Work Culture And Etiquette In Schools Workplace Etiquette

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Work Culture And Etiquette In Schools

Work Culture And Etiquette In Schools

Workplace Etiquette is a code of conduct that should be followed while at the

Workplace Etiquette is a code of conduct that should be followed while at the workplace. It is designed to make the workplace a pleasant one for all employees.

General Professional Etiquette Tip

General Professional Etiquette Tip

Attire: The dress code at a work-place is usually formal. As a professional, you

Attire: The dress code at a work-place is usually formal. As a professional, you need to communicate credibility with your attire. This includes your clothes, footwear, hair, etc. If you expect your students and parents to look decent, you must set an example. Students like their teachers to look good and smart, but avoid clothes that are transparent, immodest, casual, or unkempt. Wear a always! Communication: Keep working at acquiring language fluency. Ensure all written work is carefully proof-read. There is nothing more appalling than spelling or grammatical errors in a teacher’s language. At any point your language should not contain bad words, vulgar or cheap vocabulary or be offensive to anyone.

Punctuality: Abide by the school's contracted hours for teachers and show up on time

Punctuality: Abide by the school's contracted hours for teachers and show up on time for all work functions such as classes, meetings and professional development events. If you do need to leave early, let your administrator know ahead of time. Most of the time they will be understanding, particularly if these absences are infrequent or if they are aware of an extenuating circumstance (i. e. sick parent). Regularity: Avoid leaves unless necessary. Students look forward to seeing you everyday, and their bond with the teacher deepens when they learn they can depend on her.

Effectiveness: Use work time effectively and appropriately. This includes use of technology. Bidding on

Effectiveness: Use work time effectively and appropriately. This includes use of technology. Bidding on e. Bay, obsessively checking your personal e-mail account, and having extended texting sessions with friends during work hours are not appropriate work behaviors. Most teachers are way too busy during the day to even think about this, but it needs to be said. Do not bring personal work to school. General behavior: Treat people with courtesy. Over-familiarity, ignoring people, making fun of people, discrimination, gender bias, putting people down – all of these behaviors constitute what is called ‘workplace bullying’. Be respectful and use your best social behavior. How you treat a teacher determines eventually how society will

Using resources: It is important that you use office stationery responsibly and avoid wastage.

Using resources: It is important that you use office stationery responsibly and avoid wastage. When using contacts made at school (parents, vendors etc) for personal work, ensure they make no connection to your role at the school. There is a very thin line with trading favors. Avoid using connections with parents for personal reasons - it may be hard for them to give you the respect your post deserves at work. As teachers, you need to model all behaviors you want to see in students – so be careful about littering, switching off lights and fans, and turning off open taps.

Etiquette with Colleagues/Other Tea

Etiquette with Colleagues/Other Tea

 • E-mail communication. All communication through school technology (phones, e-mail, etc. ) with

• E-mail communication. All communication through school technology (phones, e-mail, etc. ) with fellow teachers should be something that you should be comfortable with any administrator or technology staff member reading. If it isn't appropriate for the school environment, save it for personal communication (i. e. home e-mail, personal cell phone). Aside from school sensitive topics, this includes communication such as inappropriate e-mail forwards. • Discretion. Use discretion when talking about students or parents and anything confidential with other teachers. There are situations where it's appropriate to discuss such topics, but it can be very easy to gossip. Don't fall into this trap.

Be respectful: While there will always be groups who get along better with each

Be respectful: While there will always be groups who get along better with each other, it is useful to show respect for all other people. Avoid gossiping about your colleagues or being rude to them or making personal comments. Handle conflicts with maturity. Be generous with compliments and understanding of mistakes. Give credit where its due. Share – your ideas can be taken across to other classes! Language/topics: Use appropriate language and stick to appropriate topics in the school environment, particularly in front of students. This includes referring to other teachers as Mr. /Mrs. ____ and not discussing students unless it is necessary for a given situation.

Social media communication: There is nothing wrong with communicating with your fellow teachers on

Social media communication: There is nothing wrong with communicating with your fellow teachers on Facebook, Twitter, etc. However, it's important to keep school talk away from these public forums. Not only is it not professional, but you never know who might be reading. Keep comments on your Facebook Wall and Twitter feed about school positive and fairly general, i. e. "I'm excited about the teacher’s day program!”, or “We won the football match. . Yay!“ A large part of your day is spent with your colleagues. The more you get along, the happier you are about coming to work. Also, happy teachers mean happy students!

Etiquette with Non-Teaching Sta

Etiquette with Non-Teaching Sta

Respect: All support, clerical and ancillary staff - secretary, peons, or janitorial staff –

Respect: All support, clerical and ancillary staff - secretary, peons, or janitorial staff – play an important role in influencing the work environment. Make sure that they know how much you appreciate their work with your students and around the school in general. Address them appropriately, there will always be students who are learning from you. Do not get rude or get into a conflict with them that creates a scene. Discretion: Just as it's important to use discretion when talking with the teaching staff, it's important to use discretion with other staff members. Do not discuss matters not pertaining to their work with them.

Etiquette with Administrators

Etiquette with Administrators

Respect: Most teachers will most likely encounter one or two administrators during their teaching

Respect: Most teachers will most likely encounter one or two administrators during their teaching careers who they really don't respect or just don't get along with very well. Regardless of any differences, it is still important to treat your administrators with respect both directly and with your other co-workers. Communication: Learn how your administrators like to communicate. Some administrators appreciate a quick phone call or e-mail to give a heads up about an issue, even if it may require a longer discussion later, while others would rather talk it all out in person. If you're new to a school system and aren't sure how to begin, get tips from your co-workers.

