Oh Good Grief!
Click on the picture to see the full size version.
Received this silly letter the other day and cracked up! First of all, I am referred to as "Mister." That’s the least of the ridiculousness.
I am here as an intern, a card carrying American Psychological Association-approved intern. I am on a prestigious consortium internship, but it’s the Memphis City Schools that pay me because I am there more than I am anywhere else. This is the case for the two of us working in the schools. The other four interns are paid by UT. The sites that offer major rotations all chip in to pay our stipends.
From the beginning, MCS has tried to stick this square peg into their round hole. They made me fill out an application with all this stuff about what subjects I want to teach and my teaching certifications. I am not a teacher! Not here anyway! When I teach, I teach college, not K-12. Most of my application said "Not Applicable." Since I’ve been here, I have to fill out their time sheets, their activity trackers… even though I’m only in the schools for part of the week. This letter is the culmination of all of their silliness.
Beaurocracy, man. It’s unbelievable. No wonder the schools can’t get it together. Micromanaging from the top, and soooo many budget cuts. And then we have more school-aged kids than just about anywhere. It’s a mess, and this letter… this silly ridiculous letter… is just a perfect example of the way of things.
I’ve deidentified this thing so that noone is singled out, but I think it still illustrates just what I’m talking about.
Comment by Abby's mom
April 19, 2005 @ 5:43 am
I left work at the Memphis City Schools the year you were born, and nothing about the bureaucracy has changed. It drove me crazy then as it does you now. However, I don’t think it’s limited to the Memphis schools. Atlanta seems to have a similar problem, and I suspect it’s everywhere.