I recently read a story about a young woman who was beginning a teaching career at a Charter school. I am sorry, I do not know many details, I do not know the name of the school or its location. I do not know the young woman. I just know some details of the distress she is experiencing with her position there. Apparently the educational environment is exceptionally strict and rigid, harsh, even. Discipline must be enforced, for example, if students stretch in class, or do things like unclasp their hands or fail to look at the teacher during class.
As you can imagine, even many of us would find such severe ‘rules of engagement’ to be stifling, if not downright abusive.
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While thinking about the young teacher’s situation, I thought about George Lakoff and something he wrote in his first major political book, Moral Politics. He was trying to find a question that, by itself, would illuminate someone’s political orientation. A late friend of his gave him this:
If your baby cries at night, do you pick him up? (Or her, I expect, as the case may be.)
(That is from page 18, in the Acknowledgements, prior to Chapter One, of Lakoff's
Moral Politics.)
Obviously, conservatives tend to answer no, since they believe in what Lakoff terms a 'strict father' morality. Liberals tend to say yes, as they believe in what he calls a 'nurturant family' morality.
The toxic environment at that school screams strict father contamination of a high order. I can imagine it being particularly unpleasant for a bright young teacher, full of optimism and caring.
I do not know what she will do about her employment status at that school. We have all been in toxic environments, we deal with them in different ways, as we have explored what works for us and what doesn’t, as we see things that seem to work for others. But what about going forward?
What would I do? What DO I do, going into new situations? What would I tell myself, beforehand?
The one thing I might say is, when considering entering a different situation, it is my right to 'interview' that situation ahead of time. It may sound funny to interview a place/atmosphere, but I don't mean it verbally. I try to go there and get a feel for the energy the situation projects. Is it positive? Is it nurturing? Can 'fun' and joy be felt there, either on or bubbling below the surface? Are the people happy to be there, themselves? How do they relate to others? Do they welcome diversity? Innovation? Do they value caring?
Too, in future interviews for a position, I’d try to use the LANGUAGE of nurturance in conversation. You can tell right away where those you speak with stand. The energy they project will tell you everything you need to know. If it isn't the place for you, smile, treat the 'stricts' with respect, and move on to the next opportunity. The right one will come. In the field of education, there are millions of teachers on the nurturant side. Thank goodness! We need every one!
What kind of things do you do to prepare yourself for unfamiliar environments? To help you evaluate the suitability of new opportunities?
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From newpioneer:
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FishOutOfWater provided setup and merrywidow brought it home in DownstateDemocrat's Privatization FAIL: Firm that runs Indiana Toll Road files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
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Flagged by chaunceydevega, this comment by entlord describes some of the vicious dilemmas faced by residents of communities like Ferguson.
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1) Let me add some fuel to the fire by bhfrik — 165
2) The perfect president will never exist by bhfrik — 149
3) For sure he'll be remembered by JoanMar — 129
4) He is the least war-mongery of all the people by merrywidow — 105
5) I saw that article too. by Richard Lyon — 100
6) In these tense times, his obvious cool by 4Freedom — 93
7) Lesser evil? by bhfrik — 91
8) Not ready to give up Texas that easily. by bastrop — 83
9) Slavery is still with us by Ojibwa — 82
10) I Voted for a Man by donna in evanston — 78
11) Thank you for saying by Dvalkure — 77
12) Glib, trollish and nonsensical comment. Do you ... by polnorth — 75
13) "Lesser evil" implies by high uintas — 74
14) Except that Obama is infinitely by sunbro — 73
15) We have givin it serious discussion by Steven Payne — 66
16) For whom? by virginislandsguy — 65
17) ??? by MD Roller — 64
18) NPR is not on our side by don mikulecky — 64
19) The racism this presidency has revealed by 4Freedom — 62
20) Yes indeed. Despite unprecedented obstruction and by Little Lulu — 61
21) #sekritarmy guards the perimeter. by jwinIL14 — 60
22) DFTT. by MBNYC — 60
23) in memory by Denise Oliver Velez — 56
24) Likewise by PurpleElectric — 54
25) There needs to be more attention brought to by Wes Kobernick — 54
26) LOL! Vigilance From Sekrit Invasionz & Takeoverz: by leonard145b — 54
27) Oh Hai Whoknu! Our Leader's Fighting The Forces... by leonard145b — 53
28) Only.... by Mark E Andersen — 53
29) This version is so visually inspiring with by FishOutofWater — 52
30) Interesting article. by weezilgirl — 52
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