New Chapter…

Right… It seems there is a desire to keep dribbler active so I have been encouraged to come out of retirement. Frankly, I’m amazed that folk have kept the blog going. Since the crisis that was Wardle was over and there was no longer anything constructive being put forward it seemed best to leave it alone as a historical record of what we had been through and I fully expected it to quietly atrophy along with it’s author. However, as has been pointed out to me, the College is at something of a tipping point and keeping a means of open debate available might be helpful.

I will be up front and say that, from where I stand, the current management appears to be genuine in trying to make a positive difference and accommodate staff concerns. It is by no means perfect but it is far more open, communication is improving, and serious attempts are being made to ‘put the house in order’. It was never going to be easy or quick but it will be that much harder and longer if every proposal is met with a knee-jerk wave of cynicism. Mistakes will be made but that should not be a reason to damn every proposal outright.

So, if folk want this forum re-ignited lets have constructive debate about the real issues and concerns that are raised when a tired and distrustful workforce is challenged to take ownership of the solutions to their problems and bring about positive change.

We had a New Page that dribbled into the worst kind of negativity. Let’s have another go at starting a new chapter and see if we can be a bit more creative.

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Happiness, happiness…

Regular contributors will no doubt be aware that I have not been spending much time on this site for quite a while now. Part of the reason for this is personal time but a big part of it is the seemingly ingrained negativity that comes over from many people. There’s one hell of a lot of whingeing.

Ok, the blog was set up to give people a chance to let off steam, but its main purpose was to provide a forum for debate about JWC’s future. Our future…

We are a college of supposedly intelligent, professional people who can analyse a situation and make reasonable judgements. Yet, when I read through some of the posts I see an awful lot of statements that simply dismiss, out-of-hand, anything put forward by ‘the enemy’. I wholeheartedly agree that we’ve had appallingly poor management in the past but we now seem to have a Principal who is tackling many of the things that have contributed to our malaise. These are positive changes that we should be supporting, not cynically dismissing.

It is in all our interest to see JWC successful, both materially and for our own well-being, so let’s try holding back on the cynicism. Many recent studies show a clear correlation between ‘happiness’ and health and longevity. People with positive mindsets simply enjoy life more.

“D’uh… No shit, Sherlock!”, shout the cynics. The point is, you need to work at making that change and practice the art of looking for positives until it’s second nature. Not surprisingly, given what we’ve been through in the past few years, most of us have become virtuosos at looking for negatives all the time. (No doubt, this post will generate another performance ). Personally, I think it’s time we lightened-up a bit.

Good management can only provide a framework for us to work in. The rest is up to us. I asked a rhetorical question in my last post, “Anyone remember job satisfaction and common purpose, the buzz of being the best?” Is that so challenging? Ken Dodd had it right, after all…

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New Page…

I wonder… Has James Watt finally got a Principal who is going to provide real leadership and actually fight for the College? There’s a novel thought. Anyone remember job satisfaction and common purpose, the buzz of being the best?

Here’s the new page. Anyone brave enough to start writing a new chapter…

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In the balance…

Hey! Over 100 posts on the last thread. You’re Record Breakers!!!!

Ok. Latest score… 103,000 Sums at the census date with withdrawals still to be deducted. Sum target – 156,000 by the end of the year + or – 3%. Not great. Expect major flaps and urgent initiatives to make up the deficit. This is important because, whether the figures were right or wrong, if the College doesn’t hit that target the Funding Council claw back fairly punitive amounts and that effects everybody.

Given how close the CL contract negotiations were to being concluded it is something of a mystery that the deal has not yet been done. The management’s  turn-around on this appeared to be a significant and very welcome step forward so the delay is inexplicable.

This is a very delicate time in the JWC saga and the management’s relationship with staff is on a knife edge. Many seemed willing to give them the benefit of the doubt but now they’ve gone and spoilt it all with the most incredibly inept handling of a student complaint against a member of staff. Any such issue needs to be taken seriously, but it also needs to be handled with with extreme care for the sake of everyone involved. It would seem that describing management action as ‘crass incompetence’ is letting them off lightly. Incredible…

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A hard rain’s gonna fall…

While the prospective candidates for the Principal’s position are shown round we learn that the sums to date are way below the target figures set in the Recovery Plan. That is not good news…

It has to be asked if the targets were realistic given the widespread publicity that had JWC debt ridden and closing. Nonetheless, the Recovery Plan is what the Funding Council have approved, what the Board have promised, and therefore what Management must deliver. How they choose to do this, and how staff respond, will determine whether the future relationship is cooperative or confrontational.

It will be difficult and there will be huge pressure on everyone in the organisation to find efficiencies and creative solutions but there are dangers in the precedents that have been made elsewhere. The SFC backed ‘bums on seats’ brigade are on the rampage throughout the FE sector and no one seems to be questioning their strategies or assessing the impact of things like reduced class contact time and extended self-study on the candidates Further Education was intended to serve. Forget all that namby, pamby guff about ‘positive student experiences’ – the bottom-line is everything.

It is crucial that practitioners raise their concerns about the future of FE with politicians and the media and it is crucial that the EIS work as a professional body and start compiling and sharing ‘chalkface’ experience of what is happening around Scotland. FE on the cheap will just become a box-ticking exercise.

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It’s all down to the Sea Elves…

Thanks Critic, et al, for carrying Dribbler these past weeks. Fortunately, all our problems and woes will be behind us if we just believe in the Sea Elves. These magical creatures can take on tasks that previously required three or four highly experienced practitioners and sort everything out with one swish of their mighty tails. They have the wisdom to manage, the strength to discipline, and the skills to undertake everything that those we used to call a Head of School would do, without the need for deputies or Senior Lecturers. They are truly magic.

