Teachers, are you aware at ANY given moment, you're being "watched?"
Tis the season of beginning of the year training. For you Education civilians, August is the month where districts typically conduct PD or professional development. Today we had an investigative group present to my district's administrators how to properly conduct an investigation. The group, quite professional mind you, had a PowerPoint presentation filled with useful information and examples. Yes, teachers LOVE examples. Two of the four examples of when an investigation should be launched featured teachers on film via cell phone cameras. Often, these films were uploaded to Facebook or YouTube for all the world to see.
Watching these videos instantly took me to my "Education School Law" class at the University of San Diego where my professor, Lawyer turned Principal, told me that California Education Code states that when a district is accused of wrong doing and the wrong doing is done by a teacher, often districts will CYA (Cover your a****) by saying the person accused was "acting outside of the scope of duties."
What exactly is "acting outside of the scope of duties"? See... in the examples we viewed today, many of the teachers were being, somewhat, baited by the children. Key word, children. One teacher told a special education student he would "kick his ass" and "find him" even after he graduated. Another teacher said "this class is full of bright kids, except for you four idiots who ruin it for everyone."
Yeah... how can you not know when you lose your cool in the classroom that some sort of smart phone is not going to be capturing your meltdown?
In today's world of "TMZ" that records celebrities when they explode and tabloids dishing the latest dirt, how can you NOT think that students, whose lives you directly impact, would not take this same stance? Students are people too, and people LOVE meltdowns.
If you've ever read my blog you know that I advocate for staying "PRESENT IN THE MOMENT." What is that you ask... it means not taking things personally. You just can't. Students come to school, much like adults who come to work, with many, too many often, family of origin issues. Do not let a child steal your livelihood because they've angered you. I KNOW... sometimes a child is (kind of) asking for it. I understand. I feel that way with adults sometimes... but in the grand scheme of things, can you really afford the cost of going off on a kid because it feels good at that moment over losing your job?
You worked hard to be a teacher. Don't take ANYTHING a child says personally. If you feel the kid is out of control, call your school security, call your administrator...BETTER YET! Call the kid's parent and tell them what happened. You don't want your outburst to go viral... Sometimes no union in the world can protect what public opinion has deemed an offense. Public opinion rules. Especially in the politics of Education.
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