'Stop emailing me': Principal begs for mercy after persistent teacher follows through 10-fold on a tedious new lesson plan policy

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Jan 6, 2024 10:00 AM EST

Teachers have a lot on their plate. While they're struggling with growing classrooms, more stringent lesson plans, and Karenish moms breathing down their throat, they're essentially expected to raise the next generation of children all on their own– all for measly wages and no 'thank you's. The last thing an overworked teacher needs is a principal demanding busy work from them.  

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  • In our next story, a teacher gets pushed to his breaking point but decides to have a little fun with his latest assignment. After the principal felt lead to micromanage his staff, he asked every teacher to send an updated lesson plan every Monday morning of their plans for the week. As many teachers are probably struggling to make lesson plans on a daily basis, asking for something so effervescent so far in advance was a big ask. 

  • But u/AMLT1983 had a quick way to get his boss off of everyone's backs: Malicious compliance. Scroll for the entire tale of sass and grumbles that'll make any overworked employee chuckle rebelliously.

  • 01
    "You asked for it"
    via u/canva
  • 02
    r/r/MaliciousCompliance. Posted by u/AMLT1983 22 hours ago You want Lesson Plans? You asked for it... M OC Once upon a time in the quaint town of Academia, a new middle school assistant principal was placed at our school. One day, trying to impress
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 03
    the school principal, our assistant, Mr. Sternsworth, as we will call him, decided to crack down on the teachers' lesson planning process. Mr. Sternsworth, a stern man with a penchant for punctuality, issued a decree that all teachers must submit their lesson plans, detailed, on the form he provided, that took way
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 04
    longer due to formatting and other demands, and wanted them promptly every Monday at 8 AM for the upcoming week. The teachers grumbled and complained as this takes a lot of time we could be prepping for the lesson, but we had little choice but to comply with the Sternsworth's wishes.
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 05
    I, however, saw an opportunity for a little mischief. Determined to make a point, I not only submitted the lesson plans diligently every Monday at the specified time but took it a step further. Along with each lesson plan, I attached a friendly email, politely requesting feedback on the plans and any suggestions for improvement.
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 06
    "Dear Mr. Sternsworth, I hope this email finds you well. Attached are my lesson plans for the upcoming week. I would greatly appreciate any feedback or suggestions you might have. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, AMLT1983"
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 07
    At first, Mr. Sternsworth was pleased to see such diligence from me. However, as the weeks went by, the inbox of the assistant principal began to overflow with my meticulously detailed lesson plans and polite follow- up emails. It seemed that every lesson plan submission was accompanied by a prompt for feedback.
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 08
    At first, Mr. Sternsworth tried to keep up. He skimmed through a few lesson plans, offering generic feedback like "Looks good" or "Keep it up." But I was persistent. I pushed for MORE feedback. The flood of emails requesting feedback became overwhelming, and Mr. Sternsworth found himself spending more time responding to me than actually performing his administrative duties.
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 09
    Frustrated and desperate to put an end to the constant barrage of emails, Mr. Sternsworth called me into his office. "AMLT1983," he said with a weary sigh, "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I simply don't have the time to provide detailed feedback on every lesson plan. Can't you just submit them without all the extra emails?"
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 10
    Smirking, I replied, "Sorry sir, I'm just a guy who wants to get better. I'm trying to make lesson plans that are really engaging, I really need the feedback. I'd hate to get dock on my end of year evaluation for being anything but the best."
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 11
    After a heavy sigh, Mr. Sternsworth said, "AMLT1983, if you stop e-mailing me about them, I won't make you turn anymore in. It is obvious you are a good teacher, and I need to focus on other things." That was 12 years ago, and I haven't turned in a lesson plan since.
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 12
    Nathan-Jacob 22 hr. ago Great malicious compliance. As much as I understand the usefulness of lesson plans, they are a means to an end and not an end of its own
    via u/Nathan-Jacob
  • 13
    AMLT1983 OP 22 hr. ago Well, I know what I'm teaching, but have a lot more time to do better quality lessons when I'm not typing them out for no one to look at, just check a box for them.
    via u/AMLT1983
  • 14
    thuktun 19 hr. ago That's the stupid part. They're most likely only going to get filed and rarely read, so insisting on specific formatting is just pointless busywork. He was also expecting everyone to just quietly comply, even though it was unnecessarily increasing their workload. Actually, never mind, that tracks. Traditional approaches to education prominently feature pointless busywork and a presumption of quiet compliance.
    via u/thukfun
  • 15
    GrumpyCatStevens - 22 hr. ago Give 'em what they want until they decide it's not what they wanted. Reply Share Vote speculatrix 21 hr. ago give them so much of what they wanted, you drown them until they beg for you to stop, is the perfect MC. Vote Reply Share Geminii27 13 hr. ago Give them what they asked for until they choke on it.
    via u/GrumpyCatStevens
  • 16
    mizinamo 22 hr. ago And here I was hoping for you to turn around the "I simply don't have the time" into "nor do teachers really have the time to do this busywork". But it worked out all right for you in the end, I guess! Vote Reply Share AMLT1983 OP 22 hr. ago You can't reason with bosses like this. They just don't ever get it.
    via u/mizinamo
  • 17
    spherulitic 20 hr. ago When I was in high school the administration decided to start requiring teachers to submit lesson plans. My French teacher diligently complied each week, submitting a lesson plan entirely in French. Never got a single question about it.
    via u/spherulitic
  • 18
    Jonathan_the_Nerd - 17 hr. ago . Bonne idée! (I admit, I used Google Translate for that. I remembered the words from high school French, but I didn't remember the exact spelling or where the accent marks went.)
    via u/Jonathan_the_nerd
  • 19
    HunterRDF 20 hr. ago Moral of the story: Be careful what you ask for because you might just get it, but not in the way you were thinking. Well done, OP. Well done
    via u/HunterRDF
  • 20
    Wuotis_Heer 20 hr. ago I would have encouraged all of the other teachers to send follow-up emails as well. Vote Reply Share AMLT1983 OP 20 hr. ago Once they heard what I did, they did also. Since then. No mention of submitting lesson plans.
    via u/Wuotis_Heer
  • 21
    TheExaspera 18 hr. ago Pretend there is an applause GIF here. Reply Share Vote Shanester79 - 20 hr. ago This is such a great example of malicious compliance working as intended. I love your story.
    via u/TheExaspera
  • 22
    steveparker88 13 hr. ago "Mr. Sternsworth, a stern man with a penchant for punctuality, issued a decree that all teachers must submit their lesson plans, detailed, on the form he provided" But are you really required to follow that? Just because he asked doesn't necessarily mean you have to comply, right?
    via u/steveparker88
  • 23
    Separate-Parfait6426 - 12 hr. ago I wish you had been able to get some colleagues to do this as well. If he got upset you could all essentially say what you said. He would probably have take the requirement away for everybody (and probably much sooner) Reply Share Vote AMLT1983 OP 11 hr. ago O, they quickly followed suite. No lesson plans mentioned at all the next year
    via u/Serparate-Parfait6426

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