Sound of Silence: Bullied Teachers

I've been accused of purposely making other teachers look bad, not being a team player, having too high of expectations for kids, being a bad teacher, being incompetent, and not being friendly. I've also been accused of being the most negative person on the planet, a trouble-maker, and a poor excuse for a teacher. This is the short list.

I will be the first to admit that I haven't always followed along with the crowd. Even as a first-year teacher nearly 30 years ago, I was the teacher that didn't teach page by page out of the textbook and workbook every day. I was the teacher that arranged the desks into tables versus straight rows. I was the teacher that created a comfortable reading center, used games and simulations for learning, decorated my classroom according to various themes, and played with kids during recess. My classroom was different than the traditional classroom. I was different.

Because I marched to a different drummer, I was the target of a teacher bully and her clique of other teachers who were powerful within the school community. The stares, gossip, public shaming, false accusations, isolation, and mistreatment was unbearable at times. The more effort I put into providing opportunities for our students, the more intensified the bullying became. Teachers even stooped low enough to humiliate and mistreat my students. And that was when they crossed the line.

By nature, I'm a pretty quiet person. Being the target of a powerful school bully was not easy. I tried to remain positive. I attempted to ignore as much as I could. But, when it came to bullying students to get to me, I broke my silence. What I found out was that the majority of the teachers were behind me, supported me, agreed with me, but were too afraid to speak up. They knew of the bullying, probably had been bullied as well through intimidation, but chose not to say anything. I don't blame them. It's a common phenomenon. Even I didn't speak up for a long time because of being afraid of more retribution.

In the book, Crucial Accountability by Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan, and Switzler, they talk about their research into our human nature to stay silent.

"Speaking of workplace reticence, 93 percent of the people we polled work day in and day out with a person they find hard to work with, but no one holds the person accountable because other employees believe that it's too dangerous."

Unfortunately, I don't think I'm alone in my experience. In fact, I know of another situation close to me where a teacher was bullied by an administrator. The stress was a factor in her having a stroke. I was not silent, and I did pay a price. That's another story. However, I'm glad that I broke my silence.  It took a lot of courage, and it wasn't easy.

The purpose for me writing this post is two-fold. First, to be a voice for those suffering in silence. Administrators are often not aware or in denial about bullying happening on their campus.  The bully isn't easily identifiable in many cases. Bullies and those that form the posse are often masters of PR and deception. Don't be fooled. They cause a toxic undercurrent in the school culture.

And secondly, as colleagues and co-workers, we know who are the bullies in the school. Staying silent is not an option. We can no longer turn the other way, pretend not to see and hear, and ignore this behavior. We need to have courageous conversations and stop this practice in our schools. I'm speaking to myself. I wish I had a rewind button and could go back in time. I wish that I had had more courage to speak out. Bullying hurts...everyone.

 

You May Not Realize It, But You're A TL!

I haven’t thought of myself as a “teacher leader” over the years. Although reflecting back now, I guess I was by today’s definition. In the schools where I’ve taught, everyone had a role and responsibility. Committees with representatives from each grade level met on a regular basis. The team leader was also a representative. Although, he/she was ultimately accountable for getting things done, it was the team that collaboratively made plans and decisions. The responsibility of being the team leader has always been rotated around to different team members. There’s been no fanfare, no clout, no extra recognition. All of the current talk about “teacher leaders” is a little foreign to me. I think it’s just my old mindset that in order to be a leader, you need a title. Read this enlightening post by Eric Scheninger "A Title Doesn't Make You A Leader" if you too have thought that leadership is synonymous with a title.

