Evaluating Impact on Professional Practice

“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” -JFK

                We all experience “isms” in our personal lives at one point in time or another.  Through our anti-bias work, we have be taught to closely examine our own biases and try to eliminate such thoughts from our personal and professional lives.  When we are confronted with biases toward us, it becomes more difficult to remain impartial and untouched by such feelings.  When we are going through a situation where we feel that we are being discriminated against, it can be hard not to let it affect our performance in the classroom and with families. 

                The most common “ism” I have experienced is sexism.  At a former place of employment, I was being spoken to by a male staff member in an aggressive, sexual manner.  When I presented the situation to my principal, his reaction was less than satisfactory.  He laughed at me and told me that it wasn’t harassment if it had only happened once.  In addition, after speaking to the male staff member, my principal told me that I had “misunderstood” and that he was very good friends with this man, and he wouldn’t do that and I shouldn’t be accusatory toward his long time staff.  Three days later, I was laid off for the following year “due to enrollment.” 

                For the rest of the year at that school, (two months), I was very uncomfortable working on the same floor as the man who harassed me.  I was also very angry with my principal for his lack of empathy and poorly constructed investigation into how I was being treated in his school.  This had a large impact on my performance in the classroom.  I began to become lazy with my lessons, feeling that it didn’t matter how I performed.  I lost sight of what was important, as I was so focused on how awful I felt about losing my job and the circumstances under which it happened.  My students began to recognize my frustrations and they also began to care less about their work.  “Children’s daily interactions with their teachers and other adults are at the heart of anti-bias education.  Children are very keen observers of adult behavior; they pay attention to even very subtle clues about how people feel and about what is and isn’t considered acceptable behavior.  Moreover, children are quick to notice double messages—what adults do teaches as least as much as what they say.  Children also pay close attention to the interactions among the adults in a program” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p. 32).  Children will pick up on issues among staff and it will affect them in a negative manner if we allow it. 

I have always been a believer that it’s important to leave your baggage at the door when you walk into the classroom.  I have been through bad personal times since then, and have worked very hard to be sure that my students never knew about my personal hardships.  It is not an easy thing to do, but it’s important in order for the classroom atmosphere to remain positive and productive, and for relationships to stay intact. 

Reference:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. Washington D.C. : NAEYC Books.