It's hot this time of year. 96 degrees by 11am . Summertime in the desert is reliable that's for sure-the constancy of the unbearable heat. knowing each day endures-I wonder how our weather reporters keep a straight face???
It was in this environment last week that my third grade class had a bad day. They couldn't seem to line up for lunch and the new vice principal grew frustrated. Since then, the label of "difficult" has been their doom.
We talked about perception. We discussed how we had to be 110% based on that distinction. At this point, no matter what they do, they are now last in line for lunch, leaving them with the leftovers and ten minutes to gobble down their food.
What do we do to change that perception? Continue to do our 110% and take the lumps of distortion?
This happens in the adult world as well. There is no more dangerous profession than education when it comes to perception. I have seen it happen to many good teachers. Something gets into the bonnet of a new administrator about an event. Followed by constant visits and observations of the particular teacher's classroom, looking for evidence to reaffirm the perception, the road to dissidence begins. Until the teacher finds a job at another school, the constant stress of wondering begins to wear. Place that stress on top of the already stressful job of working in an at-risk school, with incredible demands from many levels, and the teacher either 1) transfers to another school, 2) moves to another state or 3) leaves the profession.
Our school district is short 1300 teachers for the 2007-2008 school year.
It's no wonder teachers leave the profession.
All it takes sometimes is one incident to incite the 9/10 rule.
For my kids, it is a tough lesson -unlikely to be forgotten. I am not sure if any good will come of it in their minds. I balance it with challenges that agree with their talents and skills.
They may not have been able to get it together to get in line one day but is that the sum of their behaviors? Like adults, I think not. They just don't have the choice of opting out like we do.
