I am reading a book and I have actually fallen in love with it. Now, for those of you that do not know me, I am a total jock who is an English teacher. So when they talk about boys who “cannot be reached because they are just not interested in any books in our library” or “reluctant readers,” they are talking about me. The book is titled, The No Asshole Rule Book,and I am not making this up. I stumbled upon this book in Barnes and Noble while waiting for my wife to get some new book she probably saw on Oprah. I started to read the book because it had such a delightful word in the title, in red (yeah! I fell for it).
The book talks about how the author and his colleagues at Stanford University decided collectively that they have had enough jerks on staff and were not going to hire any more jerks on their staff. Then, it tells of the journey to not hire one. They come up with tests, rubrics, syllabi, and etc. It is actually comical the lengths they go through.
The book also has an important lesson. Right now, I am reading a chapter on how to avoid these types of people in the workplace.
The book made me think about some people in other workplaces, not just at Wahpeton, but in all of the jobs I had in the past. Take the school setting for example (and not my school setting, just a regular everyday American school) every one in the building is able to identify the resident jerk. But, has anyone pinpointed what made that person that way? Sure, everyone walks on eggshells or avoids this person; sure, maybe people roll their eyes every time he pipes up in the Monday morning meetings. But there has to be some experience, some issue, where this person said, “ you know what, I don’t need this!” Sit back and think about how many times in your teaching career you have thought about doing the same thing, then, buy the crabby guy a drink.
I would recommend that everyone read this book. So far, it has not only changed the way I view jerks, but also how I interact with people (including students). I will continue to write blogs on this book.
David, this post strikes a chord with me and has to resonate with almost everyone in the education world. We all have to deal with a student or two with a "chip on their shoulder." I once recieved some great advice from a former teacher and coach. Mr. Hinrichs goes out of his way to say hi and embrace potential confrontational students outside of class time. He makes sure he says hi, makes small talk, and attempts to connect to students that have bad reputations. He told me it makes it much more difficult for that student to give him a hard time and disrespect him in his classroom. This isn't an earth-shattering revolution, though it is one of the many things that have to be learned through experience. Recently I have tried to implement that strategy. I now know that most students that give you a hard time are searching for something. There is a reason. All that hostility, mistrust, insecurity, is a lack of a need met that needs to be addresssed. It is our job to diagnose that problem that make one another's life easier. Thanks - Arek
ReplyDeleteDavid,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great find! Sometimes you run across what you least expect and end up learning the most from it. I have made it a point in my teaching to be the one person (at least) that students from any walk of life can talk to. It wasn’t always this way. I used to dismiss the students that were “druggies”, skateboarders, skippers, etc. Then I had the problem with my own son (age 17) who became addicted to drugs. I saw how some of the teachers at his school were treating him. I vowed to never do this again. Yes, some people have problems and they are jerks, but underneath it all they are nice people. I remind myself that addicts need more one-on-one in school than regular students and try to go the extra mile to give them that help in the Library and on their assignments. I treat them as I hope my own will be treated when he’s in school.