When I started teaching, I volunteered a lot. If there was a need for something, especially if my principal asked, I volunteered. To me, it wasn’t about leadership, it was about doing something to make our school better and to help out the kids. If I saw something that our school was missing, I volunteered to do it, start it, be in charge of it, or help with it. For example, being a lover of the Arts, I recognized that our kids didn’t have many opportunities. I started a drama club and worked with another teacher to produce a school musical. I also saw a need for a student council and the need for more opportunities for our gifted kids. Another teacher took leadership of the student council as a whole, and I supervised the kids in charge of school communications. I also created an extra enrichment class that focused on learning debating skills and creativity. In each school, I did the same types of things. I saw a need and did something about it. Honestly, people thought that I was crazy to volunteer so many hours. What they didn’t understand was that it was my “play time”! I LOVED it! I would never expect other teachers to do the same especially with how full our plates are now. I don't even do those same things anymore.

My point in telling the story is that teachers don’t have to be the most politically active, outgoing, charismatic people to be school leaders. I’m certainly not. I’ve been in the spotlight because of the musical programs and other things that I’ve done. But those that know me best know that I’m not a person comfortable in the spotlight. I’m all about helping and providing opportunities for kids. Sometimes that’s meant teaching kids, sometimes that’s meant supporting parents, and sometimes it’s meant helping my colleagues.

Being a teacher leader to me is about building relationships with your colleagues, sharing resources, being helpful, and offering a listening ear. It could be a special title or position but not necessarily. I’ve mentored more teachers informally than I have formally. I’ve taught a lot of professional development, but mostly in the form of helping a small group of teachers. I’ve worked with my principal many times, but more often it’s been about just providing information. I still volunteer (or volunteer my kiddos) to help whenever we can. It teaches the kids service at the same time as making our school a better place.

Mostly people look to me as a teacher leader because of my example. (I try to be a good one.) I’m learning! I read books, articles, and blogs. I do what I can when I can and share my learning. I realize that not everyone is in a situation where they can do all of the reading that I’m doing.  I try new things! I share my mistakes, my tweaks, and sometimes really great success stories. It doesn’t take more time and effort. It’s really about doing whatever you can to make the learning for students better.

Do you volunteer? Do you help colleagues? Are you learning? Do you share ideas and resources? Do you take the time to listen and build relationships with students, parents, teachers, and support staff members? Is your school a better place because of your efforts?  If you do ANY of those things, I hate to break it to you, but you are a teacher leader in my book! It's really a matter of mindset. And with being a teacher LEADER comes a little more responsibility.

There can be challenges when you lead out and try new things. There might be times when others will accuse you of "trying to make other teachers look bad". But, if you remain positive and think of what's best for the kids, you will be able to make a difference. Making a difference- that's what leaders do. You are a teacher leader. What difference will you make in your school? How can you use your talents, gifts, and abilities to improve the learning for kids? Have an idea? Talk to your principal and lead up!

 

"Growth" Check 1

PLC Fog

The fog will lift.

A little over four years ago, we heard the mandate from the district office: you will now be required to have a PLC. Now, I'm not usually a negative person, but I did question this new requirement. There are so many acronyms in education; I had no idea what PLC meant. There was no introduction. There was no explanation. It was just a requirement to have another meeting to "talk about student achievement". Okay, I thought we were doing that somewhat already. 

Our team began having this required meeting during our planning time. Honestly, we were trying to be positive and compliant, but we were all thinking of the thousands of other things that we needed to complete before the next day. The tweak that we made was looking at math test scores. The test scores didn't reveal any new knowledge. We knew who was struggling already!

It wasn't long before our next directive came. Implement RTI. I remember asking, "What in the heck is RTI?" Another acronym without an introduction or explanation. It was just a "you will do". Our math textbooks did have a section for RTI, and so we weren't completely in the fog. It was helping the kids that had trouble catching the concept. Right? Why did we have to add another acronym? Haven't teachers always helped their struggling learners?

My team struggled through the PLC process. It was the blind leading the blind. But, at least, our team was attempting to do what we'd been told. Other teams refused to try. We used our time to have confidential conversations about the progress of our kids. That came to a stop when we were told that the whole faculty would meet in the media center to hold PLC's at the same time. Babysitting. The purpose was so the administrators could make sure that teams were holding PLC meetings. These meetings were basically a waste of time. 

