Posts
How many times have you told your students, " You have to learn to work with people you don't get along with. In the real world, grown ups have to do it all the time." It is true, you may not always have the most awesome, fantastic, one of a kind co-workers, but you're a grown up, so you can deal with it. . . right?
How do grown ups deal with working with someone that might not be the best at working with others? We all have had this experience (we seldom think we are the ones creating this experience :-) ).
Edutopia blogger, Holden Clemons, recently shared one of his similar experiences in a his blog entry "How to Work with the No Share Teacher." After reading about his experience and recollecting some of my experiences, this is one of the life lessons where you have to dig down deep and do what is right. In school, when someone wants your answers for their homework, if you say no you are only hurting the person who wants to copy. As a teacher, when another teacher wants an easy out, and you say no, you could be hurting the other teacher's students. I know it's frustrating and causes your blood pressure to rise.
Clemons does give a few tips to help mediate in this situation. Make the other teacher's input feel welcomed, be open and honest, sit down and go over lessons rather than simply sending them electronically.
It is hard to be a grown up sometimes, but hey, that is why you get 20 some odd years before you have to be one.
___________________________________________________________
Clemons, H. How to Work with the No Share Teacher. Edutopia. Retrieved August 6, 2011 from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/no-share-teacher-holden-clemens?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EdutopiaNewContent+%28Edutopia%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
I agree--I think that all adults have had the experience of working with someone who might not be the best at working with others. In the article by Clemons, it was a case of working with a teacher who wouldn't share lesson ideas. Just as frustrating can be working on a grade level team with others who are unable or unwilling to help plan major activities. Oh, of course they're always willing to say, "Just let me know what I can to do help," but never take the first step in deciding for themselves what they can do to help. But, as adults, we have to take our own advice and "try to get along."
ReplyDeleteThere are good points that you make within this article. Just like in every other profession, there are colleagues that want to take the easy way out. Luckily at my school, there hardly any that fill into this category. We have been able to foster a solid level of collegiality in which we all work together to ensure that students demonstrate success within the classroom.
ReplyDeleteStill, in the future, there may be a new teacher that doesn't want to pull their end of the weight. This is where sitting down with them and going over lesson plans is a great idea. Instead of sending files electronically, actually going over lesson and unit plans will help that teacher see the serious approach of the rest of the building's team. From there, that teacher may start to understand the amount of work that he / she has to do. Plus, by sitting down with the teacher, the school benefits as the students will do better because of the stronger amount of lesson planning and organization.