Relationships

I have always believed that relationships are important to create and maintain in order to be a successful educator. As a teacher it is important to have a good working relationship with your students, parents, co-workers and the administrative team in order to create an atmosphere in which all persons can thrive. Despite developing good relationships many teachers are feeling burdened by the pressures of the job. Along with restructuring has come a new focus on accountability, school improvement plans and standardized testing. Many teachers are now wondering how they will have enough time during the day to balance all of these pressures and still have time for themselves and their families. I would like to offer one solution. It is time for teachers, that have not already done so, to develop a relationship with their professional organizations. The STF and their local association can provide many resources and supports to teachers which are feeling alone and overwhelmed by the responsibilities of teaching. This relationship will allow a teacher to expand their network of connections and through those connections will come the knowledge that you are not alone in trying to survive this profession but you have a number of people that will do anything they can to make sure you are successful.