One week ago tonight, I was getting ready to attend a little holiday party for the staff of my school and their significant others. I was really looking forward to the party because I really like the people I work with and knew I was going to have a great time. Sure, there are some I'm not that fond of, but at this school, there just seems to be so many people I like. This got me thinking about our jobs as educators. While most of our job deals with working with students, it's those "other people" we work with that really makes a particular teaching position great. We could all have the greatest classes, with well-behaved and motivated students, but it wouldn't be the same if we didn't have other great people we worked with. Maybe it's taken me too long to realize this, but I really feel that the relationships the teachers have with each other can have a huge impact on the overall atmosphere in a school.
Think about that for a moment. Would you be willing to do a little more for the others you work with, including the students, if you genuinely liked the other people in your building? Would you willing to put up with more of the crap from students, parents, and administrators because of your co-workers? I know I would. Team teaching, collaboration, and all the other interactions would be so much better. Kids would also see that positive interaction and it would rub off on them. It would create such a great environment that achievement would have to go up, wouldn't it?
I've been in several different schools in my district and haven't had the same relationships I have now in any other schools. I don't know why. I don't think that the other people I worked with weren't fun, enjoyable people, because some were. The overall attitude of the adults I work with now is hard-working, but fun. They realize that teaching isn't everything and the rest of the picture plays a very important role. It may be hard to describe, but you know the type of person who is willing to work their tail off during the day, but still have the sense of humor, willingness to head to Happy Hour after school, and simply know that regardless of how important our jobs are, we still need to have fun. Did my previous schools have people like I just described? Of course, but my new school just seems to have more.
I'd love to hear about the people you work with? Do you enjoy working with them or do you hope to get to school and never have contact with them? Is it somewhere in the middle?
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i respect my colleagues but i have a hard time trying to socialize with them. our interests outside of school are seemingly polar opposite. lol
When I was young, I had a great group of friends. We always "played' togethr and worked together. We still do, although none of us work in the same school anymore and only two of us are still working.
The school I am in now is different. Although I have a group of friends that I hang with, for the most part, I am a loner. this school and I just don't click. I'm polite and friendly, but surround myself with papers so most people stay away. I avoid all after school formal parties, but do manage to make my own after hours happy hours with my select group.
Some of the people that I work with are the only reason that I can deal with my school sometimes. When the kids really get on my nerves, I remember that I really like my teammates.
PS I'm so happy Carolina lost tonight!! :)
I love where I teach. It's WHO I teach with that bugs me!