Hey all
I included my name in the title of my post just to make it easy to find. I like flipping through the blogs, but sometimes all the similar blog titles make it hard to find the one I'm looking for to comment on, and lots of people don't have their names on their profile. I thought maybe this would help if we agreed to do it?
On the article: I found it very sad that the rate of attrition was so high for teachers. I'm not really surprised either though. Throughout my 405 I became friends with many of the staff at my school, and for the most part there was a general sense that they were under-appreciated and overworked. Many of them were feeling the symptoms of burnout. I agree with Nan in that there needs to be a systemic address to the issue of teacher attrition and burn out, and I especially liked the comment where she suggests that while the teachers are making everything student centered, then somebody has to make teachers the center of care as well. If we are teaching by example, this makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? A system that only cares in one direction teaches what? That the students are the only people that are important, and I disagree with this. Having such an outside centered approach is harmful. As teachers it is our duty to ourselves as human beings [we are not super heroes after all] to look after our own health and interests so that we can do our jobs of looking after our students.
This reminds me of a common practice in First Aid where the Aid giver, life-guard will save their own life before the patient, no matter what, so that they can continue to give care. On a smaller level, they always put on gloves, use a proper breathing apparatus to prevent the Aid giver from getting sick or injured as well. While I'm not trying to villainise the students at all, my point is that we must look after ourselves first if we plan on staying in this profession.
On Contracts:
In my 405 I used contracts for the more disruptive behaviours in my Grade 8 Drama class. They worked very well, and for the most part were effective. Like another poster [sabrejag?] I was reluctant to do so immediately, and would wait and try other tactics. I quickly found my reluctance to use them snow-balled the behaviour. I found that using the bumps, and then contracts earlier in the day, and earlier in the week was much more effective, before the behaviour got out of hand. Just so you know, I had gone over with the students what the classroom rules were, and told them of the consequences, which they agreed to democratically, so that there were no surprises. I used the general contract found in B&S, which they filled out and we went over it together. The deal was that after the contract was filled out, then I would call their parents. I only had to sit down with 1 mother with student for an incident that was extremely inappropriate, and showed the contract. It was relatively painless because I had that proof, and the situation was resolved without going further.
In conclusion, contracts can be a simple tool that communicates to students that they have broken the rules and the consequence is that they miss out on participation while they think about how they will correct their misbehaviour.
That all for now!
-Patrick
2 comments:
Evening Patrick.
I think those are great observations about teacher-care. I like the analogy to the lifeguard. The teaching profession almost seems to have a "martyr's complex" systemically worked into the vocation!
This breeds cynicism as bouyand idealistic new teachers realize how impossible their task is and burn out. We must have a more mature understanding of self-giving and self-sacrifice. As you say we must teach care by example; we do not serve our students by draining our own lifeblood. To some extent teachers egos need to be checked here: Of course every new teacher wants to "make a difference." While I honour this effort, I have chosen not to frame my own career in this light. I want to give all that I can. Whether this makes a difference I cannot say. It is up to me to give of myself wisely, the results will be what they will be. I cannot set myself up for failure by expecting much fruit or even any fruit. My calling is to give of myself, recognizing my own limitations. If I make an impact, wonderful! But "making an impact" is not my goal. I have no control over the impact I make, I only have control about what and how I give of myself.
Thanks for your wise insights here.
-Mark
In any line of work I've always had the mindset that the boss/owner/whoever is in charge should treat the employee's better than he/she treats the guests/customers/clients etc. If the employee's job is to take care of the guest/student/customer, then in order for them to give the best they are capable of, and to care about doing the best they can, then they need to feel that they are important and cared about and treated fairly. One could say that this is even more important in the field of teaching than in other industries since the performance of the teacher can have such a profound and lasting effect on so many individuals, at critical stages in their development. So often the importance of relationships, support, and plain old caring interaction and empathy is lost in the focus on the bottom line...meeting deadlines, quotas, etc.
Like Patrick, on my practicum I was a witness to teacher's who seemed to be nearing burnout or were just 'going through the motions'. There are so many different factors involved in why one gets to this point, but I feel one of the major or most common is the hypocrisy and disconnect between the objectives and ideals of education and schools as opposed to the reality of it. As in, administrators, teaching programs, and educational experts talk about and understand the need for changes and the possibilities for improvement, but the actual support in place to do these things is nearly non-existent.
I also think that the specific programs and courses a teacher teaches can lead to burnout at a quicker or higher rate. Classes that require definitive forms of assessment(sciences) and classes that require large amounts of prep and time for marking(english for example) I feel would have a higher burnout rate than one's where there is less required outside of class time and teacher's have an easier time forming relationships with students and can focus on other aspects of their program/courses than just meeting PLO's and assessment. In particular I am thinking of the arts, but it is not limited to this area.
Patrick, I know you were doing your reading facilitation on teacher attrition, perhaps you came across some numbers that support or discredit my assumption?
-James Howard
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