Culture, Clichés, and Conversations

Cultivating Relations Between Teachers and Administrators

By (author) Anthony P. Barber

Not available to order

Publication date:

17 June 2014

Length of book:

140 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781475809008

Relationships are everything in successful systems, and connections are cultivated by our actions and our words. Within our words, we contain the power to build relationships or bury them. Those who look for opportunities to converse on significant issues sustain and prosper. However, often times these conversations are cut short by our inability to discover the hidden meanings behind our chosen responses.

In today’s school systems, educational clichés are ending essential dialogue when they should begin and maintain it. Messages like “That’s why you make the big bucks” or “It is what it is” hinder our capacity to construct critical connections with each other. The focus of Clichés, Conversations and Culture: Cultivating Relations Between Teachers and Administrators is to unveil these clichés and explore alternatives that will foster connectedness. By improving our dialogue, we will be able to nurture a more viable culture for our building and bridge the gap that historically exists between administrators and teachers.

Disclaimer
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Setting the Stage

PART I: What Teachers Say About Administrators
Chapter 1 – Joining the Dark Side
Chapter 2 – That’s Why You Make the Big Bucks
Chapter 3 – They’re Incompetent
Chapter 4: They’ve Forgotten Where They Are From - One More Thing
Chapter 5: What Do They Do Up There All Day
Chapter 6: Let’s Make A Deal – The PrinciPAL
Chapter 7: She Has Her Favorites
Chapter 8: This Too Shall Pass
PART: II What Administrators Say About Teachers
Chapter 9: It’s Good for Kids
Chapter 10: She Beats the Kids to the Buses
Chapter 11: Getting the Buy In - Drinking the Cool Aide
Chapter 12: You Work For a District, Not a School

Chapter 13: She Has No Walls
Chapter 14: The Buck Stops Here - No Surprises
PART: III: Clichés We All Use
Chapter 15: Thrown Under the Bus
Chapter 16: I Do It for the Kids
Chapter 17: It Is What It Is
Chapter 18: All I Do For This Place
Chapter 19: The Dance of the Lemons

PART: IV: Practical Approaches
Chapter 20: Culture Builders

For Teachers

Be Where You Are Supposed to Be When You Are Supposed to Be
Find the Facts; Limit the Whisper
Propose Possible Solutions
When You Are Sick, Call Early
Remember Your Primary Function

For Administrators

Know the Staff
Build the Dimmer Switch
Be a Straight Shooter
Limit the Jokes
Be Visible

Chapter 21: Culture Busters
For Teachers

Promoting Conspiracy
Public Ridicule
Grading Papers During Meetings
Say You Can When You Cannot
Not Seeing the Gray

For Administrators

Making Promises to Appease Conflict
Giving a General Warning
Ducking the Difficult Conversations
Going to Committee When the Decision is Already Made
Instituting the After-Conference Initiative

Chapter 22: Case Studies
PART: V: Questions from the Field
Chapter 23: From Teachers

The Transfer
Inappropriate Remarks
No Emotion
Leadership
Taxing the Busy
Feedback
Delayed Schedule
Expectations in Meetings

Chapter 24: From Administrators

Union Dilemma
Social Events
My Family Needs
Give Me Five
My Boss is a Micro-Manager
Live in District
Previous Principal is in Central Now
Teacher Now Principal

PART VI: Looking Forward
Chapter 25: The Burden of Hope

PART: VII: SUMMATION
Bibliography

Dr. Barber is one of the most dynamic and inspiring educators I have ever met. His passion for education and his emphasis on what is truly best for students are evident on every page of this book. He’s not afraid to ask tough questions, and he is wise and honest enough to realize there are no easy answers. Clichés, Conversations and Culture is going to change the way we look at relationships now and in the future.