Don’t demotivate your teachers!
Much has been said about how to motive teachers. However, it is more important to avoid demotivating them. Here are seven ways that are sure to demotivate teachers:
- “Inclusive” classrooms without adequate support for students with significant special needs
- Unsupportive administration when dealing with difficult parents
- Excessive administrative demands – paperwork, over-complicated reporting systems, too many meetings
- Overly-large classes
- Dirty, ill-maintained classrooms
- Autocratic administration: teachers expected to mindlessly obey rather than be fellow-professionals, who meaningfully participate in decision-making
- Insecure employment, where teachers fear that an unfair complaint might cost them their job.
Ensuring good teaching conditions is by far the most powerful way to keep teachers’ motivation and morale high.