My previous ‘tip’ on this topic suggested teaching in schools supportive of staff.
All very well, however they are not all supportive as we know, and you have little idea of the level of support, prior to boarding the ship.
· Give plenty of support to others, especially where it is needed. The ‘supported’ will be more likely to reciprocate one day.
· Keep your opinions on non-school matters to yourself whether political, religious or other. Wasn’t it Harrison Ford who gave marital advice in four words: “Say nothing, Just nod”
· Don’t get a name for handling the desperate, the disruptive or the disengaged; otherwise you’ll soon have a dozen of them.
· Recognise your trauma spots
Try to discover the parts of the day that give you the greatest stress. Just knowing where these are may help, and give them thought. There may be ways to avoid them.
For example, you may prefer to teach your class on your own, away from the open-planned school rooms, where you feel ‘under surveillance’, and cannot be your own true self. Teaching is a performance and some of us feel embarrassed performing in front of adults be they parents, fellow teachers or higher ranked staff.
Maybe there is a portable that all others spurn. It may be 20 metres away from the nearest other classroom, have fresh air for ventilation and enough space for you ‘to get cross with’ or ‘praise’ your students, without drawing attention to yourself.
· Support the principal
The principal will have stress areas as well and dealing with her/his staff is but one of them. Telling the principal that she of he has your support is fine, if done at the appropriate time, but having the principal discover it is much better.
Be the last to jump ship from HMS Loyalty, if there is a chance of a wreck.
There are a few negative thoughts above, I’ll try to be more positive in my next post, however there will be staff in any school of size, that seek more to trip you up than support you. Just look at the savage responses some tweets receive.
My next post is likely to be about doing a deal with the devil.
Cheers,
@OldChalk