OK. I'm just going to go ahead and knock this out.
Oh yeah by the way: critiquing is one thing I do well.
So I'm walking down the hall Tuesday morning and I came across another CTAE instructor and some words that came out of his/her mouth that made my jaw drop. It wasn't dirty or insulting it just made me think, WOW, I CANT BELIEVE I HEARD THAT.
Now this person's background goes like this. He/she has been recognized in our school system a few times for doing something spectacular and/or being a good teacher. He/She was was also recognized at the first GATCE conclave I attended. For what I can't remember.
What is this person is really like, you ask? This individual has taken credit for others work which led to the recognition. Personality-wise this individual is oh so much more arrogant than I. Which is pretty bad. I'm only egotistical about one thing, but it makes up for all the other things I'm not egotistical about. These are just some things that I've noticed about this person. Please keep this in mind, I don't deal with this person on a daily basis, so I do not know him/her well enough to like or dislike him/her. This individual (not to sound harsh) is pretty inconsequential to my daily routine.
Yeah. Yeah. Let me get to my point. As I got close to this individual Tuesday morning, I, in a polite and genial way, ask them how they were doing today. All I heard was a grumble and then the words "Well summer vacation is almost here." In the disbelief of what I thought I just heard I replied with a slow "Y-e-e-e-a-a-h." Then they said with a smile, "come to think of it we don't have too much longer until it's here." At this point I had no comment. Usually I can come up with some sarcastic quip which would hopefully sear into this teachers skull and make him or her think "man I just sounded really bad didn't I?" I had nothing except a blue remark or two I remember hearing from comedian Lewis Black, which dealt with a few explicatives. I have a tendency to digress when I get flustered.
So my question goes out to everyone. First please remember that it is rather obvious that this individual takes undue credit for things. Second I can say with an unbiased opinion, I think this individual was being serious in their remarks about vacation and not just fooling around.
Is this person teaching for the right reasons?
You pose an interesting question. Personally, regardless of what type of individual this person is, I think it's normal to feel burned out during this time of year. I know I often do. Having said that, you could always follow-up the type of comment this person made with a response like, "Gee, what's going on? Why are you feeling so ready for summer break?"
ReplyDeleteI know that sometimes people who are showered with praise may have used others or taken credit for others' work to gain that praise. The important thing focus on the positive aspects of our jobs and not get sucked into the negativity of some of our co-workers. That can be a real energy drain. Hang in there!