THE REASON I WAS LATE FOR YOUR MEETING

Dear Person in Charge:

I’m so sorry I was late for your meeting. I was so busy doing important work that I didn’t have time for “necessary” work. I know this meeting is important to you. I know we are going to change the world with the objectives we talk about (but do not act upon) in this meeting. I know we are now left to desperation and despair because I missed the fist 10 minutes of the meeting. I know these 10 minutes were jam-packed with the casual opening salvo of introductions and the obligatory opening joke.

Please permit me to, just this once, explain why I was late.

I was late because I care about my work. I was late because I was doing work that was very important or recovering from work that was important. Simply put, I was late because I had more important things to do.

Please rest assured that this will happen again. I have a nasty habit of being more concerned about work that is important instead of work that is necessary, and I am doing a lot of work that is important. I care more about lesson plans than fire drills. I care more about teaching than managing. I care more about learning than about school. Sorry, but this nasty tendency (a tendency that history has shown to be so devastating to an organization’s infrastructure) will not go away.

If you would like to discuss this further, please schedule a meeting with me. I promise I will skip the opening joke.

Sincerely,
Teacher Who Gets Stuff Done