Maintaining Professionalism
Being a constant professional in a frustrating environment is one of the most challenging aspects of teaching in Mississippi's critical need districts. No matter how frustrating it may be to teach students with no interest in learning, work with inconsistent administrators, or communicate with annoyed parents, it is incredibly important to always be the mature adult no matter the situation. In my first year at T.L. Weston, students became desensitized to major disciplinary issues and students were not effectively disciplined. So it wasn't surprising that there were no repercussions for students who used inappropriate language. Students would frequently curse at each other and occasionally curse at teachers. Many teachers at the school felt it was most effective to fight fire with fire, cursing back at the students and degrading them in an attempt to control their classroom. I always believed this approach was counterproductive and felt it was important to maintain professional communication at all times. On the right, you can see an example of how communicated the flaws in the discipline system to the administration. In addition, you can see the referrals that usually resulted in corporal punishment, which seemed to exacerbate most of the students' misbehavior. |
Organization
I realized in my first semester as a teacher that my organization skills were hindering my performance as a teacher. In the second semester, I made copies of all of the presentation slides, student notes, worksheets, tests, and student data. I continued to do this in my second year as well. My classes average over ten absences per student, so having this resource available for students to complete makeup work is very helpful. |