Teacher Interrupted

What was the most unnecessary PA interruption you've had to suffer?

A former principal was trying to fix the PA system and made the following announcement: "If you cannot hear this announcement, please call the office."

-- Paul McOsker
High school special education teacher
Novi, Michigan

Several years ago, at the school where I previously taught, the assistant principal was excited about the arrival of the paychecks. He got on the PA and said, "Teachers, may I have your attention please: The eagle has landed. I repeat, the eagle has landed."

At least one teacher, who was concerned that she might have missed a change in the code language for "intruder in the building," actually locked down her classroom.

-- Kelly D. Slaton
Language arts/journalism
Augusta, Kansas

One day last spring during my 7th period class, I was interrupted not once, not twice, but three times by the assistant principal telling me that some grapefruit I had ordered from a band student was in the office. By the third interruption, the class had completely lost focus, and the students were laughing at the assistant principal's obsession with the grapefruit!

I now work at a different school, and so far, no one has used the intercom to alert me to any fruit deliveries.

-- Kenda Rusevlyan
Language arts teacher
Florence, Alabama

As we were teaching, about mid-morning, our very nervous principal got on the PA system and announced, "Teachers, check your drawers." That was the extent of that announcement.

All the teachers on our wing of the building stopped what they were doing and went to the hallway to see if anyone knew what the announcement was about. We got a good laugh about it during the rest of the day until faculty meeting that afternoon. The principal started the meeting off by announcing that a teacher had misplaced her keys, and he wanted us to check to see if they might have been picked up by another teacher.

I don't think I will ever forget that day. It was the most interesting day of my 26-year career.

-- Mary Lones
Retired teacher
Huntsville, Alabama

Chemistry class had just started and we were beginning the study of an important new concept. The PA came on and asked that "Bob" be sent to the student administration office immediately. I stopped the lesson, wrote a pass for Bob, sent him on his way, got the class back on task and then continued with the lesson.

Bob came back right before the end of class. Knowing that Bob was a good kid, I asked, "What was that all about?"

Bob explained that he had to sit on the "bench" until an assistant principal could see him. After a 35-minute wait he was called in and told to return to class because they couldn’t remember why they called him down!

-- Gene Kenney
High school science teacher
Lee's Summit, Missouri

Recently I had a phone call not through the PA system but via my cell phone. My 5-year-old daughter, Alice, had lost her front tooth on the playground, and her teacher called to let me know. Needless to say this call came in the middle of my third-period class and all I could do once I hung up the phone was to laugh in front of my students.

-- Katrice Lucas
Ninth grade social studies teacher
Baltimore County, Maryland

Last year, our principal (who has since moved on) came on the intercom just after lunch and said, "Mrs. X (asst. principal) is not here today, so teachers...please refrain from sending any students to the office for disciplinary reasons."

-- P. Bond
Yucaipa, California

The most unnecessary PA system interruption I've suffered in the middle of class occurred many years ago during my high school years. My high school was designed in an E shape so that the quickest way to get to some classes was to go outside rather than navigate crowded hallways.

One rainy day, the principal got on the PA and announced, "It is raining outside. If you go outside, you will get wet."

-- Jeanne Edmunds
Grade three teacher
Minot, Maine

At 2:35, one-half hour before school would normally be dismissed, we were interrupted by a PA announcement informing us that school would be dismissed at 3 p.m. due to the snowstorm! We were being dismissed only 5 minutes early, but between the announcement and the student excitement we lost most of the remaining instructional time.

-- Barb Weiss
Watertown, Wisconsin

Many years ago in our old junior high, the principal interrupted class with this: "I'm calling the cheerleaders down to the office for a quickie." This is true!

-- Lynn Stearns
Fostoria, Ohio

I was teaching my advanced algebra class when we were interrupted with this PA announcement: "Sorry for this interruption. Shanise, please come to the office to pick up the pizza you ordered."

This annoyed me so much that I sent five students, one after the other, with a note to the office asking if they could have the pizza if Shanise didn't pick it up.

-- Judy Taylor
Pasadena, California

"Would the person who ordered from the China Star please come to the office to pay for your food?"

-- Joanne Noteboom
Third grade teacher
South Holland, Illinois

I once worked in a school in which the principal got on the PA system and interrupted the entire school by announcing that she'd misplaced her lunch and that "anyone who knows where it is" should contact her. I never did find out if she found it!

-- Dara Fischer
Art teacher
Hudson County, New Jersey

I used to work at a small elementary school in New York. The principal would frequently use the PA to announce the names of students who were to be picked up by their parents, students who had forgotten to return library books, and even announcements about lost-and-found items. However, the most unnecessary interruption was made shortly after we returned from Christmas vacation: She announced over the PA that there were only 355 days left until Christmas!

-- Tanya Parrott
Library media specialist
Haymarket, Virginia

We used to have an announcement (until it was deemed unnecessary) over the PA every period, every day, that the "HALLS ARE NOW CLEAR." The announcement was used to tell teachers that the halls were clear and we could send students to the bathroom, etc. The announcement would come a minute after the bell rang or sometimes 10 minutes into the period.

How could the secretary in the office find out that the halls were really clear? Well, the teachers finally said that the halls aren't clear when you're announcing that they are clear, so the announcement was useless!! It was a disruption at various times during the period every day, every period!!

-- Janette Boivin
Business education teacher
Haledon, New Jersey

Recently a teacher interrupted class to tell the rest of the staff that she had no lunch so she was ordering out if anyone was interested.

-- Debbie Burmeister
Third grade teacher
Neenah, Wisconsin

I was teaching in an elementary school. At 3 p.m., right in the middle of a writing session, with 45 minutes to go until dismissal, this was the announcement over the PA system: "Teachers -- Please excuse this interruption. Students may now come to the Media Center to buy lollipops!"

-- Cathy Clark
Pasco County School District
Florida

The day after I was reading my recent edition of NEA Today, my class was once again interrupted with the most unusual request I have heard in 25 years of teaching: "Would anyone who has a packet of gummy worms and their ingredient information, please give it to Mrs. X in the Home Ec room."

-- Barbara Hudnall
Eighth grade communications teacher
Armagh, Pennsylvania

"Teachers, please pardon the interruption. Please prepare your students to be interrupted by a PA announcement in 5 minutes. Thank you."

-- Renee Vogel
Educational consultant
Washington, DC

All morning long it is pouring rain or snowing and yet just before lunch periods we hear: "Excuse the interruption, but the children will not be going out for lunch play today." Really???? Or, "Excuse the interruption, but there will be workers working on the intercom system so the office will not be able to use it." Gee, okay, thanks and for this I am grateful, but would I have known the difference?

And the best for last: "Excuse the interruption, but we are having problems with the intercom system, so if you cannot hear this announcement, would you please buzz the office." Umm huh?...then a few minutes later: "Excuse the interruption, but we are having problems with the intercom system, so if you can hear this announcement, would you please buzz the office."

-- Diane Memoli
Elementary teacher
Bridgewater, New Jersey

One afternoon my principal informed us over the intercom that the school had just received a bomb threat that he believed to be a hoax. However, they would be outside of the classrooms checking lockers just in case…try to go back to teaching after that!

-- Becky Krueger
Fifth grade teacher
Ponca City, Oklahoma