Article Link: http://www.exchangepress.com/article/team-building-strategies/5021944/
“Another boring staff meeting.” How often have we said or heard these words? Staff meetings are often one-sided with administrators telling teachers what to do and how to do it. Consider the following ‘pre-team-building intervention’ vignette, as I am sure you can relate to this typical top-down administrator scene: What you feel may be real.“Quiet down now!” yells the director as she rushes into the staff meeting. Staff is obedient and is, unfortunately, accustomed to this harsh workplace climate of conformity and complacency. Some roll their eyes with bristling, yet controlled, contempt, while others know better and just keep their heads down because they’re still in their probationary period. The director flings out her reading glasses and reads the meeting agenda and the meeting gets underway. She senses the contention in the room, so palpable you can cut it with a knife. And before you know it the meeting is over. All rush out with a sigh of relief.
Maya Angelou, the renowned poet, says that when we know better, we do better. We know that educators want to have a more positive and collaborative workplace, to feel valued and heard, and to serve in leadership roles. Much research in the literature ...