I’m Judging You!

Posted by Apr 23, 2016 IEPs

Being the “behavior lady” is a weird job. My contract (and my teensy, weensy, itty, bitty paycheck) says “teacher.” My clipboard and walkie-talkie say “administrator” (Even though I’m not. Seriously. I have zero power to make any decisions about anything). I’ve been going around doing a LOT of interviews with current case managers and classroom observations of EDBD kids in preparation for opening a new district center next year. I hate sucking up precious time when I KNOW how slammed people are with the day-to-day drain of working with kids (because I am currently doing that job PLUS pestering everyone I know), but I have GOT to get as much info as I can in order to head off disaster next year (I hope…).

I was talking with some colleagues about why everybody looks so damned stressed when I come around and was informed that “They think you’re judging them.” My response? “DUH! I totally am!” Just not in the way they probably think, and not for the things they probably think I am. Besides, I’m a peer, not an administrator, so my opinion doesn’t mean jack squat.

Honestly, I feel pretty pompous and self-important even writing a post about this issue, and I really debated whether or not I ought to do it.

A list of things that make me think you’re stupid:

  1. Not knowing the kids’ schedules, meds, routines, even though you are the person assigned to work with them 1:1 every single day.
  2. Having absolutely no quantitative data that I can work with.
  3. Having goals on the IEP that either don’t match observed behaviors or that can’t be measured accurately, even though you’ve had the kid on your caseload for a year or more.
  4. Letting kids screw around on their phones or laptops all day, every day, with your blessing because it’s easier than dealing with behaviors.
  5. Lying to me in a meeting about what’s going on with a kid and how staff is responding to the kid’s behaviors.

A list of things that DO NOT make me think you’re stupid…because these happen to me ALL THE TIME (partial…these are just the ones off the top of my head):

  1. Having tried 1,426 different behavior interventions and still seeing no results.
  2. Knowing when to pick your battles about cell phone and laptop misuse–“throwing down” when it will be productive, “letting it go” when it won’t.
  3. Trying out a behavior plan and having it go to hell and blow up in your face, complete with SRO involvement and a hospitalization for the kid.
  4. Having a crappy goal because the kid was a move-in from another district and you don’t have data yet.
  5. Being crabby, frustrated, tired, or irritated when I suck away 90 minutes of your day that you could be using to prep for class…or at least chug a cup of coffee and some aspirin.
  6. Having a class go to hell a la Lord of the Flies on your watch while I’m observing in your classroom.
  7. Having a lesson plan go badly while I’m observing in your classroom.
  8. Having kids decide they’d rather be truant than come to your class and actually have to do assigned tasks.
  9. Having a classroom system in place that is philosophically different from what I would do and vehemently disagreeing with my opinions.
  10. Expressing exasperation with kids who don’t seem to be making headway.
  11. Having behavior plans and procedures fail because the whole team isn’t buying in and playing ball.

#enraged2engaged #autismresources #EDBD #ASD

About sara

I have spent the last 18 years in various classrooms, most of them in alternative education working with criminal, at-risk, or behavior-disordered students. I am just a regular teacher like you, who learned a lot of quality information the hard way. Currently, I work with students, families, and teachers to formulate effective and creative plans for helping students change problematic behaviors into productive ones as we work together to reintegrate students back into a general education high school setting.
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2 comments on “I’m Judging You!”

  1. It is so hard to have somebody come in to observe in my classroom. I think it is a trust issue. Until I know and trust them, I feel like they ARE judging me. My favorite principal, Walt Thompson, could come into my classroom and watch my carefully constructed lesson devolve into complete chaos. In our follow-up, all he would ask was, “What did you learn today?” Walt was one of those rare administrators who saw classroom screw-ups as opportunities for learning. His positive attitude freed people to be creative and innovative. Now, if you kept making the same mistake, and not learning, he also knew how to make you know that was not acceptable behavior and could have consequences. However, he didn’t hold a grudge or continually throw past mistakes at a teacher.

    • I totally get that. All these visits have really changed my perspective on walk-throughs administrators do. I have a newfound empathy for how awkward it feels. Thanks for sharing that story about Walt Thompson; the world could use more principals like that.

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