The Basics of Teacher Team Building – Part 1

Note:  Total number of early childhood educators employed is 2,176,693  (2024). 39, 311 represents 1% working in Special Education!  Out of this statistic, 16% change jobs yearly.

Teachers in the United States rate their lives better than all other occupational groups, trailing only physicians.  They have an average Life Evaluation Index score of 68.8, besting workers in most other types of jobs, including managers and executives, nurses, and business owners.  Congratulations for this index rating teachers!   However, because of new staff entering the job force yearly, it affects the school’s team building process.  Also,  K-12 schoolteachers who are “not engaged” or are “actively disengaged” at work miss an estimated 2.3 million more workdays, than teachers who are “engaged” in their jobs.  This, too can affect the team building process.  Finally, a third point from a Gallup poll, on Education Week, revealed that teacher engagement starts low and gets worse over time.  And while teachers may be considered more engaged than some other professions, research suggests that teachers are less engaged than their pupils.  Thus, It will be challenging for a disengaged teacher to accomplish these tasks.  

Now that we have been updated to what is going on in the educational news, it is now us as teachers who are here today to give the children the best education possible and to get along with each other in this coming school year and years to come but sometimes we trap ourselves with: 

WHICH BODY WILL DO IT?   This is the story of 4 people named everybody, somebody, anybody, and nobody.  There was an important job to be done and everybody was sure that somebody would do it.   Somebody got angry with that because it was everybody’s job.  Everybody thought that anybody could do it but nobody realized that everybody wouldn’t do it.  It ended up that everybody blamed somebody when nobody did what anybody could have done!

From the Dictionary of Thought:  A good boss is someone who takes a little more than his/her share of the blame and a little less than his/her share of the credit.

When we are in front of other staff, do we create negative impressions?   If we create positive impressions, how hard is it to do?  Our facial muscles for smiling that we use have 52 muscles but when we frown, only 17 muscles are used.   So, to us, it is easier to frown.   When employees react to your frown, they may feel, sometimes, that their self-esteem was assaulted.  After more than 60 years in the educational field of teaching, it seems that teacher’s moral; staff cohesiveness and school climate all have a greater impact on children’s learning than any other factors.  Critical to engaging children in learning to the best of their abilities, are highly effective faculty, staff and leadership teams. That is why teacher team building is at the heart of any successful school.  “Enthusiasm, pure and simple, should be one of the most highly prized traits of your staff… and it’s contagious!”

Does your school staff work together as a team or are you just doing your own thing everyday?  Do you know what your duties are and do you follow through?  Do you feel burnt out at times trying to figure out what to do with the children?  Does children frustrate you at times?  Do you struggle figuring what to do with the children by yourself or do you get the help you need? Do you think it would be easier for all the staff to work together and help each other?  Wouldn’t it be nice to be part of a “we” team and not just an “I” doing it alone!” 

I found this evaluation rating some 40+ years ago and it is an honest good way to evaluate your school:  Let’s evaluate and rate your school:

 How do you feel about your progress at your school (circle rating). 

1. School’s purpose:                                                                       I’m uncertain                           1 2 3 4 5            I’m clear

2. Working together with all the staff                                         I’m not uncertain                    1 2 3 4 5            I’m certain

               3.  Communicating with all staff                                                  I’m guarded                             1 2 3 4 5            I’m very open

4. Working towards the same goals                                            I’m uncertain                           1 2 3 4 5            I’m clear

               5.  Use of other staff skill                                                              Poor use                                    1 2 3 4 5           Good use  

6. Support                                                                                       Little help from staff                1 2 3 4 5            High level of support from staff

7. Conflict                                                                                       Difficult issues are avoided     1 2 3 4 5           Open discussions

               8.  Influence on decisions                                                             Few staff involved                     1 2 3 4 5           Total involvement 

9. Working on relationships with others                                   Little effort                                  1 2 3 4 5           High level of effort

            10. Useful feedback                                                                         Very little                                      1 2 3 4 5           Considerable

There is no right answers to these questions but you will see your evaluation and thoughts of its strengths and weaknesses!

Next time, Part 2 will share “What Is A Team, its importance  and its benefits!