What I have chosen to do for this post is to make a handy list of ways to keep yourself safe as a teacher. All to often, teachers find themselves in compromising situations with students. Quite often this is because the teacher initiated the situation. However, good, well intentioned teachers can find themselves in scenarios they never envisioned or facing false student accusations. In my two years teaching I have been placed into uncomfortable situations by students on several occasions. Fortunately, these situations were very benign and nothing ever happened. And even though I felt blameless in these situations I couldn't help but think I should have taken steps to mitigate the risk of such situations.
This is especially important for young teachers to remember. Many education graduates end up teaching high school and are only a few years older than their students. In my personal experience, and many others I have talked to, this can be an awkward situation. When high school students have a young teacher they much more likely to ask that teacher personal questions. These may include: Questions about alcohol and drug use or statements such as, "Do you have a boy/girlfriend," "Do you like to party." Many of these questions maybe simple curiously on the part of the students, or they maybe trying to gain insight into a part of their lives that they will soon be leading. In any case, if these questions are humored by the teacher they serve to undermine his/her authority and increase the likelihood of and awkward situation occurring. Below is a list of some suggestions to insulate yourself from this.
1. Never answer questions about your personal life other than simple facts. (Where you grew up, etc.)
2. Never find a student on Facebook or any other social media device.
3. Avoid being alone in a room with a student if possible. If this situation does occur, which it probably will at some point, leave the door open.
4. Set boundaries and make sure that your desk and your personal possessions in the room are off limits to students.
5. Don't play favorites.
6. This is the biggest one. Instill a constructive, respectful environment in your classroom. If the students do not respect eachother's personal space, it is less likely that they will respect yours. Also, establishing yourself as a serious educator will make students less likely to ask you those personal questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment