Do you see yourself as the number one determinant of the success or failure of your students?
I had the opportunity to meet Principle Kafele at the Georgia Math Conference recently. His words were empowering. He definitely has the ability to get people fired up! He always asks the question "Do you see yourself as the number one determinant of the success or failure of your students"? I did when I was in the classroom. Making sure I did whatever it took to get the kids to be successful. I don't see that same passion in some educators today. I recently heard a teacher say that they are not here to save the world and they are not going to do all of this work for other people's kids. Why did they get into education in the first place? If this is the mentality of some of the teachers in the classroom's today, the one's who impact kids education the most, who is going to see themselves at the number one determinant of the success or failure of the students? And if we are having a teacher shortage and have to keep ineffective teachers, who is going to be responsible for the kids lives that are being impacting every day?
I believe that there is a trickle down effect from a successful administrator or administrative team that does have an overall impact on student success. It is up to the principal and his administrative team to recruit, hire, and retain effective teachers. These effective teachers are the overall determinant on student success. On the other hand, it is up to the principal and his administrative team to document and handle ineffective teachers so that they can be phased out of a school. These ineffective teachers have a negative impact on school success and the tough decisions and conversations have to occur to get rid of these teachers; "care enough to confront."
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your post, this quote by Dr. Haim Ginott came to my mind...
ReplyDelete“I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.”
― Haim G. Ginott
This quote is one of my favorites! I believe teachers are the number one determinant of the success or failure of students. It starts with building a positive relationship with students. Before they show teachers what they know, they first need to know that teachers care. Students crave for this!
I have the same quote pinned above my whiteboard! And I do agree Mr. Kafele & Giles about how we perceive ourselves as educators...as that number one determinant. But I remember when I first entered the career field, as a second career actually, and veteran teachers telling me that same line, "Just remember that you can't save the world, so don't kill yourself trying to." I never bought into that, and now I'm moving towards leadership so I can actively work to against that mentality. Education is the foundation of it all, and I don't understand how some teachers can have the attitudes they do. I'm with John about principals having the greatest overall impact in regard to this by virtue of their power to hire and fire.
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