Fast forward a couple of years, and we're still trying to function in fog. The difference now is that because of reading and studying about PLCs, and the many conversations with PLN members, I can sense the power behind a PLC. 

Last Fall, our superintendent sent a video out to schools to help people catch the vision along with some modeling. My team watched it because I played it for them during one of our planning meetings. I suspect that many of our faculty members have not yet seen it because there were technical difficulties during the faculty meeting, and the link was emailed out. There has been no discussion about the video or any of the content as a faculty. 

Being in an administrative program now, I'm highly motivated to learn more and actually see functioning PLCs working in a school. I'm also motivated to move our team forward into having more meaningful conversations that will assure that our kids are learning. It's difficult. There are many barriers, especially in a year-round school. By the time we give one common assessment, it's three months after the fact before we can talk about it. We are never together as a team. Someone is always off-track. It's hard to have conversations about accountability when we are all in a different place. I don't see how a PLC can truly function in this situation, but I'm in the fog.

For anyone also caught in the fog, I highly recommend these two books. And it goes without saying, you really need to take the time to study the work of Rick and Rebecca DuFour.

I can see the light through the fog. Everything about a Professional Learning Community speaks to me. When I personally started to shift away from the traditional teaching focus to a student learner focus, I gained a whole new perspective. I believe that ALL kids can learn! The PLC model is powerful in theory. I want to help move my team/school forward. I don't know how that will look-----yet. I'm thinking that it has to start with a courageous conversation. That's a topic for another day.

Shower Fiasco

There I was, buck naked with nothing but a luxurious towel wrapped around me. I needed to take a shower before our meeting at the hotel started. Simple, right? If you are a frequent guest at five-star hotels, you won't relate to the following story. But, this was my first time.

I tried to study the fancy knobs to see how the shower worked. How hard could it be? I tugged and turned and pushed and pulled some knobs. Nothing happened. After several minutes, I felt pretty dumb! I attempted to turn on the shower one more time. Quite on accident, water started to come out of the shower head. I still don't know what combination of a push, pull and turn that I did to get it to work finally. I stepped inside. Luckily, I figured out the temperature control, but the amount of water coming out was less than what I expected. I remember thinking, "This isn't a 'luxurious shower experience.'" Somewhat blindly, I fiddled with a few more knobs and was surprised when a fire hose pressure stream of water came out from the side of the wall into my face!  Between sputtering and laughing at myself, I was eventually able to shower.

After showering, I had the opposite problem of figuring out how to turn everything off. How hard could it be? Once again, I started to play with the knobs, dials, and switches. I couldn't get the water to turn off! The thought of leaving the water running did cross my mind. It was then that I noticed a sign in the shower that said, "Call this number for assistance." I started to laugh! Sure! Really? People call for help when they're naked? I couldn't believe that I couldn't figure out how to work a dumb shower! Finally, with enough twisting of dials, the water turned off! Whew!  My embarrassment would stay a secret forever!

I quickly got ready for the day and left to go to our leadership training. Before our day of meetings, we gathered in a dining area for breakfast. At first, there was small talk and pleasantry. Then one of the other guests whispered that she had to go to her colleagues room and help her turn off the shower. I started giggling and related my experience as well. Someone heard us talking about the shower and added that they finally called for assistance to turn on the shower.  Conversations about the showering experience popped up all over the dining room, and everyone was rolling with laughter. Some had steam showers, some had cold showers, one person gave up and didn't shower. Everyone had a story to tell.

Sometimes as educators, we think that our experience is unique. We think that we're the only one that makes a mistake, or doesn't understand something, or has a lesson that completely flops. In reality, it's a shared experience! When we share our experiences, we not only find the humor in teaching, but we can also learn from each other. We often share our successes because we want to be seen as competent educators. But, I think that maybe we should share our "dumb moments," our flops, and even our failures more often. If we could all be a little more transparent, a little more vulnerable, maybe we could learn some valuable lessons too. And laugh!

