PD Pet Peeves: Teachers Misbehaving – My Response
An article called: PD Pet Peeves: Teachers Misbehaving, appeared this week in Teacher Magazine. The author, John Norton, is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network, a national program of the Center for Teaching Quality.
The article discusses the behavior of teachers in PD contexts and the author explores the reasons teachers are often rude and disruptive when they attend workshops and lectures.
I have also recently discussed the frustration I feel when running a workshop or seminar and there is so much talking going on that time is wasted and I can’t do what I planned with the teachers.
Another problem is that occasionally teachers attack me (or others providing PL frameworks) and blame us for all the problems in schools and in the Education Department. I have no control over the large number of pupils in classes or the demands placed on teachers but they see me as responsible.
If I look closely at the “noise”, it is usually participants continuing to discuss an idea I presented. The problem is that they prefer to tell their neighbors what they are thinking than share with the whole group. Occasionally angry responses emerge when teachers don’t believe that what I am presenting can be achieved in the classroom. This always bothers me as I try to bring examples which are classroom tried and tested. In my last meeting at K, one of the teachers became agitated when I pointed out that in the National Literacy Curriculum, it says that teachers should believe that all pupils are capable of becoming proficient writers. “That is totally unrealistic” she remarked.
Here is one answer to the question Why so many teachers behave badly in learning situations:
“… As to why, Nancy suggested that “teachers have been conditioned to understand that they are the most important person in the room–to talk over kids, to ‘grab the microphone,’ to speak without thinking. It’s the way we work. We’re in charge of the interaction, all day long, so it’s not surprising that we are not silent or intimidated when we become the ‘class.’ But I agree with those who say that old-fashioned courtesy trumps anybody’s desire to be entertained or catch up on conversation.”…”
Maybe that’s part of it?
It is clear to me that I must constantly reflect on my practice to explore why teachers are uninvolved or irritated while attending my sessions. While I won’t take all the blame personally, the way I have planned the meeting may be part of the problem.
March 7th, 2009 at 2:51 am
I’ve been in similar frustrating situations. Within a session of twenty teachers 15 will be excited and involved, asking questions, trying things out, showing what they’ve done. And there will be at least a few who sit off in a corner discussing something, waiting until they can sign the attendance sheet and quickly get away. I’ve had enough experience to know that my sessions are well planned out. I almost always distribute pages that give clear instructions for what’s to be done, and the positive feedback I get from the majority of my “students” suggests that I’m doing something right. But I still get upset by the person who turns her back to me after complaining that I’m not explaining things to her like I should (or neglecting her for the others). And then I remind myself that these teachers are always in a rush to finish (early, of course) and that I always tell them that even if they feel they’re finished I’ll stay around until the official finishing hour and that if anybody needs personal help I’ll be happy to use that time. I doubt I’ve been taken up on this offer more than once or perhaps twice.
So? So I’d like to add another reason for this “misbehavior”. Too many of our “students” in this training sessions are only there for the compensation (g’mul) and really couldn’t care what it is we’re trying to teach them. Luckily, there are also others who really want to incorporate ICT into their work. If there weren’t these others, I’d have stopped doing sessions of this sort long ago.