Say No!
Judy Jones
THE PROBLEM: Most
new teachers enter the profession with irrepressible enthusiasm
and those of us who have been in this business for a long time welcome
you with open arms. In fact, sometimes we welcome you with more
than open arms! We (and the administrators) can ask you to take
on many extra tasks - committees, clubs, sports, etc. - that will
leave you little time to plan and reflect upon your students and
your teaching.
This year, one of the most outstanding young
teachers was asked to help advise the sophomore class at our high
school. She said "yes" in her desire to be helpful and because of
her genuine love of the students. She has regretted that moment
all year! Another young teacher took on the job of coaching the
Junior Varsity cheerleaders. She loved the students, loved teaching
them, and was overwhelmed. She very wisely bowed out second semester
and became our nominee for the Sallie Mae new teacher award.
Beware! Many requests for committee membership
and club sponsorship will be made at the beginning of the year -
before you have had a chance to experience the all-consuming nature
of your first year of teaching!
THE SOLUTION:
You will have to learn to say "no" (most of
the time)!
How do you do this? Professionally, of course.
1. Never answer immediately.
Have a standing rule that you will ask for a
day or two to think over any request, even if you are tempted to
say "yes." Sanity may prevail during that time.
2. Get details.
In order to better determine your answer to a request, be sure that
you get details about the job.
- how often are meetings
- how long do the meetings last
- what jobs are expected outside of actual
meetings
- what activities are expected for particular
clubs
- what is the estimate of time commitment for
the whole task
3. Let people down
gently (but firmly)! When
you prepare to say "no" explain that you are a new teacher and that
you are concerned about having the time to do your best job in the
classroom. Offer to reconsider the request the next year when you
are more "experienced." Who can argue with someone who is putting
learning first?
4 If you can't say "NO", say "YES" only
once! If you decide that you
would like to be involved outside of the classroom, then say "yes"
to just one extra activity and consider carefully what that will
be. Ideas that will not consume you are:
- help another teacher with a small club
or activity; make sure that teacher will be respectful of your
"newness"
- join a committee that meets once a month
or less and does not have a great deal of extra work to do
- choose a committee that is very related
to the work that you do in your classroom such as curriculum
development or school rules. Our new teachers chose to work
on the new teacher handbook committee and learned a lot or useful
things.
Now, go forth and have a terrific first
year!
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