Yesterday was a day of hard conversations. You know the type of conversations that you simply dread having with a teacher? Sometimes I find myself wishing that the issue would resolve itself, but it never does. It takes skill to have tough conversations. I have found that the sandwich message works best. I start with praising the teacher for something positive that they are doing. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. I never want the teacher to feel that they are worthless. I then move to addressing the problem. There is no way to do this easily. It's like ripping off a bandage. You just have to do it. I then recap of our discussion and the plan. Finally, I encourage the person and offer my help/ other resources to improve the problematic behavior.
No one likes to have tough conversations, but they are necessary. You cannot let a negative behavior go unaddressed. Unaddressed behaviors can destroy the climate of a school and affect student achievement. Negative teacher behaviors can also be detrimental to the emotional state of students. I have witnessed the negative behavior of an unaddressed teacher tear a beautifully crafted school culture apart in one year. Once negative or problematic behaviors are presented it is the responsibility of the school's administrator to address them. An administrator would cringe if they were asked to not address students who were disruptive. How can you not address negative student behavior? The exact same thing is true for school staff members. School's staff are people, and people come to your building with good and bad habits. Once we identify negative behaviors we cannot turn a blind eye to them.
I cannot promise that these conversations are always successful. However, I can say that after you have them, everyone should know what the issue is, where you stand, and your expectations for change are. You cannot be punitive if you haven't given support.
No one likes to have tough conversations, but they are necessary. You cannot let a negative behavior go unaddressed. Unaddressed behaviors can destroy the climate of a school and affect student achievement. Negative teacher behaviors can also be detrimental to the emotional state of students. I have witnessed the negative behavior of an unaddressed teacher tear a beautifully crafted school culture apart in one year. Once negative or problematic behaviors are presented it is the responsibility of the school's administrator to address them. An administrator would cringe if they were asked to not address students who were disruptive. How can you not address negative student behavior? The exact same thing is true for school staff members. School's staff are people, and people come to your building with good and bad habits. Once we identify negative behaviors we cannot turn a blind eye to them.
I cannot promise that these conversations are always successful. However, I can say that after you have them, everyone should know what the issue is, where you stand, and your expectations for change are. You cannot be punitive if you haven't given support.
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