As a teacher our success is often a reflection of the success of our students. When students who “aren’t supposed to make it” do well, it makes us feel good. It makes us feel like we are part of something larger, that we’ve done a good job, and above all else it makes us feel good for them. We become protective and want them to experience continued success. Unfortunately, students are not going to be successful in every environment or with every type of teacher. Unfortunately, once we start down that slope of belief, anything that stands in the way of our belief gets knocked over. That’s where we are now.
Here is the situation in a nutshell. A group of teachers rallied around a student with special needs. The student is smart and really has an opportunity to be successful. The student wound up in my class where the teaching environment did not suit the student’s style of learning or comfort zone in any way. My class is a learning community with myself and another teacher. The structure and temperament of the class was contrary to the expectations and comfort of the student. As a response the student consulted their circle of teachers and began to point to my partner and I as the problem or obstacle to learning.
People want to feel they way the want to feel about you. The worst part of that is confirmation bias, which is the psychological way in which we interpret (or exclude) information in order to reinforce our existing beliefs. The people involved in this story want to see the student be successful and anything viewed as an impediment to that by that student is bad. By deduction, I am bad. My partner and I are the problem–bad teachers who don’t facilitate student learning. Of course in the shark tank politics of community college some instructors, some want to see you as bad because of their own cliques or interests or what have you. This situation plays into that pre-existing situation.
Here’s the thing. I am good at what I do and only want to get better. I don’t want to be part of the politics or the cliques. I want to teach and impact student learning. I’ve gradually pulled away from social interaction on campus and this situation encourages me to do so even further.