🚀 go-pugleaf

Lili Velez  writes:
> Kurt Grosshans suggests that department heads should only administrate,
> be separated from teaching duties, and their time used "for conducting
> the business of the department".
> 
> What exactly _is_ the business of the department, besides curriculum
> development and teaching?  Now, I know that's probably an extreme way of
> asking the question -- I don't mean to be jumping down Kurt's throat
> here.  But still....teaching _should_ be what is on a departments mind
> (I think I'd classify research as something of a teaching enterprise, if
> students are involved in the work, but let's keep that a separate issue
> for the moment).  And how can a person lead their department of teachers
> adequately if they are divorced from the hands-on-work in the classroom?
>  I don't respect administrators who can no longer contribute to the full
> life of a department.
> 
> Lili Fox Velez
> Rhetorician in Residence
> Department of Biological Sciences
> Carnegie Mellon University
> 
> 
     I think you have missed my point. In my school, the Department
Head is strictly figurative. Her duties include mailing out my
order requests, passing on information from the Principal, 
occasionally holding a department meeting to pass on more
information from the Principal and teaching a full load. 
     We have three administrators, one Principal and two Assistant
Principals. They are responsible for all duties associated with
being an administrator PLUS they must do all the evaluation
observations. This means they are in the classroom observing for
about fifteen minutes. 
     My point was, wouldn't it be better to have a department head
who has more responsibilities? A Department Head who could do the
observing, be involved with hiring and firing and also teach? The
Department Head is certainly closer to the action than the
administration. The Department Head would not have to carry a full
load. One or two classes each day would keep her finger in the pie
and the rest of the time she could be taking care of departmental
business.
     In the precious school system where I worked, the Department
Head had a PhD, was involved in the hiring of new teachers, did all
the observing of all science teachers and took care of the
departments business. This was a far more effective method than
what we are doing now!
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Kurt Grosshans
kgrossha@radford.vak12ed.edu