https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/unit-8-learning-activities/
- Since I have started working at my school in 2013, one of the biggest problems that I have encountered is a low staff morale. It may not seem like a major issue to some, however when the staff morale is low, it affects teacher efficacy, teacher burnout rates and eventually affects the students. In the time that I have worked there, our school has been through 3 different administrative staff members who have all left feeling like their hands were tied and there was nothing else that they could have done. I have made it my mission to improve the staff morale and to be the change that our staff needs to see. To date, I have planned countless staff activities and social events like: Fondue suppers, Lobsterfest, Minute to win it contests, and a Scavenger Hunts. I have also reached out on a personal level to each staff member, by sending out special notes to them on their birthday, or letting them know that I hope they are feeling better after they have been away sick. I show them that I truly care about them. I stay positive. I try to motivate and encourage everyone. I hope that by setting the example, the morale will begin to change. But just last week, we had our 4th administrator resign because he felt like our staff was too much for him to deal with. Last year in a staff meeting, we were told that our division has one of the highest rates of teachers taking sick days. Staff morale is definitely an issue in my workplace.
- I am a teacher in northern Alberta. I teach in a town of just under 7000 people. We are 500 km north from Edmonton. Because of our more isolated location, we do not have access to many educational resources that would be available in the city. In the 2016/2017 school year, I experienced how this could be a problem. I had a student in my class who was severely violent. This student had spent some time in Edmonton in the Glenrose Hospital Rehabilitation Program. Upon his release, it was recommended that his family move to Edmonton and that the student would reside in the Glenrose hospital for a much longer stay, as they felt that his violent tendencies were only going to escalate to the point of someone being hurt. This would’ve meant a large uprooting for the family, so they decided to stay in our community. Not surprisingly, his tendencies did escalate and he became extremely dangerous to have in the classroom. There were several incidences where I worried for the safety of the other students. He tried to strangle one of my students, he had broken the nose of the principal the year before, and there were many slightly less dramatic, but violent incidents. The problem in this situation is complex. We do not receive any extra training to handle children with behavioral problems such as Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder or Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorders. How can we have students with these conditions in our classrooms? We are pushed for inclusive education, but do not have the support (or even have support within a close proximity) because it is a northern, more remote community. The student is still entitled to an education, however, his peers are entitled to a safe learning environment, which was most definitely not being provided for them last year.
- Another problem also stems from situations that I experienced with this particular student. His violent tendencies escalated and a one-on-one support worker was hired. Unfortunately, the salary did not attract a person with the appropriate training and the person who was hired, lasted less than six months after being subjected to countless threats, physical abuse and verbal abuse from this student. As a teacher, I found myself questioning how it was possible that a student like this could be in a regular classroom rather than a special needs classroom, when everyone who worked with him, including myself, had absolutely no training on how to deal with it or how to protect ourselves and our students. I feel that it would be beneficial for teachers to have to take some kind of emergency response training for situations like this in which all students safety is being put on the line. Although there is a protocol when there is a violent outburst and the teacher requires assistance, I was told by several teachers not to expect them to come to my aid. Again an example of how low the teacher morale is. They would prefer to close the door of their classroom than to come to the aid of a teacher who felt her classroom’s safety was in jeopardy.