 • Maintain an appropriate relationship. Even if a principal or supervisor does not

• Maintain an appropriate relationship. Even if a principal or supervisor does not mind it, they are still on a higher rung in the chain of command. They are not your friends. Thus, it is not appropriate to be friends with your administrators the way that you can be with your fellow teachers. • Avoid cliques. Don’t work at getting in the ‘good books’ of your supervisor in the hope that you will get extra favors or information and purposely leave other teachers out of important school decisions. Any kind of politics is likely to backfire in time, not to mention its potential to distract you from your actual job.

Behavior in meetings: Participate. Listen carefully and respond to questions and views. Avoid interrupting

Behavior in meetings: Participate. Listen carefully and respond to questions and views. Avoid interrupting or dominating other people. Do not keep checking your cell phone or computer unless there is some type of emergency. If you know you will be interrupted, sit by the door so you can move with least disturbance. Make notes to refer back to. Do not disagree or criticize the meeting outcomes later to colleagues. The best place to share disagreement is in the meeting itself. Most admin agree that the opinions of a teacher are very important when making decisions for students. They may not always manage to do

Etiquette with Parents

Etiquette with Parents

Topics: Don't discuss other students or confidential school issues (i. e. layoffs, proposed budget

Topics: Don't discuss other students or confidential school issues (i. e. layoffs, proposed budget cuts) unless it is applicable, i. e. their child is having repeated problems with another student in your class. Address all issues professionally, ensuring it does not seem like gossip. Respect: Most teachers will deal with a wide range of parents throughout their teaching careers. If you are lucky, you will have a lot of parents that you respect with the occasional few who are difficult to handle. Whatever the circumstances may be, it's important for you to give parents the respect that they deserve. Always hear out their opinions and do your best to be understanding of their circumstances.

Timing: Most parents do not want to hear about an important issue with their

Timing: Most parents do not want to hear about an important issue with their child, particularly if it's negative, over the phone or through an e-mail. It is also important not to introduce a major issue or concern at a parent teacher conference. In most cases, it is appropriate to schedule an individual meeting to talk about such topics. Parents will be more receptive and everyone will be able to communicate more clearly than they would over the phone or through e-mail. Communication: Ensure you are clear about the school policy on communicating with parents. Emails, sms, phone-calls, notes in the diary – there are many options. Do not create whatsapp groups with parents unless permitted by the school. Prepare and plan your parent meetings diligently to avoid frequent visits. Keep your word about follow-

Social media. . . where do you draw the line? Avoid being friends with

Social media. . . where do you draw the line? Avoid being friends with parents on Facebook and Twitter. If you do decide to do this, it is highly recommended keeping all school talk off social media. Using a school e-mail account will provide accountability for you. Even though most issues can be resolved relatively easily, you never know when you'll need to save messages to show your principal, superintendent, or (God forbid) a court. Having a record of e-mails from a school account will be very beneficial for you.

Etiquette with Community Members

Etiquette with Community Members

Discretion: Just as you shouldn't discuss budget cuts or layoffs with parents, you shouldn’t

Discretion: Just as you shouldn't discuss budget cuts or layoffs with parents, you shouldn’t discuss them with random community members either. If you get questions at school functions such as science fairs or sports days, refer people to your administrators or the appropriate parties. Stay away from anything that you can't disclose and keep topics in a positive light whenever possible. Role model: As a teacher in the community, it's important to maintain a public image as a good role model for your students. This means making smart choices when you're in community places where you may run into students and staff (grocery store, library, etc. ) and in public forums online such as Facebook. If you go out of town or a party, don't post a lot of drunk pictures of yourself on Facebook the next week.

Etiquette with Students

Etiquette with Students

Appropriate relationships: Your students are not your friends. They are also not your own

Appropriate relationships: Your students are not your friends. They are also not your own kids. Kids are looking for a positive teacher role model. You need to fill that role the best that you can and not try to be something that you shouldn't be for them. Handling student issues: Ensure you are able to manage self control with discipline problems. Yelling, hitting, punishing – all of these compromise your dignity in the classroom. Not only does the offending child feel he has won the battle, the other kids in the class are observing as well. Maintain appropriate distance from students, do not get casual with them, and do not touch them without reason.

Topics and language: Just as you keep your topics and language with other teachers

Topics and language: Just as you keep your topics and language with other teachers and staff members appropriate in front of students, you'll keep them appropriate when you're on your own with your students, too. Do not disclose personal events and activities or share photographs with students, or talk about your problems or about any other teachers. Always act with care and dignity with students – they will find it easier to respect you. Respect: All students deserve to be treated with the same respect that you give adults. Take the time to hear their feelings and opinions. Even a few minutes may make a world of difference for that student. Ensure students don’t feel ignored, discriminated or victimized by any word or action of

Sharing personal information: It is not appropriate to share social media information or other

Sharing personal information: It is not appropriate to share social media information or other personal contact information with students. Do not take photos with students on school trips etc and post them on your FB page. Do not accept ‘friend’ requests from them or comment on their photos or create whatsapp groups (without permission). Do not meet students in social places or call them to your house for any reason. Students are prone to want to contact their teachers, it is best that you are able to decline without causing hurt. Keep all your interaction with students official!

 CREATE A GOOD SCHOOL CLIMATE Show respect for people. Balance your personal and

CREATE A GOOD SCHOOL CLIMATE Show respect for people. Balance your personal and professional life, keep them separate. Improve your EQ to handle situations successfully. Follow all the rules and ethical guidelines of your profession BE PROUD TO BE A

THANK YOU!

THANK YOU!