Dealing with Difficult Teachers by Todd Whitaker Angie Bielefeld Haleigh Hansen Andrea Pettigrew...
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Transcript of Dealing with Difficult Teachers by Todd Whitaker Angie Bielefeld Haleigh Hansen Andrea Pettigrew...
Dealing with Difficult Teachers
by Todd Whitaker
Angie BielefeldHaleigh Hansen
Andrea PettigrewDiania Pile
Part 1:The Principal and the Difficult Teacher
Lazy
Negative Resistant to change Boring Negative leader Belligerent Inflexible Back stabber Domineering Stubborn Cannot get along with others
Lectures Cynical Doesn’t like teaching Argumentative Counting the days until they retire Counting the days until school
ends (and it’s early October) Doesn’t like kids Doesn’t like their job
Phrases and terms used to describe difficult teachers:
Six general areas that may cause you to label teachers difficult:
Classroom BehaviorStaff Influence
Public PerceptionResistance to Change
Dampen Enthusiasm/Damage ClimateParade of Students to the Office
Looking for the Good Part-Sometimes You Have to Squint
Consistently try motivating your most difficult staff members
Have regular, positive, weekly memos Give difficult teachers responsibilities Praise a staff member in front of your superior
Public and Private Praise (must be specific)
Part 2: Motivating Difficult Teachers
Effective teachers need to make ineffective/difficult teachers feel uncomfortable.
Effective teachers usually take more responsibility than ineffective teachers.
If ineffective teachers feel no discomfort, they will continue to operate in the same way.
One method to begin to make less effective
teachers feel uncomfortable is to empower the
effective teachers on a staff. Ineffective teachers usually look to pass the
responsibility. Instead, make them accept it.
When trying to improve an ineffective teacher,
it is always best to pair them up with a
superstar teacher. When attempting to communicate with a
difficult teacher, always assume that they want
to do what is right or best. When communicating, always be prepared.
Have a game plan, so that your emotions don’t
get the best of you. We should never address a difficult teacher in
front of a group. It should always be one-to-
one.
Effective teachers should always look to
eliminate ineffective teachers’ negative
behaviors. When talking to difficult teachers, effective
teachers should always focus on how they
can help improve the ineffectiveness.
Part 5: Weakening the Influence of Difficult Teachers
Negative leaders in a school might be the most harmful influence in preventing school improvement
Roles and Styles of Negative Leaders Brown-Nosing Back Stabber Town Crier Stay-At-Homes Saboteurs
Dealing with Negative Leaders
Break up the GroupPower of PityGuest SpeakerShuffle the Deck
Room location Planning period and lunch break Grade level
Part 6: The Role of New Faculty
New teachers can be powerful tools in improving schools. Two ways to improve your school
Improve the teachers you have Hire better ones
New teacher leadership Starts during the interview
Dismissal
Nonrenewal of Probationary Teachers
Dismissal of Tenured Teachers – Incompetence, Insubordination, and Immorality
Documentation – An Essential Element
Part 8: General Tips and Guidelines
How Can I Stop Them From Sending So Many Students To The Office? Establish Expectations
Expect That the Difficult Teacher Always Wants To Do What is Right
Enforce the Expectation
If All Else Fails -
If They Know You Are Aware of It, They Know You accept It.
Never Argue or Raise Your Voice With A Difficult Teacher
Hope They Will Run Out and Tell Their Peers
Use a Shotgun Approach
Easing the Guilt
Should You Feel Guilty?
“You should not ever feel guilty about doing what is best for the young people in your buildings. You should only feel guilty, if you do not.”
Passing the Buck Down the LineAdapted by Todd Whitaker
Said the college professor, “Such rawness in the student is a shame,Lack of preparation in high school is to blame.
Said the high school teacher,“Good heavens, that boy’s a fool.The fault, of course, is with theJunior High School.
The junior high school noted, “It’s so hopeless and sadThanks to those elementary clowns,They can’t add or subtract.”
The grammar school teacher said,“From such stupidityMay I be spared.They sent him up to me so unprepared.”
The primary teacher huffed,“Kindergarten blockheads all.They call that preparation?Why, it’s worse than none at all.”
The kindergarten teacher said,“Such lack of training never did I see.What kind of parents Must those kids’ parents be?”
This responsibility to teachIs something that we all share,But somehow the grass isAlways greener over there.
So rather than hand downThese grumbles and groans,Let’s remember about glass houses,And the throwing of stones.
The answer of course,It is not chance or luckBut what we do in our own classes,So let’s not pass the buck!