We all have to deal with work politics in our school years. You thought that once you got into the professional world and started working, the politics would disappear. Not so fast. It turns out that people who enter the workforce bring work politics with them, and we all have to deal with it.
Most teachers enter the profession with great dreams and ideals. Yet many become disillusioned by the politics. It’s a dirty secret that most teachers hate the politics of school. All a new teacher can do is shake their head and wonder, “What’s going on here?”
School politics refers to school political activities, including elections, student-administration relations, and interactions between students and teachers. It is generally believed that students should be free from adult influence, which is sometimes reflected in student elections. We need to remember that the definition of school politics is very wide, and it might be true even for teachers. Such spontaneous actions take place because there are lots of differences between people.
In the teaching profession, the politics found in the workplace can be a dangerous pitfall for anyone to fall – especially a newbie. Either you find a job at a high school with strict principals and teachers who enjoy playing favourites or a more laidback environment with a principal who’s known for promoting friends of hers. As a young teacher, you want to prove yourself as professional. Pretending you are best friends with your principal is almost impossible unless you’re willing to date her son.
Want to be a better teacher? The key is getting along better with other adults in the school building. All it takes is some motivation and insight—from Teachers Train Teachers. We focus on how to get along better with people at your school who can affect your job performance. This comes from a ton of experience working with teachers across the country. We tackle issues that mostly get suppressed by the media. For instance, — how you relate to the building’s maintenance person or rather, what to say when someone asks, “how are you today?”
Bottom line, the 2022 school calendar is almost here, and if you are a teacher or an aspiring teacher, you know that the political environment of the classroom gets more intense every year. Kids are checking their little smartphones before they even get through the door, parents are involved in PTA meetings earlier than ever before, and each passing generation seems to have less patience for teaching as a profession. It can all be heavy to handle sometimes.
Are you a teacher having challenges at your workplace?
Get in touch with us today for possible solutions.
