Re: Some PR Advice please

Another ELAR teacher

Posted on 8/19/12

(5) Comments

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On 8/19/12, ELAR Teacher wrote:
As an experienced teacher, I am thrilled at your post. You
are asking the right questions which shows that you are going
to be fantastic!! (Think of your student who asks the right
questions about the characters/theme of a selection. Yes,
he/she gets it!).

Your self-awareness will serve you well in this job. My
suggestion is to just smile at everyone!!! Don't worry about
the negative people as they are at every campus. Just listen
and learn as much as you can. As for help, solict advice from
the people of authority. As for an appointment, express you
concerns succinctly and some ideas that you have read or heard
about, then ask if they agree or disagree with your ideas. Be
open to suggestions and USE them. It is the administrators
job to help you-let them and don't wait too late. You may
also ask teachers if you can come in and observe them. I do
this with my new teachers who are struggling but would love
for them to come to me with the suggestion.

Do not engage in any negative talk in the hallway or the
lounge. Frankly, I would stay away from both.

Good luck!!

Good Morning,
>
> I am beginning a new position with a new district starting
> tommorrow, and I am very excited, as I believe I have
> finally found my new "home". However, being fully aware of
> the challenges my position holds, coupled with my own
> personal deficits that I need to work on on a daily basis,
> I could really use and would appreciate any and all
> constructive advice from administrators such as yourselves.
>
> 1.) My biggest problem is know how to deal
> with "frienemies". Heck, I've just recently learned this
> concept exists! Never in my pre-teaching jobs have I
> encountered someone who talked to me like they were my best
> friend, just to gain my confidence, then turn around and do
> all they can to sabatoge my career by speaking negatively
> about me to my peers/administrators. I myself am dealing
> with the morality of this concept. It's one thing to be
> pleasant to those you don't care for, for the sake of
> professionalism...but to feign a friendship and then betray
> that friendship is beyond me. I could really use some
> advice on how to detect and handle this concept in my new
> job.
>
> 2.) How to "fit in" and stay under the radar...yet making
> sure I do the best job I can. I am, and have always been,
> an "over-achiever". I'm not as intelligent as most...as I
> tell my students: "no, life is NOT fair...some of us really
> do have to work harder than others". I am one of those that
> really do have to work harder...and sometimes my efforts
> get misconstrued by others...that old addage: "she makes us
> look bad" because I bust my hump everyday. It is not my
> intention to make anyone "look bad". I really don't concern
> myself with the quality of another's work, only my own. As
> I said, I have high expectations for myself, and I have
> always busted my hump to not only meet those expectations,
> but to exceed them. I've always been the kid who, if I got
> a 97 on an assignment, I will beat myself up over those 3
> missed points. I do not wish to change this about my work
> ethics, for it is my students who benefit from it, and they
> who will suffer if I resort to doing "just what is expected
> of me". Yet, at the same time, I do not wish to intimidate
> or frustrate any of my peers...for this creates
> the "frienenemies" concept previously stated. I could
> really use some advice on how to maintain my work ethics
> without compromising positive peer relations.
>
> 3.) When I do need help: And I'm sure I will. I am
> terrified about the moments and classes that I may not be
> able to reach...I have never before been reluctant to ask
> for advice or help, yet, things seem so different in the
> school setting. Asking for assistance in a lesson or
> classroom management seems to be the "weapon" others choose
> to use to hurt my career. Yet, at the same time, I've been
> told to NEVER admit a problem I have to the admin. for they
> will automatically assume I am incompetent. I usually do
> have decent classroom management...but there are times,
> like over this past summer school session, in which I had
> one class, that no matter what I did, I could not "manage"
> successfully. Who to I go to for help, should this occur
> again?
>
> Anyway, thank you for your help and advice. I am really
> excited about my new position, and could really use some
> advice on how to manage my own behavior and thought
> patterns to avoid reoccurring issues I've had in the past.
>
> As my father once told me: "The whole world can't be wrong
> and you right." Considering that these issues continue to
> plague me, no matter where I go...the problem must be with
> me, and not my peers/admin.

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