When I was getting my special ed degree, I thought my teaching job consist of just teaching my students. Oh sweet, naive little undergrad. How utterly, completely, and devastatingly wrong were you. That reality hit me like a karate kick square in the jaw. Oh yes teaching my students was my job but there was oh so much more. Training my staff, creating my materials, collaborating with clinicians, and oh the paperwork. Good god that paperwork. This job ain’t for the weak. Well friends, I unfortunately have a new job responsibility to add to that near never ending list. You are a publicist. And not that cool I wear sweet power suits and stilettos while eating a $32 salad in California publicist. Sorry – those perks are not for you. You can steal a chocolate milk from the cafeteria if you want. But yes – publicist you are.
Take a second and think about what most of your school thinks about your students. Does the teacher down the hall know that Sam just mastered his colors after weeks of working on it? Do the other 3rd grade students know that Jenny knows everyone’s birthday in your class? Does everyone see the personalities, quirks, and other great qualities of your students that you experience on a daily basis? Probably not.
The other teachers and students in your school most likely remember the tantrum one of your students had in the middle of an assembly last month. The vice principal remembers that you running down the hallway with a bag of plastic gloves, wipes, and adult diapers when you need to toilet on of your students while your paras were at lunch. The rest of the 6th graders remember when your student went around and touched everyone’s ears at gym class. They unfortunately probably don’t have a correct perception of your class. You can’t blame them. People remember the bad things over the good things in general. And sometimes are bad things are pretty loud and dramatic to put it nicely.
I think most of the teachers in my hallway think I change diapers and do puzzles all day. So that’s when I put my publicist pants on. Time to change the way your school thinks about your classroom!
If you were reading this and cringing, thinking “I don’t want people to think about my student” – change it! Be the voice of your class.
Spread the word about the awesome, amazing, stellar, impressive, and down right fantastic things your kids are doing.
Hang work in the hallway, brag about it at the photocopier, and share samples at grade level meetings. Shove it in everyone’s face. I’m serious. We’ve got some work to do to make people forget when they saw you sprinting after your half naked student in the hallway last week. Make sure everyone knows that he just had a bad day. And the next day, he got the highest score he has ever gotten on his number fluency. Make this part of your job. Make changing the perception of your students a serious endeavor!
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