ALL employees need to be recognised

Tweet

MyLot member, yanzalong @yanzalong, wrote recently about a dinner party put on for staff members and site workers as a thank-you for their ‘working spirit’. In addition, in almost three years there had never been an accident which in itself is surely something very worthwhile to celebrate. You can read his discussion here: http://www.mylot.com/post/3156925/dinner-party-again. I was reminded of several incidents when my husband was working in large prestigious schools which had remarkable success records. Much was expected from the teachers but they were also rewarded well. There was always much talk about ‘school spirit’ and ‘school community’. Notices would go out for the ‘whole school’ photo or there might be an all-staff service in the chapel. But they didn’t really mean ‘whole school’ or ‘all staff’. They meant only all teaching staff. Administration staff, cleaners, groundsmen, catering staff – and there were many in these categories – weren’t included. It wasn’t so much that they weren’t welcome. They just weren’t even thought about. My husband was in charge of all non-teaching staff and fought long and hard to have them included. If they weren’t to be included, then at least be honest and state that what was really meant was ‘teaching staff’. At one school, it was compulsory for all staff to attend certain church services. However all the readings and homily were geared towards teaching and teachers. After attending the first one Vince took the chaplain to task telling him he should read his homily from the point of view of a cleaner or groundsman. At another, the ‘whole school’ photo eventually included all staff as opposed to all teaching staff. Even then, the Deputy Principal tried to scuttle the plan by insisting that everyone wear a coat and tie. Some didn’t own coats but we were able to rustle up enough so that everyone could be included. How could they expect total commitment and loyalty when half the employees were regarded as second-class? Schools and other establishments would fall over very quickly if it weren’t for the ‘little people’ who clean the toilets, wash the coffee cups, empty the bins, etc. It’s like that terrible joke about all the body organs having an argument over who is most important. In the end the anus wins because when he stops working, the other organs all collapse. The photo is of my siblings ready to leave for school.