When I began my career in teaching, I was fresh and eager to reach even the most difficult of students. I worked on my classroom weeks before school started to decorate, plan, and create a positive learning environment (like many teachers do). I had been building a professional wardrobe since my freshman year of college (I forgot to mention that my high school principal enlisted me into subbing my first year of college. It was great training, and I always subbed during off time!) and was eager to dress for success for my new job.
My eagerness, creative lessons, and project based learning were a hit with the kids. They loved getting to choose their own books for classroom study and taking ownership over what type of grade they could make that was directly related to their own effort (I used rubrics). I was a disciplinarian but believed that you had to have some noise and discussion and creativity to reach all of the learning styles, all of the levels of bloom's taxonomy, and allow students some opportunities for leadership. I taught 5th and 6th graders reading (integrated reading and writing by my standards not that you can tell by all of my grammatical errors) and kinder-6th Title I reading.
It took about a month before my professional dress, dedication, innovative ideas, excited students, etc. etc. got on some nerves on campus. It is called the "crab" mentality. If you are doing something different, if you are getting attention, if you are engaging students, then you are not going to be popular with some of your fellow staff members. It is almost a law. A couple of the other teachers started talking about me with students and amongst themselves.
They criticized everything from "who did I think I was dressing like that all the time" to "It's not her job to teach writing; she was hired to teach reading." Students came to me regularly with fodder. It hurt. I redirected the discussion and tried to avoid it, but a confrontation was inevitable. I had had enough confrontation in my life; I did not want confrontation in my career...But I just couldn't take that kind of crap any longer. I went to the heart of the matter, addressed the primary staff member, and squashed that mess only to face it at the next school, and the next, and the next, and the next, and wherever else God leads me I am sure.
Satan's lie was "You cannot do anything right". "Whatever you do, people are going to hate you." "You don't deserve to teach anyway, and God is not going to use you. You are not worthy of serving God anyway. You cannot reach these kids (maybe not, but God can and does through His servants)."
Ephesians 5:1 states, "Be imitators of God..."
God created us in His image. He is a marvelous creator. He is an inventor, a renegade at times coming up with new and improved inventions by the second. Did he call us to accept mediocrity or go a step further?
Matthew 5:41 says, "And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two."
If we analyze all of the different aspects of God, we could write many books and spend many hours discussing all of the wonders in His nature. He created me passionate. He created me to do exactly what I'm doing. He equips me, provides me knowledge, and encourages me on His path. He created me to go the extra mile. It's my nature. I cannot do something half way.
How can I honor God if I am not compelled to go the extra mile? He did not equip me to teach children so that I could be mediocre in reaching them through Him? It's not now nor will ever be my calling to just blend into the norm. We are called to be lights in the darkness.
He gave me results both measurable and unmeasurable in my career as a teacher. I made it through the fodder, but I had to learn about the "crab mentality".
If you put a bunch of crabs in a bucket, you can watch as the crabs try to work and climb their way out only to witness other crabs pulling the ones trying to get out back into the bucket. Such is life. In the education system, you see the crab mentality often. One teacher (flatliner) who chooses to do the least amount possible will criticize the one who stands out in his/her field (over-achiever).
The flatliner shows up maybe 5 minutes before time, leaves at random hours (sometimes very late to give the appearance of much planning and hard work), makes a lot of excuses why he/she is not capable of controlling the classroom nor teach the "more difficult than any students in the nation" children in our rural Texas towns.
So, you have to be thinking, "what happened to the crabs at my first teaching job?" I don't know. I got out of that bucket. My students achieved a 100% TAAS passing rate in my second year there. I did not learn how to not wear my heart on my sleeve or not care about the crabs who did not like my presence in the bucket. I cannot help wanting to be a part of the over achiever group. God called me to give Him my best. He called me to give those kids my best (as well as my own kids but that is not what this story is about :).
Crab mentality is everywhere, granted. Teachers are horrible about it, though. We tend to be a very jealous and vicious lot upon occasion. We don't like anyone prettier/more handsome, smarter, funner, fitter, happier, perkier, more liked or respected by students, peers, parents or board members, etc. "If you are decorating your classroom, then I am going to decorate mine more.
If you are doing fun projects, then I am going to start doing them, too. If you have kids learning and liking it, then I am going to hate you and talk trash to students, other teachers, administration about you. If you are making me do something different than the antiquated way that I have been teaching, then I am going to actively work against you.
