Thursday, December 11, 2008

What happens when a dummy dumbs it down?

There was a seminar on Friday, December 5th where custodians were gathered together and provided with handouts. They are accessible here by clicking handout 1 and handout 2.

I find it rather humorous that the Director of Facilties Operations does not believe staff beneath his level are qualified to call the police and yet the Lynnwood Police spoke at this seminar and directed staff to call the police at any time - even if it is just a suspicious vehicle. If the Director had his way, all such calls should be channeled through him so that he can make contact with the police. Like he isn't paid a lot of money to do anything better.

The handouts that were presented smack of condescension. The author is either a kindergartner, lobotomized chimp, brain dead zombie or believes that custodians are illiterate morons, unable to construct or understand simple sentences. Look at the title of her presentation. Even the word "efficiently" is spelled incorrectly. In this day and age, we have spell check and access to co-workers that can proofread the work of imbeciles.

The blog has also received numerous complaints about the waste of paper. There was no reason to use such a large font size. People were not interested in your message because Human Resources doesn't follow their own direction. Printing it in a larger font doesn't make it any less hypocritical. Ms. Birdsong would be better off to share her presentation with her own department and let custodians get back to the reasons why they work for the District - and it isn't the charm and magnetism of its administration.

I nearly fell out of my chair at Ms. Birdsong's suggestion that custodians "use "I" sentences, I feel…" and of course, like "I hope this Carmel@ is different than our existing one."

I also find it mildly amusing that someone decided to deface the banner of appreciation with a rather unsavory expletive. Perhaps next time, people in management will double check the names they use and refrain from showering appreciation on people that have died years before. It would have been much better to express your appreciation while they were still alive. Shame on you for waiting so long.

Word on the blog is that the banner of appreciation has been hidden in shame. I am not surprised. Now, if they will just start getting rid of those shameful employees.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mrs. Birdsong you have no clue about others. You need to keep quite or your past will come out.
Can I just say Florida.When you play you have to pay sometimes.

Anonymous said...

Please read handout 2 and go to #10 "job seaching will put a smile on your face" WOW!

Anonymous said...

"Those pesky kids"

A district administrator actually wrote this and presented it to school employees?!? I'm sure the administrators' jobs would be so much easier without "those pesky kids" around, but if it weren't for the kids they wouldn't HAVE a job. Why is this person lecturing custodians about being happy at work when she considers the children she and her fellow administrators are paid to educate "pesky"? Maybe she should fix her own attitude before worrying about the attitudes of others.

P.S. And the "Keep information confidential" bullet point must not have been presented very effectively since these documents found their way to the blog...

Anonymous said...

Cathy Songbird And Boob Hansen should be fired on the spot.Why can't we the district hire good people that don't lie.
Just try to reach one of these jokers on the phone you just get voice mail.
I think their both lounge lizards or bar flies

Anonymous said...

This is all quite predictable based on the ESD hiring theory. Always hire people that you think are much more ignorant and less intelligent then you are. So now we have a peg legged district that is managed by people that are way less capable then the people that are already incapable at the top.

These people usually hire more and more people that they perceive are much less capable and intelligent than they perceive themselves as and to make up for what is lacking they hire bullies they know will be YES WOMEN and YES MEN. People that will carry out the cause ethics or no ethics. These people that fear to hire capable people usually hire more and more people to do less and less, because the people they hired previously do less. The ignorance and stupidity compound themselves. That is what we see now, very simple to understand and perceive. Hard to hide! This ill conceived poster and custodial hand out are simply manifestations of a management style that has gone ludicrously awry. It is downward spiral that will only end in the bankrupting of the entire organization in more ways than one.

Ah but the ones at the top have written their own golden parachutes, so it is a win, win situation for them. It is a very hard treadmill to get under control once it has momentum. Every one who has the power to do anything about it is afraid to, because they all belong to the same fraternal organizations, clubs and etc. They will try to bail each other out until there is absolutely nothing left to bail with, that is the nature of the beast.

Give them mops and mop buckets and see how well they do! Probably no better. There may be a few surprises in this bunch though.

It is highly peculiar that the district is being well taken care of in some cases by the true worker with morals and good ethics despite the unethical people above them. You know who you are and kudos to you all!

Anonymous said...

I think I'm stupid enuff to get a job in HR!
Cathy, I can be your ugly co-worker you can be my drinking dumb azz bozz at lunch.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else take offense to the 10th step to a better work environment? Cathy Birdsong, you might be the second stupidist person in the world. Step 10 was " If all else fails, get another job." You're only getting away with this one because it is the work of someone else. At least that will be your out. I probably just bailed you out huh? Anyway, there is still time to shut up. I cannot believe you are an HR Director. It just can't be true. Not only are you an ignoramus, but so lazy of one that you can't even bring GOOD ripped off material to a meeting. Front door is open, and much closer to Red Robin.

Anonymous said...

