Picture Credit: Beermann Law
Whenever one enters a
profession, they do so with a feeling that they want to learn everything in the
shortest possible period of time. With
Google and the ‘How To-’ lists which are available in loads, a person first thinks
of doing all the relevant things which would help him her to progress quickly
in life earning rewards and awards during the process.
Kindly note that research
suggests that success does not happen overnight. The minimum period of working
and struggling given by experts and researchers is five years. Not a minute
less though this time frame can be extended and can go on for a period of ten
years or even more when you can say that you have achieved some success.
All the colleagues and
friends simply focus on telling you all the things that you should be doing
since you have decided to start working. Your to-do-list also comprises of
things to be done every single day.
“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to
do!”-Michael Porter
Read the above quote. It
clearly states that if you are planning to walk up the ladder quickly, then you
have to choose what not to do also at the same time. Committing too many errors
would make you step back every time that you try to move forward.
I did not enter this
profession as a choice. So in the beginning I rebelled against everything that
I was told to do. I found faults in the working of my colleagues. I was also
cynical to many as I came to know later from some of them. Complacence also
settled in me somewhere and stopped me from working.
Gradually some instances
happened and my interest in my profession started evolving.
As I recollect my journey,
I feel most educators do not take the following into account when they join the
profession. Or sometimes when the workload is more they tend to overlook these
aspects.
Anger and insecurity will
make you react in the below mentioned ways. Try to control both these feelings
on your professional front. If you are mindful of these two fallible human
traits, you will go a long way and that too sooner not later.
So here goes my list of
Not-To-Do-Things!
1 Don’t be Scared of any Child!
Too many teachers make
this mistake if the level of confidence is low in a teacher. Children are
smart. They can sense and feel the insecurity among the teachers and they react
in various ways. Either they will misbehave with the educator, or shout in the
class, or keep talking when told not to, or back answer,etc.
The solution here is to
stay calm, control your anger and spread a smile which looks genuine on your
face.
Of course this is the
outer facade that can be used as a shield until you take total control of the
situation.
The real trick is to
understand the psychology of the child. Find out what has disturbed the child or
try to touch the child’s heart by responding with love or fulfilling his need
for insecurity or any other issue that the child might be facing.
Take up an activity which
the child might be interested in or shower praise upon the child. Maintaining
eye contact for a long period of time in the classroom also helps.
If nothing works then
counselling the child will definitely will. You can also ask a colleague to
talk to the child and try to find out the problem. The idea is to not get bogged down by the attitude
of the child but to try and find out a way.
You don’t have to show the
child that you are the boss. Try to walk hand in hand with the child.
There are three easy ways
to develop a Teacher-Child-Relationship-
a.
Pay attention to
the child’s needs.
b.
Develop a positive
relationship based on praise, rewards and conversation.
c.
Do not detach the
strings of EMPATHY.
2 Don’t Procrastinate!
Work gets piled up when it
is delayed. So do not PROCRASTINATE.
Keep completing the work as it comes. Adopt creative techniques to keep
yourself passionate at work.
Set challenges for
yourself and accomplish them before the set deadline.
Encourage yourself and
self motivate to do what you have decided. Draw inspiration from a source which
pulls out the laziness syndrome from your body.
Think, Plan, Act-Don’t
waste away your time.
3 Don’t Criticise Another Teacher in Front of a Parent
or a Child!
This happens in a frenzy.
Sometimes you are trying to deal with a class in your own ways but the response
has not been positive. No matter what you do, you are held back every time due
to one or the other tasks which do not go as planned.
You are putting in sincere
efforts but results are unsatisfactory.
So the educator is called
to the Principal’s Office, explanations sought, etc. etc. During such a time
the educators seek an escape route and generally it seems pretty good to defame
another person to gain superiority. Blame game is not a wise thing to do.
Remember here that if you
want to grow in your life, never pull anyone down, push yourself up.
Criticising a colleague in
front of the parents will bring a negative impact on your personality. Avoid!
Never do it! In fact you must be there to support a fellow teacher if something
has gone wrong.
4 Don’t refuse to take a good idea to class!
I have stated this earlier
also that excessive learning results in over thinking. This leads to less or no
action. So read or browse the internet for a short period of time. If you come
across a good idea, write it down and take it to class either the next day or
whenever you wish to.
Do not let that idea go
waste. If you spot a good idea being used by one of your colleagues, appreciate
the person, use the idea and remember to thank the person from whom you had
borrowed the idea.
This leaves a mark of
mutual respect for one another.
Plagiarism is a punishable
offence online and brings irony and disrespect offline.
So take care!
5 Don’t be immersed in work all the time!
Work can be bogging. Some
educators are in the habit of completing their work way ahead of the time. They
just want to finish off their work.
This keeps them busy all
the time and results in over work. At times quality of work suffers here. So
divide the time of work and ease at the workplace. It is alright to just sit
and look out of the staffroom window sometimes. Take a break of five to ten
minutes, calm yourself down and then start working again.
6 Don’t Clutter your workstation!
Keep clutter away from the
workstation. Organise your desk. It sends out positive vibes. A properly
arranged workstation will attract you towards work.
A neat and clean
workstation shows your approach towards your work. So mind it and let it
portray an organised picture of yourself.
7 Don’t read circulars or instructions in a Hurry!
On certain days there are
too many circulars which come from the various administrative heads. In a hurry
to sign, the educators do not read them carefully and hence there are problems
in comprehending the circular and remembering the submission dates.
Also if an educator thinks
that the circular has something which was predictable, they do not read the
instructions carefully.
This results in too many
misunderstandings leading to various explanations or written memos from the
administrators to the teachers.
So do not read the
circulars in a hurry. Take your time to read the circular, note down the points
if required and then on the second level discuss the same with other
colleagues. This ensures that everyone has understood the instructions properly
and is working on the same lines.
8 Don’t wait for a deadline to submit your work!
Certain things like
examination dates or Parent teacher meetings are fixed and have a particular
set pattern of working. So there are certain things which are mandatory to be
done. They are already in the system. Keeping in mind the academic calendar of
the school, be prepared with what might be asked. Try to submit everything
before the deadline.
This reduces stress on
yourself. Time management tips will come effective here.
Most teachers just take it
as a cumbersome task to submit work before deadline. They want to take it as
granted and submit the work only after several reminders.
This shows and proves that
they are less efficient. Because one cannot fail the deadline every time. If it
is once it can be understood and no one would take an offence.
But if you repeat it again
and again then you are bound to face the consequences.
Final Word-
Put a strategy in place
for your work. And this strategy must include the things you should not do when
you enter the field of education.
