This site is a class blog space for new Career and Technical Specializations and Heathcare Science teachers enrolled in the New Teacher Institute (NTI) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Suprise! Surprise! Surprise!
I think the thing that baffles me most is teacher behavior. I feel as though we should all be on the same team, however, most of the teachers I work with are only concerned with themselves. If I have a good idea I want to share it with others and if I see someone presenting an exciting lesson, I would love nothing more than for them to share their secret so that my class will be as engaging as theirs. I have witnessed this with veterans and newbies alike. The overall attitude is "I had to come up with it on my own, you need to do the same". That quote doesn't necessarily come out of their mouth so much as it is spoken with their body language. I thought if you signed up to teach, you would not have age discrimination amid your students. I have a hard time believing that we will all be successful unless we realize the value of working together. The ultimate goal or win is for our students to learn. Kids are smart. They pick up on underlying attitudes and quickly model the behavior they witness. If we will not support each other, how will they learn the value of helping others? What are we teaching them with our selfish actions?
I hate that you aren't getting support from fellow teachers and that you are having a hard time finding "your group" among the other educators at your school. You mentioned that we should model our positive behavior for the kids. The best advice I can give it to do the same for the teachers. If you keep your positive and helpful attitude, and continue to share your good ideas, maybe your demeanor will wear off on them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you want some fun classroom activities, I have had some luck browsing Pinterest. I have even been able to adapt some elementary school lessons to be more age appropriate (since there aren't a LOT of resources for CTAE out there).
I feel bad that you are in the position that you are in. I know by doing tech support for the teachers at my High School for the past 7 years, I was able to interact with them in ways I don’t think they did with one another. Now, Department wise I believe that each area collaborated in some way, shape, or form. (I.E. English department shared ideas and such with their own group, Math doing the same, etc.)
ReplyDeleteThe place where I am at now is a lot of the teachers who have given me help/advice came best when I asked about classroom management or how to handle discipline. I have found that every single time all of the teachers I have interacted with have opened up to me greatly about such questions. This, in turn, allows me a chance to say “You know I am doing this with this website…” or I can say, “Well classroom management is the hard part of what I am doing because I am finding a lot of exciting ways of interacting with the students…”.
Maybe approaching this way will help those stubborn teachers open up more. The one thing I have found in doing tech support is that they don’t want to feel inadequate in any way, THEY are the masters of their material. I’ve always said it’s not teaching you how to teach all over again, it’s just showing you a new way to do something you have always done a certain way. One step at a time.
Mr. H.
Tell me about it!!!! When arrived at my school a few years ago it was exactly the same. I only had one teacher that even spoke to me. Its crazy how things are so competitive and they do not have to be. I received a lot of tension from the music teacher when I decided to start a drama club at my school. She did a musical every year. I felt like she was intimidated by my experience. It was crazy how she would talk bad about me to students and they would come and relay messages. Nevertheless its very sad. We are here for the kids so as long as we put the first nothing else matters.
ReplyDeleteI find this to be true at all levels of education. There is tremendous jealously and competition at the university level teaching. I love to share and also to see good things I can use. I really think it's about self concept and being secure with yourself. That's my hypothesis and I'm sticking with it. I appreciated that you shared with our group this summer! Dr. J.
ReplyDeleteI would never have thought to look on Pinterest. What do you put in the search box to look up activities?
ReplyDelete