Teachers, you know the deal. Whether you’re a new teacher, ready and excited to jump right in, or a veteran teacher who’s been around the hallway a time or two, there are 5 Teacher Myths to Avoid as you make this school year the BEST year yet! Although our fellow team teachers, administrators, and parents mean well… these myths prove to be, well… not true!

Myth #1 – Teachers enjoy “Get to Know You” Games at staff developments.

Now this one may be painted with a broad stroke. Hey, there may be some teachers who are waiting with bated breath to meet and greet every person on staff by asking them what their favorite animal is or what inspires them to be the best teacher in the world. But I will confidently say, the majority of us don’t care what everyone else did over the summer, and we don’t care if we have the same favorite color in common, and we don’t care what Netflix shows we binged in between our naps, and I’m sorry, but we don’t even care what each other’s “why” is. *ouch… too harsh?*

You know what we DO care about? Planning! There is so little time in that short staff development week time frame to actually PLAN with our teams. Getting to know the robotics or PE teacher isn’t going to relieve an ELA teachers’ stress. We’re on countdown. So the less time we meet and greet, the more time we have to get to the good stuff.

Instead… it would be MORE beneficial for teachers to meet the team members they will be working with on a daily basis. So in my case, 7^th Grade ELA teachers will meet with (you guessed it!), 7^th Grade ELA teachers! During this meeting we will discuss all the things that matter…

• What is your planning style?
• What is your teacher strength when planning a unit of study?
• What is your teacher struggle when planning a unit of study?
• When you’re stressed, what does that look like? What does that sound like?
• What is your desired role on this team?
• And most importantly… what is your coffee order at Starbucks?

These are the “Get to Know You” team discussions (emphasis on team… emphasis on discussions) that teachers should be having on that first day of staff development. By discussing these questions, teacher teams will be able to *truly* know the things that matter, the things that will alleviate conflict, and the things that will make lesson planning throughout the school year most effective.

Myth #2 – Streamlined lesson planning is helpful and effective for all teachers.

Speaking of lesson planning… Streamlined lesson planning is NOT helpful and effective for ALL teachers. Keyword here is ALL. I think many campus leaders believe that if we’re all doing the same thing, sharing resources, lessons plans, and every little thing looks exactly the same, we all benefit! That’s simply not true.

We must keep in mind ALL teachers… not just the new teachers, not just the struggling teachers, and not just those who aren’t even teaching. Streamlined lesson plans work—but not for everyone!

Here are some questions to consider:

Is it helpful for an entire team to share lesson plans to ease the burden?

Sure, it is… assuming that every teacher on that team is willing to share and writes lessons with the same fidelity, rigor, and consciousness as their counterparts. This is a debate that I’ve seen all over “teacher social media.” To share or not to share? To be the same or not to be the same? There are many factors, and there are quite a few teachers who believe that if we all share lessons, it’s less work. But is it??? When you don’t tailor your lessons to meet the needs of YOUR students, you create holes in learning. When you create holes in learning, you WILL have to do more work on the back end to mend those holes. This is something we must consider when we jump on the “let’s share” bandwagon. It’s less work in the now, and more work in the later.

Is it helpful to use a campus-wide, mandated planning document for all?

Absolutely! As long as you’re comfortable putting teachers in creative boxes and not differentiating for their unique planning and productivity styles, comfort levels, and classroom cultures.

The goal should be for teachers to work at their highest and most creative capacities. That means allowing them the creative freedom to plan the way that THEY like to plan. Unfortunately, many teachers end up doing quadruple the amount of planning work because they have to plan the way they are told to plan, create curriculum that they know they won’t use or will be minimally effective with their students… all to start all over and plan the way that is most productive for them. We differentiate for our students every day. We must differentiate for our teachers, as well.

How powerful would it be for campus leaders to say, “We expect everyone’s lesson plans to look different because we support our teachers’ creative freedom, autonomy, and planning styles.” Wowee! What a mic drop moment!   

Myth #3 – Parents know best. *Nope. Not all the time.*

Shifting gears… let’s discuss parents. We love our students’ parents, and if ya ask me… all that talk regarding partnering with parents is actually TRUE! We must form strong relationships with parents in order for our students to learn at their highest capacities. But….. and it’s a big but…. Parents don’t always know best. Let me explain.