There are times as an administrator that I used the crab mentality to create some positive change. What I wish I could have done as a leader was call a couple of people who were employed to be educators into my office and said, "This is not your calling. Find another job and get out of education; you are wasting tax payers dollars." Unfortunately, ousting ineffectual staff takes an act of congress.
I have worked with staff members who did not move their buttocks from their "teaching" chair behind their desk for over an hour with elementary children. I have worked with staff who could not control a classroom, could not create a basic lesson plan, could not interpret testing data, could not grasp Bloom's taxonomy much less teach it, did not stay current in the content area, threatened students, threatened and threw things at other staff members, miraculously improved scores in 1 year (yet those students sadly failed the next, hmm questionable testing maybe?), gossiped around campus, lied, plotted, schemed, undermined, embarrassed and ridiculed children, and exhibited many other disreputable behaviors.
Unfortunately, those educators often hurt the honest, hard working, dedicated staff members. They try to grab them back into the bucket and drown them. The fortitude to withstand the drowning is hard to maintain without support.
The over achieving group sponsors and coach many activities on campus, in the community, and in their churches. They serve, serve, serve, teach, teach, teach, love their families, offer support, pitch in before being asked, and deserve crowns. They take curriculum and make it their own to bring life to a classroom. They teach with passion, and they are loyal, honest, positive, loving, and righteous (without ever trying to be righteous).
They inspire me. They reach students, and they get results because God has gifted them. They are often the most overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated group.
Mark 10:31 declares, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first." Those who torment, tear down, and oppress will be defeated in the end.
First Corinthians 4:1-2 states, "So, then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." It is not easy to remain faithful as evidenced by my wailing and complaining over circumstances. My skin is still not tough. Actually, my skin is pretty soft, and I like it that way. I get my feelings hurt when "crabs" try to pull me down and drown me. I, also, get angry and want to pinch their heads off. I am human. I hurt and I cry.
I am, also, a woman. I am glad that I am a woman. I am glad that I can cry if I want to. I want to be sensitive because the opposite would be callus and cynical. Lord, may I never be callus and cynical. May I have hope and think my "Pollyanna" thoughts. May I always dress up for my calling. May I always decorate my classroom, office, home, or whatever to make the best, loving, learning environment ever, and may I always shine where God means for me to shine in His name for His glory. May the crabs wake up and help each other out of the bucket.
Stand firm. Keep the faith. First Timothy 4:11-12, "Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young (or old, or smart, or poor, or white, or black or whatever the Holy Spirit inserts for you), but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity."
My eagerness, creative lessons, and project based learning were a hit with the kids. They loved getting to choose their own books for classroom study and taking ownership over what type of grade they could make that was directly related to their own effort (I used rubrics). I was a disciplinarian but believed that you had to have some noise and discussion and creativity to reach all of the learning styles, all of the levels of bloom's taxonomy, and allow students some opportunities for leadership. I taught 5th and 6th graders reading (integrated reading and writing by my standards not that you can tell by all of my grammatical errors) and kinder-6th Title I reading.
It took about a month before my professional dress, dedication, innovative ideas, excited students, etc. etc. got on some nerves on campus. It is called the "crab" mentality. If you are doing something different, if you are getting attention, if you are engaging students, then you are not going to be popular with some of your fellow staff members. It is almost a law. A couple of the other teachers started talking about me with students and amongst themselves.
They criticized everything from "who did I think I was dressing like that all the time" to "It's not her job to teach writing; she was hired to teach reading." Students came to me regularly with fodder. It hurt. I redirected the discussion and tried to avoid it, but a confrontation was inevitable. I had had enough confrontation in my life; I did not want confrontation in my career...But I just couldn't take that kind of crap any longer. I went to the heart of the matter, addressed the primary staff member, and squashed that mess only to face it at the next school, and the next, and the next, and the next, and wherever else God leads me I am sure.
Satan's lie was "You cannot do anything right". "Whatever you do, people are going to hate you." "You don't deserve to teach anyway, and God is not going to use you. You are not worthy of serving God anyway. You cannot reach these kids (maybe not, but God can and does through His servants)."
Ephesians 5:1 states, "Be imitators of God..."
God created us in His image. He is a marvelous creator. He is an inventor, a renegade at times coming up with new and improved inventions by the second. Did he call us to accept mediocrity or go a step further?
Matthew 5:41 says, "And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two."
If we analyze all of the different aspects of God, we could write many books and spend many hours discussing all of the wonders in His nature. He created me passionate. He created me to do exactly what I'm doing. He equips me, provides me knowledge, and encourages me on His path. He created me to go the extra mile. It's my nature. I cannot do something half way.
