Love this. It is strange how some parts of this profession seem to want teachers to stay "low" or unconfident. I’ve been in those districts where the PLC was a joke and colleagues would rather die than share a resource. It was a baptism by fire that forced me to build everything from the ground up. Now, I refuse to apologize for being competent or for being an open book.
I also refuse to apologize for treating my students with the respect they deserve. I’ve had colleagues walk into my room just to yell at a student for a hallway incident. I don’t yell at my kids because I respect them and I know they can’t learn while they are dysregulated. Some people have forgotten that Rita Pierson truth: kids don't learn from people they don't like.
Maintaining high expectations isn’t mean and being calm isn't "not caring." My students submit much stronger work, because I am clear with them and I treat them like people. I’m done apologizing for the clarity that actually helps them grow. Teachers need more of this energy.
If they keep us low and unconfident in what we do, it’s easier for them to control us, and worse, forget that we’re the experts in the classrooms, they’re not. They shakes hte very roots of the control sturcture of the school. I’m not going to turn this into a labor/management rant, but man…I love hearing about factories where the workers kick management out and take charge of the whole thing.
Love this. It is strange how some parts of this profession seem to want teachers to stay "low" or unconfident. I’ve been in those districts where the PLC was a joke and colleagues would rather die than share a resource. It was a baptism by fire that forced me to build everything from the ground up. Now, I refuse to apologize for being competent or for being an open book.
I also refuse to apologize for treating my students with the respect they deserve. I’ve had colleagues walk into my room just to yell at a student for a hallway incident. I don’t yell at my kids because I respect them and I know they can’t learn while they are dysregulated. Some people have forgotten that Rita Pierson truth: kids don't learn from people they don't like.
Maintaining high expectations isn’t mean and being calm isn't "not caring." My students submit much stronger work, because I am clear with them and I treat them like people. I’m done apologizing for the clarity that actually helps them grow. Teachers need more of this energy.
If they keep us low and unconfident in what we do, it’s easier for them to control us, and worse, forget that we’re the experts in the classrooms, they’re not. They shakes hte very roots of the control sturcture of the school. I’m not going to turn this into a labor/management rant, but man…I love hearing about factories where the workers kick management out and take charge of the whole thing.
I feel this post so deeply! It resonates so much with my experience.