Why people can't be replaced with computers....unless we let them.

Recently I ordered pantry items from a new company.  I was excited to have my favorite items delivered and at a 25% discount.  Woohoo!  Oh, wait, the discount maxes out at $20, darn!  Nonetheless I purchased $118.58 worth of items and saved $20.  I'm thrifty because I have expensive taste but on a teacher's budget.  You do what you've got to do when you care about what food you put in your body.  

When the package arrived I did something unheard of (for me at least), I compared the packing list to the items in the box and I was missing a $3.95 tube of toothpaste.  I checked again and sure enough, no toothpaste.  Darn!  

I signed into my account online and proceeded to chat with the customer service rep.  He was great and quickly issued me a refund of $3.52.

$3.95 Subtotal-$0.67 Discount (Extra 25% off, cap at $20)$0.24 Tax$3.52 Grand Total

Hmmm, that didn't seem right.  Thankfully I figured out that I really only saved 16.9% (not 25%) per item and $0.67 is 16.9% of $3.95, but wait a second, why was I missing out on the full $20 savings that I should have earned?  That seems unfair since I wasn't returning something, but rather they were correcting a mistake.  

I wasn't satisfied and I made that clear to the customer service rep.  It is silly to argue for a $0.67 refund, but to me it was the precedent being set.  The rep blamed it on the system automating the refund and stated he understood what I was saying and would pass it on to his supervisors, but there was nothing else he could do.

Why have a customer service representative available if they can't actually reason and make matters right?  Since when do we let the system be in control.

There isn't a one size fits all recipe for refunds when discounts are capped like this. The system isn't trained to adjust when a special case arises.

Context also matters. 

This was their mistake, completely.  I shouldn't lose out on a simple $0.67 savings because the system automated the refund.   What if the item that didn't ship was worth $17.99? Now I'd be missing out on $3.04 of my original capped savings of $20.  

Perhaps the people should do some thinking and be able to override the system and make it right, taking into account context and special circumstances.

If I automated how I did things as a dean of students or a teacher (like the system) then I wouldn't care that the reason a student misses school so often is to take care of a mentally ill father who she fears will hurt himself in her absence.  The system would tell me to revoke her open enrollment status because she missed x number of days (insert sarcasm).   Never mind that she has adults in the building that are helping her work through some insanely heavy stuff that has happened to her as a young girl, on top of caring for a sick parent. That would be context.  

But, context does matter.  The student who is gone so often demands us to do better and consider her situation before throwing the system (aka the book) at her.   

A simpler case is why kids wear their hoods over their heads despite the no hoods rule.  Context matters.  Are they wearing a hood to shield their identity or their inebriated state?  Or are they wearing a hood to cover their nappy hair so their peers don't give them grief?   Yes, I want their hoods off so I know who they are and can keep intruders out and the school safe.  But, how we approach them about this rule: "TAKE OFF YOUR HOOD" versus "Please, take off your hood so I can see who you are" can make a world of difference.  The former can result in power struggles.  The latter might enlighten us to when they need a little compassion.  

The bottom line is that one size doesn't fit all.  We can't have the exact same response for every student.  We need to know the context if we are really interested in their success.  Computers can't always make sense of context.  Could we train the computer to take into account multiple factors like capped discounts, probably.  In my experience, however, we rarely do.  We need people to do that work.  Real, thinking people.

Back to School

I ♡ MY JOB.

I love getting to know all types of students. I started the year conversing with all 125 of my students, back and forth with each of them over the first 5 days via name tents and the structure that Sarah Van Der Werf shared on her blog.  I learned that one student doesn't like to be touched, another has a sci-fi book he has been writing.  Some shared their fear of math or their enjoyment of how class was going so far in the first five days.  One said they lived with their grandmother. So naturally I tried to find out more information and learned of their struggles with their mom being out of the picture.  That first week quickly opened the door to understanding my students and who they are so we can get right into learning and trusting one another. 

I love being creative. I get to write lessons again.  I get to dig into amazing tools like Desmos and the treasure trove that is #MTBOS. 

Gosh I love seeing kids learn. Listening to them talk about math and noticing who gets it and who is listening intently to learn is so rewarding.  It's a bit magical when you think about it.  Does knowing whether something is a function or not really impact a kids capacity to succeed after high school?  No. But witnessing students recognizing patterns and coming to conclusions reminds me of what does matter and I get to be a part of that. How awesome is that?!

Collaboration is my jam. Having such a great group of colleagues to work with made it such a no brainer to want to teach again. They are insightful, supportive, smart, creative and truly care about kids. 

I get a 30 minute lunch every day! I get to sit around a table with many other teachers and take an actual break and eat sitting down. This is a big deal to me. I have done this more in the last two weeks than I had in the last three years of work. A big thank you to my union for the 30 minute duty free lunch.  It sure does a lot to improve one's sanity.

After three years as a dean of students and two years supporting teachers at the district level, I couldn't be happier to be back in the classroom where all the magic happens. My colleagues regularly say I look happier.  I always wonder how to take that but I know it's a direct reflection of being exactly where I need to be. Is it easy?  No. The first week I had to remind myself that I'm rusty and it won't always take so long to get all the work done.  (I seriously spent an hour on seating charts after school the first day and worked nearly 12 hour days the first week!) It might not be easy, but it sure is worth it.