Professional Development

The first professional development article, Improving Relationships within the Schoolhouse, by Roland S. Barth, discusses the different types of staff relationships present within a school and how to achieve the most desirable form (2005). Four types of relationships are discussed, but only one appears to truly benefit an educational environment. Parallel play allows for teachers to co-exist in a neutral environment, yet professional development stays stagnant. Adversarial relationships are destructive, as teachers do not support one another’s teaching styles or ideas. Congenial relationships are positive, providing support for teachers, but it does not help each other improve in teaching methods. Finally, collegial relationships are the goal to achieve, due to creating staff friendships and professional development through critique, sharing knowledge or ideas, and collaboration.

In my Community Service Learning, it is crucial for me to have a collegial relationship with my associate teacher, as he is my greater source of feedback on knowledge in primary teaching. As it is my associate teacher’s first time in this education role, he highlights the importance of communication to ensure he is providing me with the appropriate information and critique. I highly value having a collegial relationship and try to promote it by asking for feedback on activities or offering lesson ideas. The expectation set for placement promotes a collegial relationship since it suggests taking notes on teaching styles, methods, or the environment to learn and improve. Reading this article provided a name to the type of the professional staff relationship I value and strive to have, as well as supply factors which help maintain this relationship.

In the next article, How Teachers Lead Teachers, by Jason Margolis, it discusses strategies that help build strong colleague relationships and develop a leadership position within the education community (2009). It touches on the importance of using humour, the inclusion of all teachers and subjects, explaining or sharing teaching strategies, allowing time to practise, incorporates the use of other teacher’s work, and present oneself as a learner (Margolis, 2009). As a teacher candidate, I am in a continuous learning position within the education environment. As well as being a learner, I try my best to share my ideas or input when I see it as appropriate. Although my associate teacher is my main source of knowledge, I strive to demonstrate to other teachers that I am interested in their teaching styles or methods. Due to this interest, I have been able to attend French class, alternative learning situations (example: body breaks, English as a second language, etc.), and invited into different grade levels to experience their class.

Making colleague relationships was the element of practicum which made me the most nervous, as I am not accustomed to being in an equal position as an educator. Also, I find small gestures, such as using humour or kindness, is crucial for establishing trust and building a relationship. Simple elements, like saying good morning first or participating in the conversation in the break room, is important for me to establish a place within my school’s educational community. Although, I partake in small talk, I believe I need to attempt more in-depth conversations with the staff to establish a better foundation for a colleague relationship. The article does not touch on this point, but I have been continuously trying to learn all the teacher’s names and what grade they teach. The current article helps to reinforce the strategies I have been incorporating into my practicum learning to achieve my professional development goal.

Lastly, in the article, New Teacher Socialization and the Testing Apparatus, by Bausell and Glazier (2018), it focuses on how new teachers adapt to a school’s environment and how the staff influence their opinions and behaviours. The pre-existing teachers at the school have a large influence on the standards and opinions in the environment. New teachers will tend to align their thoughts and practise with the ones present at the school to build relationships with colleagues. This strategy is used to gain acceptance but is also a by-product of the pre-existing teachers passing on their knowledge and experience to the new ones. I can relate to this finding, as I have noticed myself using similar teaching strategies as my associate teacher. Although, this adaption may be due to my knowledge that our students respond well to it. Bausell and Glazier (2018) make note that new teachers are commonly employed by the teacher candidate positions due to the individual being previously moulded to meet the school’s standard or environment. The majority of my learning is stemming from my Community Service Learning placement, which reinforces the article point of hiring for me. The staff in placement are acting as mentors for teaching and staff relationships, shaping the way I interact and teach. Although I am an individual with previous teaching experience and ideas on learning, I believe the desire to be accepted by the staff makes individuals more vulnerable to conforming.

Being open and accepting of the school’s environment and the staff is crucial for building good staff relationships though, especially to gain references for future employment. Within the first few weeks of placement, I spent the majority of time observing the staff and following my associate teacher everywhere. Now that I feel comfortable in the school’s environment and familiar with the staff, I will attend lunch breaks alone and feel secure to discuss teaching ideologies or mundane topics with all staff. Bausell and Glazier (2018) discuss the importance of formal and informal colleague discussions to build trust and support to cope with educational changes.

The current article was insightful to read as it opened my mind up to factors of relationship building I had yet to consider, such as the aim to please or be shaped to fit the environment. Although the article discussed the relationship of new employed teachers, I still found it relatable as a teacher candidate working towards positive staff relationships within my placement.

In conclusion, the three articles discussed either provided affirmation to the strategies I tried to employ for building staff relationships or provided new ideas to consider during the rest of Community Service Learning or practicum. Many of the techniques are common knowledge used in everyday life to build trust and a connection between individuals. Building staff relationships within the education system is extremely important to develop a support team, act as a resource for each other and build a school community. Although I believe I have been successful in starting to build relationships at my placement, I want to continue to use these strategies or explore new ones to strengthen staff relations throughout the rest of the school year.

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Work Cited

Barth, Roland S. “Improving Relationships Within the Schoolhouse.” Educational Leadership, ASCD, 5 March 2005, www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar06/vol63/num06/Improving-Relationships-Within-the-Schoolhouse.aspx.

Bausell, S., & Glazier, J. New Teacher Socialization and the Testing Apparatus. Harvard Educational Review,88 (3), 308-333. 2019.

Margolis, Jason. “How Teachers Lead Teachers.” Educational Leadership, ASCD, February 2009. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb09/vol66/num05/How-Teachers-Lead-Teachers.aspx