In your experience as a teacher, when/where/how have you found yourself participating in “the teacher’s lounge?” Address your own awareness of, participation in, and avoidance of the deficit thinking that comes with the teacher’s lounge?
In my early teaching years, I hadn’t been warned of the teachers lounge like the teacher in the article mentioned. I made many teacher friends and we enjoyed lunch together. We hardly ever talked about colleagues or students during lunch! The negativity began during my fifth or sixth year of teaching when I found myself caught in the web of a department full of adult drama. I heard stories about teachers before I met them, and I was told to believe it all to be true. I heard stories about students and I was supposed to go along and call them a pain in the..., too. I was engulfed in gossip. It was not necessarily in the lunch room because we typically ate in our classrooms or in a common departmental area. Sometimes even in passing between classes, a web of drama would grow out of control and give me preconceived notions of teachers and students. I would try to be a good listener and let people vent to me but then, I found myself holding onto what they said. I found myself in tough positions when people would ask me for advice/lean on me for answers. Once I began to feel attacked by my colleagues and some toxic "higher-ups" after 12 years of teaching in the same school, I made the decision to resign from the district and continue my teaching journey elsewhere.
In my new district, the first year was the honeymoon stage for me. Now, being my second year, is where I started to find out the true colors and get sucked back into the gossip and drama. I started to try and hide out in my classroom and not have lunch with the group. They found me! I try my best now to stay above it but of course we all have our slip-ups. Since ASTL, I’ve begun to try and flip the script on negative student talk and I even try to do that in meetings with guidance counselors and parents. Today, as a matter of fact, I helped change the tone of a lunch conversation from negative to positive about a female student who was on the receiving end of some awful bashing.
This question comes at an opportune time for me because after each midyear exam, I administer a Google Form Survey about the class so far. The students complete the survey to reflect on my teaching, their own learning, and to set goals for the year. This year, to my surprise, 100% of my students felt that I enjoy teaching and provided examples of how I say I love them and how I give positive praise and always smile, laugh, and joke with them. They stated that they feel I want them to do well and succeed at Spanish, and even when they are “being annoying” I am still nice to them. They stated that they work hard and learn difficult material, but the strategies that I use do help keep them engaged and learn the material.
Who do your students think you are? Who do you think your students are?
This question comes at an opportune time for me because after each midyear exam, I administer a Google Form Survey about the class so far. The students complete the survey to reflect on my teaching, their own learning, and to set goals for the year. This year, to my surprise, 100% of my students felt that I enjoy teaching and provided examples of how I say I love them and how I give positive praise and always smile, laugh, and joke with them. They stated that they feel I want them to do well and succeed at Spanish, and even when they are “being annoying” I am still nice to them. They stated that they work hard and learn difficult material, but the strategies that I use do help keep them engaged and learn the material.
Who do I think my students are?
What a question! My students are fun and funny! They are constantly growing and changing. Some of my students are lonely. They seek belonging and connection. Some are high-energy, and some are relaxed. They are full of a range of emotions.My students amaze me. They are artists. They are athletes. They are singers, dancers, and actors. They are musicians. They are gamers. Wow, they are talented! They are creative. They have diverse interests and needs. They are introverts and extroverts. The list could go on and on. They are such a variety of learners. I genuinely care for my students and only wish the best for them in life.
I love the idea of a mid-year survey rather than just one at the beginning and end of a class. I might steal! I think it's great that your students can see your passion for Spanish language. The most learning comes from teachers who are enthusiastic about what they are teaching. Even if you might not agree with the way some skills are supposed to be taught in your department, you don't let your students see that and always have a positive mindset. I eavesdrop on my students all the time and I'm constantly hearing about how much they looooove Ms. DeSousa!
ReplyDeleteThe video made me laugh. So often went might a student whose a headache and at the earliest convenience wanting to vent with a colleague. I've seen a lot of negativity in the conversations at lunch. It still shocks me how awful teachers can be behind closed doors. It is almost like we are still students and have to make better good choices on what we say and do. I've never liked when teachers would talk the drama in the hallway, the kids are there, they listen to every word. They could pick up on those habits. Teachers who fall in this habit need to be better role models.
ReplyDeleteI also love the mid-year survey. I am always asking my students to reflect on their work , never realize I could be asking them the same to them about my work! I am not surprise that your student see your passion. You are always so excited talking about your class.
I like how they acknowledge that they can be annoying--and that you're still nice to them! It reminds me of a video I saw that there are no 'bad dogs' (I wanted to link it but I can't find it anywhere). The premise is that even though we have students who can sometimes get on our nerves, they never deserve to be treated like bad dogs. They are still human and allowed to have a bad day. I feel like this idea is what has allowed me to be more compassionate towards certain students and to stick up for them when another teacher has something negative to say.
ReplyDelete