All of us can recall an occasion in our professional lives when someone in a leadership role treated us inappropriately. Think of such a time in your own adult life when this happened. Is it, indeed, etched into your memory? Can you recall a similar situation from your own school career in grades K-12 when a teacher made a cutting remark or acted rudely toward you? Describe a situation from that time and how it made you feel. Did it change your opinion of that particular teacher?
Not at school, but at my previous employment. I had a supervisor that said we were all worthless, lazy, and could not do our jobs even if he wrote it on a paper and had us read it to him. We all hated him, and did our best to do only our jobs, and make him look like a fool. In the end, he was demoted several times until he resigned. It instilled in me the desire to be a positive leader and always be positive in my interactions with others.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds terrible! When people praise and expect more of you then generally you work to achieve their expectations. However, this works in both directions.
DeleteI remember one time a teacher that I got along well with became very upset when I stated that I thought we could have spent more time on the material before the test/quiz (I don't remember which). As I was one of the scholars in that class who had the strongest grasp of material and best completion rates, this might have been a good time for the teacher to stop and consider whether perhaps it was true. Instead, this teacher blew up and was angry that I was trying to tell her "how to teach her class/what to do." Needless to say, after that I stuck to doing the work and no longer cared to have any other interactions with that teacher. Having a simple comment reacted to in such a way immediately destroyed that student-teacher relationship. No matter how frustrated you are at students, taking these frustrations out like these doesn't help anyone.
ReplyDeleteCurious, did that teacher ever apologize to you?
DeleteI had one principal in a different school district who insulted me, and basically told me that I would not improve. I was told many times to keep the students quite, and somehow work in groups/team. Once, I would get something down, I was told to change it (example small group verses whole group); even told to have structure (which I had, it simply wasn't effective). This made for a very toxic several years. Every year that I was there, I received a "pink slip" in February and a contract in May. After the third year, I resigned. Eventually, I heard that that principal was accused of an affair with a co-teacher and moved to a different school. I am glad I left.
ReplyDeleteThere is a thought that says, treat others, as you like to be treated. Especially with the elements that are good manners such as respect, being honest, and being responsible with yourself and others. It is very important to recognize the effort that is made on a daily basis such as completing tasks, projects, and being positive and also respecting the work of other students. The greatest reward is to reward them with a verbal recognition or reward for the effort they make daily.
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