Team Player

Teaching Assignments

Michael Young is one of my favorite Texas Rangers of all time (hate that he left and we sure could use his bat this year).  He came into the league as a second baseman and became an All-Star.  The team brought up Ian Kinsler and he was then moved to short stop where he became…an All-Star.  When the club brought up Elvis Andrus, he was moved from short stop to third base where he became….an All-Star.  All-Star at three different positions is no small accomplishment.  The Rangers then acquired Adrian Beltrae and Michael played utility infield and was a designated hitter.  What a team player! He is talented and willing to put aside his own success and comfort for the rest of the team. He is the kind of teammate that we all dream of having. 

Are you that teammate?  Last year, I became aware of some tension.  The tension concerned this question: “What subject will I be teaching for the coming year?”   Other noted questions or fears that followed…”But I have taught this subject for many years.”  “Will I have to change rooms?”  Some worried that because test scores in their area went down they would be moved.  Some thought that because of a perceived personality conflict between myself or another colleague they would be moved out of a subject that they had taught as a punitive measure.

Dr. Brown makes many decisions as our superintendent.  He has made several changes this year in which principals have been moved from one campus to another. Within the community, there has been speculation as to why moves were made.  I am not privy to his decision making process (and don’t need to know).  Only he, his cabinet, and the principals themselves have insight into these moves.  In the future, he may decide that I need to move.  He may ask my opinion about moving or he may simply say, “Jeff, Go!” (BTW…He has NOT asked me to move.) 

Dr. Brown sees our district or team from a very different perspective than me.  He sees where the team is going.  He sees me in relation to the other campuses and principals from a performance basis. I may be considered an All-Star and love working at my position at Haltom Middle School, but he may still ask me to move.  The good news for me vs. Michael Young is that I do not have to ask for a trade if I do not want to move.  If I do not trust him with my career and cannot see the vision I can simply resign and work in another district.  As educators, we all share this privilege or option.

I compare Dr. Brown’s leading of the district to you leading your classroom.  Teachers lead their classroom on a journey.  In the end, that journey will provide a greater insight into the subject taught and hopefully growth as young man or woman.  You see the personalities of a classroom through different eyes than your students.  You see how those personalities mesh and the individual strengths and weaknesses of the group.  You feel the pressure of the results that you must have on a day to day basis.

When you change the seating chart in your room many factors come into play.  You expect your students to trust you. You expect your students to be willing to put aside their own personal preference for the good of your class. Sometimes you may ask for feedback and sometimes you may not ask.   This is done for the betterment of the class and the student. 

Students can view your decision as punitive or in their best interest.  It is their choice how they view it and their choice to choose their attitude following the move.  Students are more in the same boat as Michael Young.  They have to ask for a trade or a schedule change (which seldom happens) if they are unhappy with your leadership.  Most of the time they are on your team for the duration of the season!

As long as I am the principal of this campus, we will continue to assess how we can improve our performance from a personnel perspective.  Each move made last year and this year has been carefully considered based upon many circumstances and to date there have been no changes in teaching roles that have been made without the best interest of our team and the students considered above all else.  If asked to change your role, I encourage each of us to respond as professional as Michael Young and perform as an All-Star when those moves need to be made.  The more teammates that we have who are like Michael Young, the better shot we have at winning the game!