the rules

one of my teachers (i say 'my' because it's a teacher working for one of my clients) informed me that she wouldn't be able to give her lessons the following week because her car needed to go in the shop. i should have reacted to what she said but i was in the middle of something else so i didn't. but really, there was an issue here: all appointments should, as much as possible, be taken outside of teaching hours. this is not always possible, of course, especially if things happen last minute, but in this case, not only did she tell me a week ahead (so obviously not something urgent), but this particular teacher only actually works 3 days a week, so really, she has ample free time to get her car looked out outside of teaching hours.

i ended up covering her class, and in the email i was sending her with the information on what i'd done, i wanted to remind her of this rule. i went in a double-checked with N., who seemed slightly uneasy at the prospect. did i really want to say that? well, yes, i did, i said. i mean, it's not the first time a teacher 'disregards' the rules and we complain about it among the management group, but how are they expected to get it if we let them do what they want all the time? as a teacher, i certainly abide by the rules, and i know quite a few of our teachers do too. one teacher didn't book her holiday until the day the school closed because she had one 1h30 lesson mid-week, when she'd had nothing else since the Friday. on the other hand, we have teachers who just go off for a week at the end of September, say, just after they've had a 2-months break, despite the fact that they're contractually obliged to take their holidays at a time outside of teaching term. it's not fair on those who follow the rules. so yes, i thought i should add that.