Taking One for the Team

Welcome back to the Janitor's Closet! As of this writing Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow, gone back in his hole, and declared to the whole world that we can expect six more weeks of Winter. I love Bill Murray's movie, "Groundhog Day".  The thought of reliving the same day over and over until you get it right intrigues me.  It also reminds me of the school year.  Although I saw it through the eyes of the janitor my perception of the school year was much like that movie.  Of course, everyday brought new events, challenges, and unforeseen circumstances.  But as a whole the school day repeats itself.  If we were to look at it through a micro lens we might see different days with different schedules so it would seem that things were always changing.  But viewing the school year through a macro lens we see the same things repeating over and over.  Teachers plan whole years at a time through a macro lens.  Schedules are created and followed months in advance.  Looking at a school year as a whole it is undeniably Groundhog Day.  I am not saying it's wrong or implying that it should be any other way.  School settings need structure, students and teachers need structure.  I'm just making the point that decades of learning has proven that this method of structure works.  But does it work for everything? Does knowing what is coming tomorrow always make tomorrow better?  Which brings us to the age old question, is change good or bad? I suppose that question can only be answered with the answer to another question, "What kind of change are we talking about?"

Change can be good or bad.  Circumstances, relationships, even people can all change for the good or the bad.  But I want to spend a few minutes talking about one specific type of change, the change we make in ourselves.  "Hold on, Derek! I know where you are going with this.  You are going to use the next few lines trying to convince me that I need to change.  Well, I have spent a good deal of time analyzing myself and I have come to the conclusion that I like me just the way I am.  So thank you, but no thank you."  If that is your response then I applaud you, Good For You! Self-realization is hard for many people and it takes a committed individual to look in the mirror and ask the question, "Do I like myself?"  But, I am wondering, how many of us look in the mirror and ask ourselves the question, "Does anyone else like me?"  Don't misunderstand me.  I am not referring to a low self-esteem mentality that desires that other people like me so I can somehow validate my existence.  I'm, honestly, asking if you have ever stopped and asked yourself the question, "Am I the type of person that other people like?" Do people like to be around you?  Do people like to work with you?  

As a janitor I watched as different teachers interacted as "teams".  Each grade level, including specials, gathered daily, weekly, or monthly to discuss how their particular grade level was doing.  They would discuss curriculum, students, and schedules.  These teams were created to provide each teacher with feedback, encouragement, information, and a sense of "team" work.  But, unfortunately, sometimes what they ended up creating was animosity, rivalry, and hurt feelings.  Schools aren't the only place we find teams.  Teamwork mentality is the backbone of most industries.  We all exist on some type of team whether it be in our professional or private lives.  So, I guess the real question I am getting at is this, "What kind of teammate are you?"

All jobs have their hardships but my lens focused on teachers so let's stay there.  I watched some wonderful teamwork in my school.  I saw teaching teams that excelled and also watched as some teams struggled.  And after all of my observing I came to one conclusion. The teams that struggled were selfish and the teams that thrived were selfless.  That sound harsh, but it's true.  The teams that were made up of teachers that truly wanted their team members to succeed flourished.  And the teams that were made up of teachers who just wanted to prove that they were better teachers faltered.  

Selflessness is concerning yourself with the needs of others more than your own needs.  Selflessness is not telling others how they can be better, it's helping them discover, themselves, how they can be better.  Selflessness doesn't say, "I'm better than you, I'm smarter than you, let me tell you how to do it."  Rather, selflessness says, "I see you are struggling, what can I do to help you?"  

It may be true that you know what kind of player you are in life.  And you may like that player.  But the next question is, "What kind of teammate are you in life?"  Because that is another ballgame in itself.  I encourage you to take stock in how you relate to others you work with, live with, and interact with on a daily basis.  You may like yourself but make it very hard for anyone else to like you.  I am so over the top fed up with the mantra that spouts the idea that all that matters is that we like ourselves.  It's important to like yourself.  Self-esteem is an important part of life.  But if we focus only on our own needs and desires we alienate the teams of which we play a part.  "That's the way I am and if people don't like it, that's their problem!", is fine if you want to exist in a perpetual state of loneliness.  But, believe me, it doesn't work in the team mentality of a school, and it certainly doesn't work in life.

Life doesn't have to be a Groundhog Day.  Change can happen if we allow it and we seek it. But change can only be real if we really want it.  It has been said that no one can whistle a symphony.  Or, to put it in a more up to date phrasing, teamwork makes the dream work.  

See ya next time!

Derek

PS Enjoy your six more weeks of Winter!