Age of Accountability- Beginning

Recently, I connected with Daniel Bauer @_BetterSchools through #leadupchat . Over the weekend, I had a chance to check out his website. It is AMAZING! I read some of his resources and listened to a few of his podcasts. I've learned soooo much!

One thing that I loved was the 6x6 strategy for goals. Basically, it's complete six goals in six weeks. I thought what better way to track my progress and stay focused on my one word?

Here are my 6x6 goals. Due date February 12, 2016

1. Write 6 blog posts.
2. Read 5 professional books.
3. Exercise at least 3-4 times a week.
4. 5-minute Journal
5. One Thank-You each day
6. Organize physical space (home, yard, classroom) 15 min. week

The other tidbit that I loved was the 5-minute journal.

1. Start with "I am grateful for __________" Name 3 things.
2. What would make today great? Name 3 things.
3. Write an affirmation.
4. At night- Write something amazing that happened. Name 3 things.
5. Answer: How could I have made today better?

Today as I was organizing things, I came across a leather journal that was given to me when I was the speaker for the Jordan Education Foundation. Perfect!

Along with my goals and journal, I'm adding in a strategy by Tony Robbins. I actually used to do this instinctively during a time in my life when I felt my very best.

• Wake up early and with energy. (Pop out of bed) This is easy! I'm an early bird!
• Exercise. (This used to be so easy! Now it's a challenge.) 
• Say an affirmation. (I used to do this while exercising.) *
• Breathe (3 breaths in 3 breaths out) This is new to me in the way he explains it.
• Meditate- (For me this is more about prayer/scripture study/writing in my journal.

*I often play music and say affirmations before I start the school day. It helps me to get pumped up and ready to go before the kids walk in, and we begin the day.

I'm off to a great start! Hope my PLN holds me accountable!

Breakin' It Down- A Simple Thing Teachers Can Do Tomorrow To Move Towards A Student-Centered Class

About six years ago, I decided that I needed to make some changes in my classroom. I had a desire to better meet the needs of my students. One of the shifts that I've made (and am still making) is moving towards an, even more, student-centered classroom and integrating technology. Although I've taught 29 years, I'm still learning and improving my practice.

This is a simple blog post for some of my colleagues that want to know how to start shifting their classroom towards a more student-centered, 21st-century classroom. There are books and articles galore that explain the research and the why’s. The purpose of this post is to show teachers something EASY that they can do tomorrow!

Choose ONE lesson and teach it without a worksheet. I know. Worksheets are cute and comfortable. It’s a security blanket because teachers have used them for so long. Notice that I said to get rid of the worksheet, not paper. Learn how to make a simple foldable and brainstorm ways that you can integrate it into your content area.




Divide your class into small groups of about four. Give each group a section of the flip book to teach.

Let them DECIDE how to present the content and what their classmates should include in each section. As the students COLLABORATE, walk around and interact with them by asking them questions about their thinking.

Give them time to work together. Celebrate their presentations! Build their confidence. Moving to a student-centered learning classroom is a shift for the students as well. Celebrate their efforts!

Don’t grade this project. Focus on feedback while the students are working. Take a FEW anecdotal notes.

After students finish this project, have them REFLECT on their learning. They could even write their reflection on the back of their flip book.

Wahlah! You took a risk and tried something new! You gave your students choice, allowed them to collaborate, and had them reflect on their learning.  Now it’s your turn! What went well? What could you tweak? How did your students respond? Take a moment to reflect on your lesson. Ask yourself how you could give your students more choice, time to collaborate, and reflect on their learning.

Making the shift from the teacher and teaching to the student and learning is a process. My suggestion here is just a step in the right direction. It's only a start. There's so much to learn! Challenge yourself to start on this journey!

I would love to know what you're doing to move towards a more student-centered classroom. Tell me how it's going! For those of you that would like a great book to read with tons of examples and explanations, I'll recommend Learn Like A Pirate by Paul Solarz. His expertise and insights will give you a glimpse of what a classroom focused on learning vs. teaching looks like and can be.