90 Minutes in Purgatory

Or, The First PTO Meeting of the School Year

I am not, by nature, a patient person. That comes as no surprise to anyone who knows me and is probably one of the many many reasons that my friends love me. Right? Right? So while being impatient may not be a virtue, it does mean that I am always cognizant of time and do my utmost not to waste anyone's time, especially not my own.

Which brings me to the subject at hand: last week's PTO meeting, which was held on Thursday morning. Yes, kittens, PTO meetings at Aidan's school are held on weekday mornings, effectively telling working parents of either gender that their presence is not needed nor wanted. Okay, maybe I am reading just a tad bit too much into the scheduling of the meetings, but that's the message I get loud and clear.

For some reason (which now, in hindsight, seems damn brilliant) I did not attend any meetings last year. Last week's meeting was my first ever; what remains to be seen is whether or not I attend another one. The meeting was listed as starting at 9:30 am, which of course means that I arrived at 9:20 because it is, of course, biologically impossible for me to be anything other than early. There was quite a gathering around the refreshment table, which should have tipped me off...nothing was going to happen until everyone had their share of the danish.

The meeting finally started somewhere around 9:40-9:45. Not a good sign. The agenda was rather short but I soon realized that this was not going to be a brief meeting. Holy moly, what a mess. I think the people in charge have probably never ran a meeting in a corporate environment. Maybe I am being terribly unfair, but I doubt it...people were permitted to talk as long as they liked, the same things were said over and over, things were read to us even after the speaker said "you have the information in front of you so I won't read it." My eyes soon glazed over.

We had already been meeting for over an hour when the principal stood up to talk about the upcoming sales tax referendum, and his vision for the school year. He speaks slowly. In a calm principal voice. And he rocks slowly back and forth when he speaks. I was in serious danger of slipping into a coma and slipping out of my chair. And, worse yet, he was positioned so that I could not leave the room unless I walked one foot in front of him. So I had to stick it out...and when he finally sat down 25 minutes later, I scooted from the room as quickly as I could. I had already given them an hour and a half, and there was still 25% of the agenda left to cover!

Even though the audience was primarily comprised of stay at home moms with plenty of time, there is no reason to be inefficient and disrespectful of people's time. And I really don't mean to be rude or disrespectful of the PTO board; they are giving their time and energy to a very worthwhile organization. But, folks, you really should learn to run a meeting well and maximize everyone's time.