New teachers have enough problems.
They don't have the luxury of strolling to a file cabinet and plucking the day's tried and true lesson from its chronological file folder. Many new teachers "float" toting unwieldy carts or file box luggage carriers. Also, they are consuming all their free time creating their lessons based on standardized curriculum as they go. Yet in high schools and some middle schools, all new teachers are "baited" a new term for mockery and disrespect in the middle or secondary classroom.
New Teachers Take the Bait
It is hard not to fall for teacher baiting. A new teacher works 24/7, and she is already tired and stressed out and unused to the bell-ringing Pavlovian experience of middle or high school. She has slaved over her lesson, and believes the hours spent, the worksheets created, the practiced delivery are all she needs to score a learning hit with her pupils.
Instead, they are disinterested, talkative to each other, and oblivious to the skills she is trying to impart. Worse, they question her ability to teach, make rude remarks, and some cases play pranks that leaves her grasping for control of the classroom.
Administrators Matter in Cutting Off the Baiting
Most administrators traditionally leave new teachers to sink or swim. They are a little like drill team leaders in a boot camp, expecting the new teacher to work under the toughest conditions imaginable: However, some administrators step up and give the student perpetrators more than a verbal warning. An in-school suspension usually solves the problem, and the new teacher should cultivate a mentoring relationship with any administrator even vaguely empathetic.
Call Parents About Baiting
Sometimes calling parents about bad behavior in the classroom actually works.Parents may fuss and protest, "That doesn't sound like my daughter," when a teacher explains that a student committed a heinous act of disrespect. Most parents do understand, however, that they are at a disadvantage if the teacher threatens to pursue the matter, especially if said daughter or son has a record of misbehavior, which most teacher baiters definitely do.
Take Care of Personal Life
The biggest cause of teacher burnout is never taking a break from teaching. New teachers often suffer from a loss of identity because they work so hard. They ask themselves after a bout of teacher baiting, "If I'm not a good teacher, what am I?" Yet an unruly student does not equal a bad teacher. A bad teacher is someone who is so exhausted she can no longer cope. If that occurs, teachers need to:
- Take a personal day
- Get some physical exercise
- Plan an activity with a friend
Keep Classroom Issues in Perspective
The first year of teaching passes, and the consequent years get easier and more rewarding. Take problems such as teacher baiting with a philosophical grain of salt. This,too, shall pass.
