We’re better than this. We are more professional than this. We are more skilled than this.
What is “this”?
It is a conversation that goes something like…
“Oh my. Just WAIT until you get my kids next year…good luck!”
“We have that really wild group of 4th graders coming through…wait until you get ’em next year. Yowza!’
“These parents are a trip! I’m glad I get to send them to you next year.”
THIS is the “this” that we must stop immediately. Why?
Because here’s what we’re doing when we talk like that:
- We are pre-establishing our expectations to “this won’t work”
- We are admitting “I couldn’t make this work”
- We are saying “There’s no hope for these kids”
- We are setting the kids up to a “You won’t make it” future
I don’t know about you, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you are about as competitive or
driven as I am – I want to be great, I want my students to be great and part of how judge my
performance is by my ability to work with ANY kind of students with ANY kind of parent.
I usually find that it’s the same people who “always have the low kids” or “always get the rude parents”…and I don’t believe it for one second! I’ve seen teachers take the “same kids” and the “same parents” and they work WONDERS! And the kids are happy! And the parents are kind and engaged! What was the difference? The teacher.
Hmmm…
So, I hope that you’ll join me in keeping “teaching” family business within the family. What does this mean?
- Spread the good stuff about teaching and keep the venting to 1-2 colleagues who can help you get out of a funk by some good problem-solving.
- Check your attitude and see what your response is when you hear the Negative Nelly’s griping about next year’s students – do you engage? Do you smile and move on?
- When you get a new class of kids, do you check the cum files to see about their “past” or do you give them a fresh start? Everyone deserves a fresh start.
- Do you anticipate the troublesome kids and prepare a plan BEFORE they arrive so that you can AVOID troubles?
If I’m talkin’ your language…click the “like” button at the top of the post, or leave your two cents below!