CAROLYN
BEITZEL
Diary #4
Our
Team Will Not Back Down
We're starting to get mean looks and snide comments from other teachers.
As I described in my second diary, our team of teachers is committed to creating a cohesive learning environment where continuity is the key to our student's success. We have developed a Team Etiquette Plan, a Team Discipline Plan and many of our classroom management strategies are the same across our team. We have our kids line up outside our classroom, single-file, and wait quietly to be admitted to class. Of course, single file and quiet are fairly relative. We get yelled at by other teachers because our kids are "in their doorway." Okay, so we tell our kids to not block the door of other teachers but to line up beyond the door or on the other side of the hallway. When walking to the library, a fire drill or any type of hallway movement, we expect our kids to walk single-file, to the right and quietly. Other classes constantly cut us off or butt in front.Our classrooms are decorated, our bulletin boards impressive, and our standards are up on the wall. Each teacher has a placard hanging from the ceiling in front of their door announcing who we are. We have a team bulletin board in the hallway decorated with stars for the Star of the Week. The selected student is given a wooden star to decorate and we place their creation on this board.
Our team created a September 11 memory quilt which we have hanging 20 feet in length above our lockers. It looks good. It all looks good.
Collegial support? Not much.
"Are we in elementary school?" one teacher asked. "You are showing the rest of us up," another commented. "Who are you trying to impress?" from someone around the corner. We have a small pocket of teachers who applaud our efforts, and we utilize their expertise at every opportunity. I wish there were more.Some other 8th grade teachers have taken extreme glee in the fact that two of our students have the distinction of being the first to be suspended for fighting. "Another first for you, I hear," said one. They don't know that both of those students individually and separately on their own initiative apologized to the teacher for their behavior.
Parents, on the other hand...
At Back to School Night the parents commented to one of our team teachers, "I am so impressed that you take the time to show the kids they are valuable." "You all seem to be on the same page." "I can see the kids come first here." They appreciated our honesty and openness. We have made them aware that we are there not only for their children, but for parents as well. Why can't the teachers see that through our process of becoming a team all the benefit goes to the students? Are we doing things differently than the rest? Yes. Are we more strict with our kid's behaviors? Yes. Are our expectations high? Yes. None of this is a bad thing. I am so disappointed that we are being viewed as "upstarts."We're staging a revolt
Change is needed in my school. Teachers have become used to the misbehavior of children. Discipline is lax in the classroom and hallways. I see many adults turning away instead of confronting. A child talking back to an adult is acceptable to most. If you get cursed at, well, just write a referral.
I don't want to work in a place like that. Neither do the other three teachers on my team. We have decided that we like the challenge of our school and its diversity. We want to stay and see it change. So we are starting a mini-revolt. We are showing how it could be done. We want to make a difference. We meet with our kids bi-weekly as a team. We pull kids daily to speak with them during our team time. We are going to start classroom meetings every other week as well. Every chance we get, we let the kids know how proud we are of them. When the opportunity presents itself to correct a behavior, we take that, too. We want to lead by example. We want our kids to been seen as leaders. We don't want to alienate our peers but neither are we going to back down from our philosophy. We need to co-exist, but we also need to change the whole environment. The Justice Team is working to do just that.
