As teachers, we’ve all done something that we later thought we should have perhaps handled differently for the sake of our professional reputation. After teaching for 14 years in 8 different school districts, I worked with hundreds of teachers and witnessed the demise of some of their teaching careers as they put themselves into questionable situations which should have been avoided. To help new (or even veteran) teachers maintain professionalism throughout their career, I’ve compiled a list of common scenarios that can damage a teacher’s reputation and even hurt their chances for a favorable reference or contract renewal:
1. Wearing questionable attire or accessories. If you expect respect from your students and other staff members, you must dress the part. If you find yourself standing in front of the mirror for more than just a few minutes in the morning, really contemplating if your skirt is too short or if your neckline is too low or if the image on your tie is borderline, then change clothes. It’s always best to dress conservatively to maintain your professional image. Learn your principal’s expectations about attire, especially for dress-down days or special dress-up days, but use your own common sense, too.
2. Finding yourself alone in your classroom with a student of the opposite (or in today’s society, the same) gender. If a student of the opposite gender comes into your classroom alone, it’s always best to walk outside to the hall (where there may be a camera) or into another teacher’s presence. You may want to even consider closing and locking your door when you are alone in your classroom so that any student who needs to see you must first knock, and then you can speak in the hallway. Even in the most innocent of exchanges, I cannot stress enough the potential impact having a student of the opposite gender, alone in your classroom, could have on your professional and personal future.
3. Letting students grade other students’ work. There is never an exception for this scenario. In this day and age of bullying, it is important to safeguard students from any situation in which they may be bullied, including letting students grade papers that are not their own. I know having a student helper grade papers for you would save you a lot of time, but opening the door to possible bullying in order to save you time really isn’t worth it. If students want to share their grades with other students, let them do it themselves…don’t facilitate it!
4. Failing to protect students’ sensitive information. Teachers handle sensitive information every day at work and must be careful to put files back, lock their computers, remove papers from the copying machine, etc. I’ve even known teachers who were so overwhelmed with tasks that they gave students another student’s IEP to take home and get it signed. Mistakes happen, but teachers must be extra cautious to protect student’s information.
5. Communicating with students via text or social media. Because of the issues that can arise with texting or social media, many school districts now implement a policy that addresses teacher communication with students via these methods. In a few short words, the policy pretty much says “Don’t do it.” However, websites and apps exist to help facilitate communication between schools and families (Remind, Bloomz, Edmoto, and ClassDojo, just to name a few). Because of the abundant resources available to teachers to reach out to families and students, using personal texts or social media is severely frowned upon, or possibly even against staff codes of conduct. Choose to communicate with parents through the school phone, your school e-mail, or any other websites or apps specifically designed to improve communication between the school and families.
6. Posting inappropriate content on your own social media accounts. Sometimes, teachers post inappropriate content without thinking, or at least without thinking their posts will eventually catch up with them. Though the argument for freedom of speech and expression exists, it still isn’t a good idea to post racist rants, derogatory remarks toward co-workers or administration or students, or pictures of you obviously plastered with accompanying comments of how drunk you got over the weekend. For many teachers, it is hard to transition from their wild college days to a much more subdued teacher life, and they forget that they may need to also adjust their social media presence when they begin a career in teaching.
7. Trying to handle serious situations by yourself. Teachers are, by definition, natural helpers and want to offer advice or guide students when students reach out for help. Helping students overcome issues is one of the most challenging yet rewarding aspects of a teacher’s job. However, a teacher must realize when he or she is informed of a situation that is beyond his or her expertise (or pay grade, as I like to say). Situations such as sexual harassment, suicidal thoughts or thoughts of hurting others, inappropriate relationships between staff/students, or anything that threatens the safety of the teachers, students, or school should all be reported immediately to higher powers.
8. Breaking up a fight. Breaking up a fight may look a little too similar to getting yourself in the middle of a fight. In a day and age when teachers are scrutinized for every move they make, I recommend focusing more on crowd control and calling security than breaking up the actual fight. Security personnel are specially trained to deal with these kinds of situations. Though a teacher’s natural reaction to a fight is to jump in and break it up, resist the urge. Not only will you likely save yourself from any injuries, but you will also avoid any suggestions that you were part of the fight, not simply trying to break it up.
9. Bringing forbidden items to school. Teachers have a life outside of school, and I get that! But because of your position as a community leader, you must separate yourself from the two different aspects of personal and professional life. If you buy some shooters for the weekend and quickly toss them in your purse, don’t forget to remove them before reporting to work on Monday with said purse! Same thing goes for hunting knives, cigarettes, medical (or legal) marijuana, etc. Though these items are permitted to adults in society, they are not allowed on school grounds and any random search by the drug dogs will point you out. Don’t forget to remove these items from your car, as well, since the parking lot is also considered school grounds.
10. Disregarding proper procedures for handling money. Teachers wear many hats, and their duties often extend out of the classroom as many of them are also sponsors of school-sponsored clubs and organizations. A large part of these duties involve handing money, so be sure to follow the exact protocol for collecting, reporting, and spending money for your organization. Even if you aren’t a sponsor of any club, you may find yourself collecting money for field trips, book fees, lab fees, etc. You do not want to catch yourself in the middle of a theft, fraud, or embezzlement investigation because you failed to adhere to the money guidelines and expectations of your school district.
11. Playing inappropriate media (music, videos, etc.) in your classroom. We all enjoy listening to music on our phones and in our classrooms. But frankly, sometimes the music that is on our phones should not be playing in our classrooms. If you enjoy music in which every other word is an explicative, this is your choice. But keep this limited to your phone and car, and not in your classroom. Also, be prepared when using media in your lessons. Be sure to watch the media clip (or video) first before showing it to your students. This can eliminate exposing your students to any possibly inappropriate content, especially during an impromptu observation or walk-through by administration!
Avoiding these scenarios will help you maintain your professionalism and upright reputation throughout your teaching career. Have you seen anything else you could add to this list, or do you have your own experience? I’d love to hear your comments!