Analysis Of Dealing With Difficult Teachers

“Ten percent of our teachers generate 90 percent of the discipline referrals in a school” (Whitaker, 2015). I was struck by this statement, and after reading Dealing with difficult teachers, I walk away still thinking about this. Is this true? Sometimes I hear teachers in my department express frustration with responses to referrals from administration, and in their “career level” classes, they write many referrals. Now, I wonder if these teachers are part of the ten percent. If they are part of the ten percent, do they realize they are part of the minority? These are not teachers, I typically think of when I think of a difficult teacher. However, a parade of students in the office is time consuming for administrators and impacts the

I was struck by the statement from Dealing with Difficult Teachers, “when principals hire a new teacher, they should be more interested in the school becoming like the new teacher than in the new teacher becoming like the school” (Whitaker, 2015). I appreciate that Whitaker values the experiences and the enthusiasm that a new teacher brings with them. Nevertheless, at the same time, I feel it is important not for the school to become like the new teacher but for the new teacher to fit and add to the vision of the school and the team in which the teacher will be involved. Whitaker suggests looking for new teachers with leadership potential through either the interview or questions for their references (2015). New teachers begin with enthusiasm, excitement, and new ideas and some have strong leadership skills, but because they are new, they feel that they should not share their opinion. He also suggests openness with the new teachers about wanting them to share their opinions and valuing their fresh ideas

I do not like the idea of making a person uncomfortable intentionally, but I understand that change and growth is uncomfortable so this feeling may be an aftereffect. I really like the idea of finding the strengths of the difficult teacher, building on those strengths, and giving them responsibility. If the responsibility involves peers, then the difficult teacher may feel more accountable for follow-through. I hope that as a result, the teacher will feel like a contributing member of the school community and begin having a more positive impact on the culture. I also liked the idea of being strategic about where difficult teachers are located and scheduled. Breaking up groups of negative teachers by moving classroom location or courses taught might begin to breakdown the barriers of negativity. Being conscious of difficult teachers and trying to promote change is good, but Whitaker says to make sure that when you are making decisions, you make decisions for the