Dear we are teachers,
Summer is less than a month, and my director has just announced that he expects our entire team to do four weeks or training in July. His email specifically said that this training is not optional. But how can that require that with such late notice? I have no plans, I just don’t want to spend half or my summer in PD! What do I have to do?
“Pd Summer.”
Dear pds,
There are very few things that I am online, but the right of a teacher in his time and peace is one of those things. This message would lift the eyebrows to the heavens.
Your answer is mainly based on your teaching situation. This situation is similar to A message that we received a few months agoAnd I will leave there:
“If you are in a public school, communicate with your union representative. It is possible that what you are describing violates union contracts in some way. If you violate the agreement, the union can support it to make your best movement permit, alert, aerdivide. Explain it.”
“If a union does not protect it, you must look at your contract. You want to find a language on ‘mandatory activities’ or ‘normal work hours out of the ordinary.’ If that is present, your school can be within your contract.”
So, if you are in a union, I strongly communicate to them as soon as possible.
If he is not in a union, and his contract does not support this work child, he would say calmly and respectful to his administration that, although he wishes to attend training, has already made other plans of duration of mandatory breaks. Be the most child and kind as possible, and say you are pleased to find another way to participate in training at another time. If you must continually press, you must decide how far you would like to take the situation (that is, above the administrative chain, legal representation or find a new school).
If your contract does not protect it, unfortunately, you have fewer options. You can try to notice how late is the request and say that you already have other plans. You can also try to obtain compensation for the time you will spend on the PD, since you are occupying a considerable amount of your time in the summer.
In general, he thought, this situation sounds incredible frustrating. I hope there is a good resolution. Good luck, and I believe in you!
Dear we are teachers,
I have been teaching for 30 years and habitual I have a solid management in the classroom, but this group is difficult. The director and the counselor have begun to offer rewards (mainly sweet) to some students if they behave for an established time. I have already explained both children and adults why I think that food rewards are a bad idea: unhealthy habits, extrinsic motivation and the fact that we do not train children as dogs. How can I communicate to my groups firmly but diplomatically?
“Children, no dogs
Dear tknd,
Sexual attraction. I appreciate your honesty and deeply understand your resurgences. Intentions can be good; I have memories of catching a cheerful rancher from a math teacher after finally doing something well. Sweets or extrinsic motivators sometimes are not inherently bad.
However, as you point out, a larger culture created by these suggestions, such as candy for presumably “moody” students, can be problematic. I talked to Alex Venet, an education, writer and consultant who founded Unconditional learningWho pointed out that “extrinsic motivators such as this real undermine intrinsic motivation. They do not work to get to the bottom of the problem.” The reward is just a band help that covers a real problem.
Venet also pointed out that thesis reward systems can create unhealthy relationships between students and food or students. The tacit message is that food or acceptance are linked to obedience. We are not looking for students so that they are obedient at the athents; We want them to be compassionate and motivated members of our class community.
A recommendation is to come to the table with solutions: “Sometimes, the best way to interrupt these cycles is to name them,” Venet said. “Say:” Hey, I want to try something else. Let’s experience a new energy or new direction. “” To that end, is there another teacher you can visit who can have great relationships with these students? Having another teacher to support and learn can help generate some ideas that align better with their values.
Venet said that finding solutions helps because it is difficult to get people to change a deeply rooted belief, partly if they do not seem open to that change. That said, if you wish, you could present evidence (some examples Gentleman and Gentleman). While you don’t want to be rude, you also want to defend what you know is suitable for your students.
Good luck, and I believe in you!
Dear we are teachers,
I am a veteran teacher who was out of the classroom for a while (still thought of education) and now in my third year as a high school teacher. While I really love it, I feel judged by some team members. A second year teacher in another subject continues to convert vulnerable conversations into training sessions, even thought that her own teaching is mainly packages while she sits to her desk. I am in favor of growing and improving, but this feels strange. I am not about to run to the director, I am not a blow. Is this son of judgment of normal younger teachers now, or is something else happening?
“Don training.”
Dear DCM,
Congratulations on returning to the classroom! This situation presents an interesting dynamic. Personally, I can never imagine trying to train a veteran teacher without explicitly asking me for resources, particularly those first years in the classroom. So, I understand why that doesn’t feel great.
There are some options here. One is to approach him in front. The next time the teacher begins to train and you are not interested, you can kindly say: “Hey, thanks for sharing that. I’m not looking for training right now. I just wanted to share how I felt.” If you go back, you can continually maintain your limit: “I appreciate that you want to share. I am not looking for that son of conversation at this time. Thank you!” And then you can leave.
This limit, requesting the support child that their real need is really importing. My husband is also in education, I will start a conversation saying: “Can you listen instead of commenting?” While you can feel uncomfortable at the beginning, we both feel that it is much better than being resentful or its good intentions. I think that could be applied here.
Another option is to share your thoughts with others. I understand that you don’t want to go to the director. Is there another trusted mentor teacher that his colleague admires? If so, you could gently share comments with them. I hope you help listen to it from a reliable source.
Finally, I could avoid this teacher as much as possible. It seems that they still do not have the skills to provide useful support. It can someday, but until then, you can also keep conversations that are a bit more vulnerable for someone you trust.
In general, teaching is a challenge, and I hope you find some who can validate and support it! Good luck, and I believe in you!
Do you have a burning question? Send us an email to Askwearetachers@weareteachers.com.
Dear we are teachers,
I am in my eighth year of high school teaching, and this year in particular it has weighed so heavy. I need tangible advice and tricks to see me until the end of the school year. They are not intoxicating things such as “remembers your” why “or” look for positive aspects “, but the elements of action that I can do (idically based on research) to dismiss, revitalize and prosper my path to summer. Any idea?
—Neconizing motivation
