parents' concerns and questions as well.That is the party-line priority. And yet the people who are calling on my behalf as representatives of the community, parents of my students, and the students themselves are being told, in not so many ways, that Mr. Thompson, Mr. Sennett, and Mr. Werner are the sole decision-makers in the education of the students of Vilseck High School. The arrogance, in contradicting the reasons stated for terminating me is incomprehensible. Doesn't Mr. Sennett at least feel a little silly signing the performance evaluation he ostensibly wrote for me and then months later going back on his assessment with a memo for record noting mistakes? No doubt there were mistakes. But we talked about the errors and ways to mitigate them in the future. I guess I should have asked if mitigation meant firing me? But then he handed me my evaluation after that meeting! The sudden re-writing of the gravity of the yearbook quality begs the question of who is actually in charge at Vilseck HS. It does for me anyway.
I'm beginning to think Mr. Sennett is more of a pawn in this fiasco, than the leader. Rather like the oft- applied term "lame-duck" when a President faces his last year or so in office. The word is that Mr. Sennett will be retiring this year. And in case that's not official yet, I have that information from the very mouth of Mr. Werner, who told me at the staff Halloween party, that when he is "Principal next year..." He then went on to name the person he intends to hire as his Assistant Principal. That falls under pre-selection and would be a violation of all federal hiring processes intended to maintain an open and equitable system of hiring. But then, evidently I was also marked for pre-selection for firing once the administration changed and Mr. Werner arrived, just as Mr. Werner himself seems to feel he has been pre-selected for taking Mr. Sennett's job. Pretty sweet way to get through life -- don't have to answer to anyone and all your inside scheming is covered top and bottom, inside the office and out. Naturally, this is all just my opinion -- all except the part about what Mr. Werner told me at the Halloween party -- that is a fact and a direct quote.
I'm probably playing with the raging fires burning inside the powers that be here, but it seems they are already in action to get me out of Germany faster than you can say "Old Saint Nick." I was told today that I should be prepared to ship my car on the 27th of December. I can't get it detailed before then and that will certainly throw a curve into rushing me back to the states, but I imagine if the Three wise Men involved here really want me gone, they'll find a way to have my car detailed tomorrow -- while I am still in the process of having my household goods packed up -- or the day after Christmas. That fits pretty nicely with Ebeneezer Sennett's three-days-before-Christmas termination present.
Friends, it has been a mighty long day. I have been on the run trying to keep ahead of the packers. That means many trips to the recycle center!
I have decided to set down in the US in Dayton Ohio. My mother lives there and I can pick up a substitute job (I hope) for the remainder of the year. I have been granted the 90-day temporary storage of my household goods so I have a little time to try and stop my head from spinning and figure out where life is directing me next.
Special note to my Advanced Placement students: I have your college recommendation requests and I will write your recommendations (provided that still suits your needs) and email copies to you over the Christmas break. I will also print out and mail the letters as each of your individual requests requires. Please call me or email me if you need or want something different from what we had discussed before all this ugliness ended our work together. At the moment I am scheduled to fly stateside on January 12, 2007. Please continue to support each other and take good care of yourselves. Come back safely from wherever the holidays take you.