Teachers, many of whom have graduate degrees and attend hundreds of professional developments over the span of their careers, are the experts at curriculum, child development, and learning styles. Sometimes when trouble is on the horizon and you make a phone call to a parent to discuss concerns you may have, they come from a place of loving their child, so the things they say or do is not coming from a place of what’s best for their child academically. They’re coming from a place of what will alleviate their child’s pain points right then and there. *This makes me tear up just thinking about it*

My heart breaks in those types of meetings because, although I’m not a mother myself, I can imagine how hard it must be to face some tough truths regarding a child that you love more than life itself. Our goal, as teachers, is to listen, be patient, and to give the facts, NOT opinions. Tell that parent what is true in black and white.

What does it look like when that student interacts with peers? What are their work habits? What are their assessment scores? How are you preparing them for success every day? What steps will be most effective in getting the student from where they are to where they need to be?

Show parents that you are the expert by having expert conversations. Remember, it IS a partnership! And when parents see that you not only care about their child, but you know them academically, they will trust your expertise.

Myth #4 – We’re all in this together.

Okay, let’s move on to Myth #4. It’s a doozy. *rapidly blinks* We’re not all in this together. This is not High School Musical. And toxic positivity is soooooo 2020.

All means all, right? Not everyone in your school is going to be on the same page, every day, all the time. We’re NOT going to be “together” on many things. We’re going to have disagreements, different ways of attacking a problem, and varying teacher styles that may cause some feathers to be ruffled. And that’s okay!

I think the problem comes in when we think that we can just “kumbaya” our way out of conflicts. Sometimes the best way to combat those issues is to literally stop being so “together.” I’m the biggest advocate in autonomy, choice, and voice—not only for my students, but for staff as well. When you force teachers into the, “We’re all in this together,” mindset, it creates a culture in which teachers are afraid to fly. They sink into groupthink and create co-dependency habits that are hard to break. In order for a staff as whole to thrive, each and every staff member must learn how to fly together AND alone.

Myth #5 – Being mean from August-December is the way to go! *Uh… no.*

I saved the best for last. I can hear the students singing, “Why ya gotta be so rudeeee? Don’t ya know I’m human toooooo?” The late, great Rita Pierson once said, “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” And it’s true! But hold on… let’s break this down because admittedly, I have students who say to me every single year, “I didn’t like you at the beginning of the year, but now you’re my favorite teacher!” So let’s get to the nitty gritty.

If your students don’t like you because you’re literally rude to them… that’s a problem. And they’ll never like you. And if they never like you, or enjoy your class, they won’t learn. Period. Think about it… if your administrators mistreated you, accused of things that you didn’t do, never smiled at you when you passed them in the hallways, and spoke in monotone for the first five months of the school year, you would literally hate your job. Same is true for our students! They’re kids—they want to have fun AND they deserve to have a solid education that includes a positive learning environment. They need to feel comfortable enough to make mistakes because that’s learning! They can’t do that if you don’t show them that you care, that you’re excited for them to be there, and that you actually enjoy teaching!

On the other hand, if your students don’t like you because you’ve created a structured environment built on routines and high expectations—that’s totally normal, and I promise you… they’ll get over it. Students thrive on structure, but that doesn’t mean that in the beginning it’s not a rocky road. It is! They will try their best to buck the system every chance they get. Your job is to stay firm—not mean, not rude, not condescending—firm.

They may say, “Ugh, I hate this class!” because their math teacher, or social studies teacher, or *whoever* teacher, let’s them run amuck in their classrooms. That’s not your business, and it’s okay to tell them so. And when they pitch a fit, because they will, PLEASE don’t say, “Because I said so…” That would just perpetuate the problem. Explain to them (with care) why you create structure. Something along the lines of, “I can’t control how other teachers structure their classrooms, but what I can control is this environment we’re in. When we have structure, we learn more, we have fun, and we get more privileges. If you fight me on it, that can’t happen.” Simple as that. And ya know what? They will eventually get it because they don’t have a choice. But teachers MUST be consistent in their structure, and remember to be firm and fair, not mean.

Let’s do this!

Okay, teachers… I hope debunking these 5 teacher myths was helpful to you! As you enter your school year, remember that you are in control of how your school year will progress. Set yourself up for success by standing your ground in YOUR beliefs, rather than believing those teacher myths that have been around since students were writing on stone tablets.

Ta-Ta For Now,