Vitality: Reviving the Life in Your Teaching
We love teaching! Yet, being a teacher can de- plete us by degrees. Te highs are so high, and the lows are so low. Managing to stay emotion- ally afloat as we interact with students, cowork- ers, administrators, and parents is no easy task. Schools are ecosystems and any highs or lows, celebrations or tensions, tend to seep through the fabric of our daily teaching lives—and then they follow us home.
Peggy D. Bennett
Because teaching is such a personal act, we oſten internalize the ups and downs as if they reflect our character, knowledge, skill, and potential for success. Our responsibilities seem overwhelming and unrealistic, and we oſten become envious of others’ achievements and accolades. We can feel hurt by overt or covert treatment that we believe is unfair. We can interpret words and behaviors as criticism, even when they are not intended that way. We can feel untethered and out of balance as we vacil- late between I can do this! and I can’t do this!
Vicky Suarez
Te following are five ideas for regaining equi- librium and being the teacher and colleague we want to be. For each topic we examine attitudes and behaviors that could help you regain your vitality for teaching. We encourage you to in- corporate these ideas as experiments in a quest to regain your spirit for teaching and a vitality for healthy interactions with everyone in your schools. Try them and see what happens!
Interpret Misbehavior As Simply Behavior
One of the most profound changes we can make in our teaching comes from a unique definition of misbehavior offered by C. M. Charles: misbehavior is knowingly and will- ingly obstructing, disrupting, or interrupting (1985, p. 4). What would change if we adopted this definition for interpreting students’ be- haviors? What would happen if we applied this filter to adults in our schools? If there is no intention to misbehave, should that warrant a different response?
7
Behavior problems oſten cause us to become hypervigilant; we pounce on any behavior we see as directly opposing our rules or potentially becoming a problem. Shiſting and restricting what constitutes misbehavior alters what we say and what we feel about the behavior challenge confronting us.
Can we fathom that students or adults who annoy us may not be intentionally annoying? Feeling insulted does not necessarily mean someone is knowingly insulting. Feeling a spe- cific emotion does not mean another is guilty of causing it.
What could happen if we changed how we in- terpreted others’ behaviors? We could more of- ten retain a calm internal and external counte- nance, allowing us to address the behavior and the consequence matter-of-factly, clearly, and without accusation. Consider this: Sometimes we adults are rude, annoying, unfair, rough, vulgar, or imposing, according to other adults. Does that mean we are misbehaving? When we give up assuming intent, it changes us: we respond differently internally and externally (Ruiz, 1997). We do not necessarily ignore the behavior, but we also do not presume malicious or disrespectful intent. Just as adults have wide ranges of normal behaviors, so do students. Embracing this simple habit of taking a second look can save us from frustration, tension, and heartache.
Redefining misbehavior can allow us these opportunities: we can respond with the appro- priate level of assertiveness, give the benefit of the doubt or a moment of grace, identify neutrally what we see and hear, and explain why something needs to change (Bennett & Bartholomew, 1997, pp. 204–213). Consider neutral directives that are informative:
• Te noise level is way too high right now. How fast will you fix it?
• I see your hand, Toby, but I’m listen-
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
