VPerspective

Quietly, and nicely: At what cost

by Michelle Bodden

Nov 2, 2006 2:43 PM

As I go from borough to borough visiting schools, I’ve found a wide range of situations. I’ve found schools where decision making is shared, and others that are micromanaged by tyrants.

I’ve been in schools that are flourishing in an environment of open communication — I can feel it the second I walk in the door — and others where the staff is trying to make the best of it in hostile territory under constant threats by administrators. And I can feel that right away, too.

If you’re teaching in an environment of either extreme, you know it.

But there is a growing — and troubling — middle ground. It is certainly not in the domain of collaborative administrators, but neither is it run by tyrants.

It is in the land of the manipulators.

Using coercion and all kinds of intimidation techniques — often with a smile— they have convinced teachers that it is in their best interest to volunteer away their time, resources and rights. They have a way of making their staff believe that working during lunch hours, before and after school and on weekends is necessary for the smooth operation of the school and for educating minds.

It’s even more corrosive to our professionalism and our rights when they give teachers assignments without a word about appropriate compensation. And they do. Let me count the ways.

I met teachers at one school who are scheduled for monthly evening conferences with parents. The staff — mostly newer teachers — had not been told that the arrangement was voluntary or that they would receive the appropriate compensation for participating.

At another school the chapter adopted a plan requiring additional professional development time. Although the staff had many questions about the uncompensated time they continued to give away after school, they remained quiet and accepted the program in an attempt to keep the peace.

And at another school, teachers volunteer for lunch duty, not realizing that their willingness to serve in this capacity weakens their ability to take a duty-free lunch in the future.

Many teachers choose to do things they are not obliged to do because they want to create the best possible conditions for their students’ success, and that is admirable. There is, however, a huge difference between doing things out of caring and doing things because you have been coerced — at great cost to your energy, time and resources.

What are we really teaching our students when we quietly give away our rights? Are we teaching them that rights are not worth fighting for, that it is best to just go along with whatever is presented? I’m sure that is not the lesson we want them to learn. Instead, we want them to learn that rights are valuable and worth defending, that we should stand up to resist when treated unfairly, and that we are more powerful together than alone.

It is in our best interest to become vocal, unified and vigilant. Talk to your chapter leader and then use contractual provisions like consultation and professional conciliation to make the case for appropriate conditions.

Do not lose your rights quietly. Stand for them loudly — and teach by example.