How can I honor God if I am not compelled to go the extra mile? He did not equip me to teach children so that I could be mediocre in reaching them through Him? It's not now nor will ever be my calling to just blend into the norm. We are called to be lights in the darkness.
He gave me results both measurable and unmeasurable in my career as a teacher. I made it through the fodder, but I had to learn about the "crab mentality".
If you put a bunch of crabs in a bucket, you can watch as the crabs try to work and climb their way out only to witness other crabs pulling the ones trying to get out back into the bucket. Such is life. In the education system, you see the crab mentality often. One teacher (flatliner) who chooses to do the least amount possible will criticize the one who stands out in his/her field (over-achiever).
The flatliner shows up maybe 5 minutes before time, leaves at random hours (sometimes very late to give the appearance of much planning and hard work), makes a lot of excuses why he/she is not capable of controlling the classroom nor teach the "more difficult than any students in the nation" children in our rural Texas towns.
So, you have to be thinking, "what happened to the crabs at my first teaching job?" I don't know. I got out of that bucket. My students achieved a 100% TAAS passing rate in my second year there. I did not learn how to not wear my heart on my sleeve or not care about the crabs who did not like my presence in the bucket. I cannot help wanting to be a part of the over achiever group. God called me to give Him my best. He called me to give those kids my best (as well as my own kids but that is not what this story is about :).
Crab mentality is everywhere, granted. Teachers are horrible about it, though. We tend to be a very jealous and vicious lot upon occasion. We don't like anyone prettier/more handsome, smarter, funner, fitter, happier, perkier, more liked or respected by students, peers, parents or board members, etc. "If you are decorating your classroom, then I am going to decorate mine more.
If you are doing fun projects, then I am going to start doing them, too. If you have kids learning and liking it, then I am going to hate you and talk trash to students, other teachers, administration about you. If you are making me do something different than the antiquated way that I have been teaching, then I am going to actively work against you.
There are times as an administrator that I used the crab mentality to create some positive change. What I wish I could have done as a leader was call a couple of people who were employed to be educators into my office and said, "This is not your calling. Find another job and get out of education; you are wasting tax payers dollars." Unfortunately, ousting ineffectual staff takes an act of congress.
I have worked with staff members who did not move their buttocks from their "teaching" chair behind their desk for over an hour with elementary children. I have worked with staff who could not control a classroom, could not create a basic lesson plan, could not interpret testing data, could not grasp Bloom's taxonomy much less teach it, did not stay current in the content area, threatened students, threatened and threw things at other staff members, miraculously improved scores in 1 year (yet those students sadly failed the next, hmm questionable testing maybe?), gossiped around campus, lied, plotted, schemed, undermined, embarrassed and ridiculed children, and exhibited many other disreputable behaviors.
Unfortunately, those educators often hurt the honest, hard working, dedicated staff members. They try to grab them back into the bucket and drown them. The fortitude to withstand the drowning is hard to maintain without support.
The over achieving group sponsors and coach many activities on campus, in the community, and in their churches. They serve, serve, serve, teach, teach, teach, love their families, offer support, pitch in before being asked, and deserve crowns. They take curriculum and make it their own to bring life to a classroom. They teach with passion, and they are loyal, honest, positive, loving, and righteous (without ever trying to be righteous).
They inspire me. They reach students, and they get results because God has gifted them. They are often the most overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated group.
Mark 10:31 declares, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first." Those who torment, tear down, and oppress will be defeated in the end.
First Corinthians 4:1-2 states, "So, then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." It is not easy to remain faithful as evidenced by my wailing and complaining over circumstances. My skin is still not tough. Actually, my skin is pretty soft, and I like it that way. I get my feelings hurt when "crabs" try to pull me down and drown me. I, also, get angry and want to pinch their heads off. I am human. I hurt and I cry.
I am, also, a woman. I am glad that I am a woman. I am glad that I can cry if I want to. I want to be sensitive because the opposite would be callus and cynical. Lord, may I never be callus and cynical. May I have hope and think my "Pollyanna" thoughts. May I always dress up for my calling. May I always decorate my classroom, office, home, or whatever to make the best, loving, learning environment ever, and may I always shine where God means for me to shine in His name for His glory. May the crabs wake up and help each other out of the bucket.
Stand firm. Keep the faith. First Timothy 4:11-12, "Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young (or old, or smart, or poor, or white, or black or whatever the Holy Spirit inserts for you), but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity."
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