I
was listening to a pod cast recently and the presenter suggested that “choosing your battles does not mean ignoring
the problem.” I identified with this quote on so many
levels. As a classroom teacher, many
people will give you oodles of advice and the most prolific statement that a
veteran teacher will say is “choose
your battles.” I struggle with what this means on so many levels
because it is such a weighted statement.
When we, as educators, see students misbehaving or acting out of
character, we are compelled to say something.
Many times, we weigh what “saying something” means to the overall situation.
You
ask yourself, “Will
the student react poorly? Will he/she get upset? Is this situation related to something other
than the classroom?”
All
of these scenarios cloud your judgement, and many times your solution is to
leave it alone. This becomes a staple
for many teachers because it’s
easier to just note the issue than to actually address the issue. However, what’s easiest is not always best.
Once
this situation mushrooms into a larger problem, our parents or administrators
ask pivotal questions. One of those
questions is “How
long has this issue been going on?”
As
you think back on the student, you realize that it’s been a constant issue for some
time. And you also note that ignoring
the behavior the first, second or third time didn’t correct the problem, it actually
enhanced it.
The
phrase, “choosing your battles,” means much more to me after becoming a
teacher. I realize that in making a
choice to “fight” the battles that students present, it
doesn’t mean choose to fight some and ignore
the others. What it truly means is weigh
the outcome and then make your decisions accordingly.
As
a veteran teacher, I am learning daily as well.
I realize that more battles are won when they are addressed. So in essence, address the problem in the
most professional way, but when working with children ignoring it doesn’t usually make it go away!
