Leggo My Ego!

Do teachers carry some innate sense of ego or self importance?  Do we over-reach our authority, reflecting our own personal “agendas”?

I’ve struggled with these questions for the past week or so from a recent Twitter conversation. First, because it connects to my thesis on teacher identity and secondly, because I then wondered to what extent I’d allowed my own self-importance to take precedence in my choices for curriculum or coursework. Was I a complete egomaniac?  It’s taken me a while to reply because I prefer to reflect on things before replying, so here goes!

As a first year teacher, I know I did that. My choice to have students perform and produce The Tragedy of Macbeth was a rookie mistake and completely self-absorbed. I wanted to show off, basically. Annnnd I did. But not before most likely crushing a few students along the way by pushing them into something well beyond their abilities. Thankfully, it turned out beneficial (the students were proud of their work), but I hadn’t considered their input enough.

At the end of my second year, I began to see that high school students, when given options, were so much more enjoyable to work with! So, we had a brainstorming session about the upcoming work and vision of the Theatre department. We worked together to determine the best way to change the course and curriculum to better reflect their abilities (going forward) and the abilities of their classmates coming into the department.

Garnering student feedback was the single most humbling thing I ever did.

Teenagers will tell you how it is. They won’t hold back. What they wanted, they said, was more responsibility and freedom.

     “Okay…so, what do I do?” I asked them.

     “Give us the general idea, and if we have questions, we’ll ask.” They said.

Our Book! : )

As a result of giving them a bit more responsibility and freedom, we learned together how to forge a classroom that understood the power of mistakes and used failures to move forward. Oh, they did do some silly things—such as painting purple designs on the walls of the school—but overall, it was a successful endeavor. We were a risky bunch!  Plus, when their teacher made mistakes, it was hysterically funny.

One day, as we all stood around a mis-constructed set unit that was too high to be used, solely based on the teacher’s lousy (or lack of) measurements, we were silent for a moment, hands on our hips. Then, we burst into laughter borne of humility. Wiping away our tears, we moved forward as always.

My answer then, to my former Twitter-follower, is “Yes, you’re right in that we generally push our methods. However, we also have the ability to learn to do otherwise! That’s why our book is not written solely by me, but along with my students.  They were truly the authors of their class experience, so they share in its royalties.  I may have been possessed of some sort of ego at first, but they sure fixed that!
 
It makes sense, then, not to ram an opinion down someone’s throat without taking the time to get to know them and how they tick and what they think. The irony of this conversation and its reliance upon hasty generalization is not lost on me. Where you wished to take me, sir, may not be where I would have gone.

The Conversation:
He:  Read this. Perhaps you wld intrupt them and give a blessed assignment? Blog Link

Me (after reading article): Would endeav. to guide them into even richer experience They did gr8t but how much more could've been accomplished w/ guidance?

He:  Don't you see? The adults "guidance" has a goal. Where u wish to take them may not be
        where they wld have gone

     “Would endeav. to guide them into even richer experience." this is the adult ego/self importance I speak of.

Why Professionals Need to Disagree and Disagree Well

In a school system, there’s a lot of stuff with which teachers justifiably disagree—the emphasis on tests in coursework, expectations versus remuneration, attitudes of (some) students and (some) parents, general disrespect, just to name a few.  We are absolutely right to throw in the penalty flag of disagreement in any of these instances. 

However, how and when we disagree makes a huge difference on the outcome of that disagreement.   

  

For example, let’s say you’re in a large faculty meeting.  Automatically disagreeing with a newly-implemented policy is just not the best course of action. Policies on a school or district-wide scale are generally (not always, granted) taken under some sort of advisement prior to implementation.  The goals are generally laudable and designed with the hopes of improving something.

Wait just a few moments before jumping in to say why this policy won’t work. More than likely, you’ll be provided with who established the policy, why it was established, when it goes into effect, and how you’ll be expected to uphold it.   

Then, if you have a disagreement about who established it, why, when, or how, consider politely asking a pertinent question as opposed to making a statement of disagreement.  

Your questions should reflect the most important variables:  the viability and/or validity of the policy.  

Have any other schools experienced success with this policy? What literature did the committee review to back up this approach? 

If you’re provided with research-based strategies and a successful model, hold off on your disagreement until you’ve given it a shot.  See what works and what doesn’t. Then, you’ll be able to help administration streamline the policy, using the steps below, with more specific information on where the issue lies. 

However, if the answers to your questions above are “No. None.” Stop there.  Don’t do anything else until you’ve done your research.

Yup. You’ve got enough on your plate, I know.  Right, it’s not your job, technically.  However, by taking a few minutes at this point, you’ll save yourself and scores of others.

What you’ll be doing, by taking this proactive step, is making sure your disagreement doesn’t fester into resentment.  Complaining, especially to your peers, is passive-aggressive and accomplishes nothing except to lower everyone’s morale, including your own.  If you hear someone else complaining, walk away by saying, “I’ve got an idea I want to look into. I’ll let you know what I find!”

My guess is that many teachers would stop here, out of fear. However, if the policy (or a portion of it) is just dead-out wrong, disagreeing with it and stepping forward with research as support is the professional thing to do. As long as you maintain professionalism, you stand a greater chance of making an actual difference and helping to set things right.  

Another thing that may stop us is the “Why me?” thinking.  Counter with “Why not me?”  Professionals disagree when it is appropriate to do so, and your gut is telling you something. Listen to it!

It’s difficult for anyone to argue with someone who conveys professionalism or who supports an altruistic objective.  What can be argued, however—and this we see in our classrooms—is the attitude with which we present our thoughts.  No matter how good your idea is or how good your intention, if you say it negatively, impulsively, or nastily, it will neither be heard nor heeded.

Approaching Your Administrator

Politely request an informal chat:  “I’d like to talk to you about the new policy, Mr./Ms. ___.  When’s a good time?”  (Be prepared for now, in x minutes, or after ___ lunch, first period, etc.)

Start out by expressing what’s “good” about the policy:  “I think that our objective for blah blah is very powerful, and we’re on the right track with implementing blah blah…”

Clarify the “linchpin” that needs changing, based on your research: “We might consider taking this approach I found in this article (provide link/copy). It’s awesome because it would blah blah…” 

or

“Since we’ve started the policy, I’ve found that by blah blah instead of blah blah, I get better results.”

Use professional courtesy: “I know you’re busy, so when you get a chance, take a look and let me know what you think!” 

One of several things may happen:  1) you’ll be thanked, 2) you’ll be thanked with a promise (diligently follow up on this by repeating the steps), or 3) he/she will want to keep talking about it right then and there.

In all of these instances, as long as you are polite, professional, and students’ well-being is the objective, everyone’s dignity remains intact. It’s the dignity and pride thing that gets us in trouble, isn’t it?  Being professional in the manner presented above doesn’t step on toes. It doesn’t “get you in trouble.” 

The key to all of this is that you’ve done the right thing in a professional way. If your research and/or reasoning is sound as opposed to impulsive and emotional, your change will mostly likely be implemented. Whether that means you can keep doing what you’re doing, share it with others, or invoke change, something will probably happen. 

Because you’ve taken these steps, you will feel better about yourself and your job.

Mindy and some of her former students recently published Transparent Teaching of Adolescents, a discussion of effective teaching strategies for high school. Join the conversation!