…But, you know what? The majority of SLs are ready to give it their best shot if the management follow proper procedure. So, Management – Please, please, please just produce a job description, take it to the JNC, and follow the proper negotiating procedure that is established and in place. There is a huge desire to move forward and consign the past six years to history, so quit the political football and let us get on with the job. (There’s that ‘e’ word again… Education. Sorry, but for some reason lecturing staff keep bringing it up. It’s almost like they care. Weird, or what!!!)

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Shiny new toy…

I trust Dr Clark’s email left you all feeling uplifted and glad to be part of the shiny new, (almost) efficient, lean machine that is James Watt College. Efficient at what, one has to wonder? Duplicity? Pain? Stress? Dr Clark, take your blood money, pack your hatchet and go. Judging by the state of your past ’successes’, there are many, many years of painful rebuilding ahead, if it is possible at all.

I wonder if anyone in the Funding Council or Scottish Office has cared to assess the real, long term cost of the damage this bizarre strategy has wreaked on individual lives and the sector as a whole? Do the millions squandered in these ten year cycles of destruction and reconstruction actually achieve anything other than stroking egos and keeping a few individuals and consultants fat? I very much doubt it. Could positive outcomes have been achieved through creative and cooperative management? It worked before and it seems to work in many of the most successful businesses.

Ah, well… A new Principal is to be appointed. Does the Board of Management feel confident, creative and positive enough about the future to actually consider appointing someone who puts education first? Oops! Mentioned the ‘e’ word…

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In the mix…

Yes, folks… It’s Blended Learning time! Get your teaching stuff, pour it out into a bowl and beat it relentlessly until it magically becomes online learning material.

Doesn’t it give you confidence when the people proposing this do not have even the slightest idea of what they’re talking about, to the extent that they can’t even name it properly! Isn’t it great that, without any such materials or the access to resources many students will need being available, they’re going to cut full-time HN courses to 12hrs class contact time per week! And the educational rationale for this is… “Well, we’ve said the fancy words so that means it’s jolly good. Oh, and it’s cheap.“

The tragedy is that there are some really cool things happening with e-learning out in the commercial world. There could be real advantages to students AND staff if it were adopted properly but nothing has been learned from the past five years. Lack of expertise, lack of investment, and continuing lack of communication seems to be ingrained in the executive management of this institution and nothing we’re seeing leads me to believe the mindset has changed.

Everyone who accepted the new appointments has some extremely unpleasant dilemmas to face. Every SL now needs to think very carefully if they want to be party to the same compromises. The proposals, as they stand, are unworkable but that doesn’t mean they won’t be pushed ahead. We need to see if a new Principal will give the new HoS’s leeway to make it a managed transition with the support of staff, or try to force through the ill-considered shambles it currently is.

On the question of anonymity, I advise everyone posting on the blog to remain anonymous. It is clear that anyone taking a critical stance of the management of this establishment is not welcome and knowledge of it WILL adversely affect your future prospects. Remember, the past five years clearly demonstrates that you have a far better chance of personal advancement if you are visibly corrupt rather than displaying any concern about education and other such nonsense.

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Groundhog day…

Dr Clark represents the Scottish Funding Council and it seems fairly apparent from his somewhat derivative rescue plan that the SFC has been charged with extracting maximum value for the taxpayer, no matter what the cost. Wardle was a blunt instrument to achieve this, (a basic tool…), and Dr Clark is a slightly cuddlier version to achieve the same ends. Basically, the politicians’ fine words and promises for education cost too much. FE has proved a soft target to claw a bit back and James Watt College simply required a different strategy to bring it into line.

We know some of the problems faced by lecturing staff and management at other colleges as a result of implementing these plans and it’s clear that hitting short-term financial targets is the only consideration across the sector. Why? Who profits? It certainly won’t be students, and it won’t be the Scottish economy. And it sure as hell won’t be the Scottish taxpayer because they’ll just have to pay again later to clear up the mess that’s left! As usual, those brave souls willing to impose the hard decisions will win, whatever damage they leave behind. It’s like watching an accident happening again and again in slow-motion.

Strange then, that in the face of such a concerted attack on standards and conditions of service over the past few years, the EIS has been completely impotent. Head Office doesn’t seem to have even a pinkie finger on the pulse of what’s occurring in the FE sector. Indeed, it’s a funny old world when your national negotiator sounds exactly like executive management! Do you think you should say something…?

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The only way is…

Y’know, reading comments on the previous post might lead a person to think that folks are maybe a tad frustrated at finding the same ‘solution’ being put forward as was roundly rejected a year ago. It is very depressing to see that the decision makers still think that hitting people with a big stick will make them see their point of view. 

I thought that this kind of thinking had disappeared from education some time ago, but I’m obviously mistaken. Presumably, having been given the nod by your enlightened Board of Management, you should adopt the same tactics with students to ensure that you meet your new productivity targets. Perhaps HMI will adjust the Quality Indicators to Learning, Teaching & Punishment. Hmm… It’s got quite a classical ring to it! 

You can also take on their exemplary ‘lesson planning’ and ‘classroom management’ skills, as exhibited at the staff meetings, and if you don’t agree with any of your students or feel a little hurt by their rowdy behaviour, be sure to follow Dr Clark’s example and pick up your ball and run away. 

With men of such stature and vision deciding your fate, you can be certain that, at James Watt College, the only way is buggered-up!

the dribbler