Did Birdsong get permission from the author of the article before reprinting and distributing it? We're always being "reminded" about copyright laws at my school--don't they follow those laws at the ESC?

Anonymous said...

Did I really just read a handout from Ms. Birdsong that contained the phrase "Those pesky kids"?
What is going on here?
Seems that someone who has the title Human Resource Director would find ways to communicate that humans are a resource rather than a nuisance.
I can't believe this.

Anonymous said...

Check out the slide presentation carefully. Apparently, this HR Moron, which may be an actual title, believes that our customers - our students - are PESKY KIDS.

Please: Quit now.

Anonymous said...

Cathy Songbird & Boob Hansen, where are you two coming from? Do you Know what you were hired to do?
This kind of thing is uncalled for.
You both should just go have a drink and think about what you both are saying to people.
A true leader is someone who looks out for others, not stepping on others.

You two make me sick.

Anonymous said...

"If you don't like it here, go someplace else." Words to be etched in the stone over the main entry of the new ESC. That is the mentality of the "current occupants." "Neanderthal" is a word that comes to mind to describe that attitude.

You can get more accomplished with honey than with vinegar. And vinegar is what is coming out of the ESC.

Anonymous said...

They probably kick their dogs too!

Anonymous said...

I try never to take offense to what totally unethical cowards and reprobates do or say. It is not worth it to waste positive energy on them. In other words they have little value or worth to me no matter how much they make monetarily. These people are all on the take! They mirror our government and the corporate puppeteers who are really manipulating things.

Do this. Do your job well with a smile, do something positive for someone, then you will make a difference in a good way for all. The people in charge of ESD forget that they need to set the right example, not the wrong one that they excel at these days.

Anonymous said...

I really can't believe that as employees we have to put up with those pesky,pop off, mouth pieces, in Human Resaurs. Pay attention all, you will see that most of the good idiocy begins with the town clowns in HR. Homey, Bozo and Krusty lead the department. Payroll has Yucko who is right on their heels!

Anonymous said...

Dr. Brossoit,
You are the designated leader of this district. Where is the leadership? Ms. Birdsong should be called into your office pronto!
I am fighting the urge to make a sign that says, "Edmonds School District calls students 'pesky kids'"--and stand on the corner of 196th and 44th. And believe me, if this is not dealt with--you, Dr. Brossoit, are condoning this type of message. Once again, we are waiting. Do you realize how much confidence you would instill in others if you just stepped forward and uttered the phrase, "You're fired."?
To Ms. Birdsong--I don't know you personally, but if your words are a reflection of who you are, then you should be ashamed.

WE'RE WAITING...........

Anonymous said...

Hey Cathy... You better be nice to that hamster in your head. If HE ever decides to drink his lunch, your're gonna be in a world of hurt. Does he wear a helmet when he's on the wheel? Safety first!

Anonymous said...

I did find out that Cathy is in moderate danger. A quick background check revealed that her hamster checked into Betty Ford two days after Axel Rose, in 1994. He is a two strike felon and was charged with a DUI on a quick trip to Petco last Saturday. He has an angel on his shoulder that takes lots of smoke breaks. This is not looking good for Cathy. I was wondering where his excrement goes? How silly of me! Cathy talks so much shite the little guy can't keep up!

Anonymous said...

Hey, maybe KOMO would like this information. It's a slow news day (cause of snow that didn't materialize)so maybe "pesky kids" would interest them.

Anonymous said...

I just now sent this info to KOMO. We'll see if they follow up on it.

Anonymous said...

Who hired this dumb Bird?
brian harding gorge marshal and bob hansen all came from lake washington.
Why did they come as a group?
Did ESD do a trade for these great leaders?

Anonymous said...

My Pesky Kid is a student in your district. Not only does my kid know when it's time to zip the lip, my kid identifies individuals who say the wrong things. Always uses the computer wisely, and has never slandered somebody with an email or a letter. Where shall my child, your student, apply for your vacated position? My child child tries to teach ME restraint, but I'm a slow learner. You Cathy are dumber than a fence post. An untreated one. Raj knew exactly what to do with you.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of dumbing it down, did anyone else get a 5:45 AM wake-up call from the school district this morning?!?

Anonymous said...

Yes, and also a practice I would question. The problem starts with management and their huge quilt complex. Most managers and supervisors can't quite grasp the concept of an early start. I guess because they aren't capable of getting out of bed at a reasonable hour, they assume that their stupid and incompetent classified staff couldn't possibly act independently. Just another slap in the face. Funny how long it took most to arrive at the Glass Palace today. If Nordstom was open at 5 A.M. the lazy F's would find a way to get to the mall for a new pair of driving mittens!

Anonymous said...

Actually, the level of inadequacy displayed by administration is mind-numbing. Perhaps that's it; that's their plan. To act so incompetently that everybody is so stunned that they just shake their heads and walk away so administration can have the whole sandbox all to themselves; no one will play with such idiots. Brilliant!!