Difficult Scenarios You May Face in Your First Year (Ep. 485)

Starting your first year of teaching can be exciting, but it also comes with challenges that no one fully prepares you for. In this episode of Art Ed Radio, Tim Bogatz and Janet Taylor dig into questions from new teachers about the difficult scenarios they’re already facing. From difficult colleagues to pushy administrators, supply and budget shortages, tough parents, and even unsafe student behavior, we share strategies to help you navigate it all. Whether you’re setting boundaries, finding your voice with parents, or just trying to keep your art room stocked, this episode is packed with practical advice and reassurance that you’re not alone.

Full episode transcript below.

Resources and Links

• • Join the Art of Ed Community
  • Learn more about the Art Ed NOW Conference
  • September Mailbag: Saying No Without Guilt
  • Janet’s podcast on assessment and grading
  • Strategies for Defusing and De-Escalating Behaviors
  • Check out the Art Room Makeover Playlist

Transcript

Tim:
Welcome to Art Ed Radio, the podcast for art teachers. This show is produced by the Art of Education, and I’m your host, Tim Bogatz.

Today I’m going to be joined by Janet Taylor. Janet and I have done a ton of podcasts together. And one of the most popular series that we’ve done is a series about what first year teachers need to know. And what do new teachers need to know about curriculum, about classroom management, about professionalism, et cetera, et cetera. ⁓ and that has been, like I said, a really popular series for a long time.

And we have an episode today that we think makes a good addendum to that series. Today, we’re going to talk about a lot of difficult scenarios that you might face in the first year. We’ve had so many questions from new teachers, first and second year teachers about the difficult situations they have and how they can deal with those things. And we are going to answer some of those questions today in the podcast, and it covers a lot.

And I’m like colleagues that are maybe not that pleasant to deal with, to the big asks from administrators, to handling conversations with parents, or shortages of supplies, or lack of budget. And of course, behavior issues. And we’re going to walk through some scenarios that are happening to teachers and give us, give our best advice on how you can deal with those things. So like I said, we will share our advice.

We’ll share some practical strategies, and as we go through all of this, I think it’s just a good reminder that we will all face some stressful situations. You know, it’s just kind of part of the job as teachers, and we’ve all been there at some point, but there are ways to handle all of these situations with professionalism and with confidence.

maybe with a little grace and a little humor. So let me bring on Janet and we will talk a little bit about all of these different difficult scenarios that you may face during your first year.

Janet Taylor is joining me, Janet. How are you?

Janet:

Hey Tim, I’m great. How are you doing?

Tim:
I am great. It’s great to have you back on the podcast. I did realize though, I feel like we need you to introduce yourself because new school year, lots of new teachers listening. And even though you’ve been on this podcast a million times, not everybody knows who you are.

Janet:

Sure, I’m Janet Taylor and I am a high school art teacher in the western suburbs of Chicago. I mostly teach jewelry metalsmithing now and then usually like one or two off classes in all levels through AP. And I am also the art of ed content and community engagement specialist.

Tim:
So podcast listeners probably know you as our assessment expert, like resident assessment expert, and our cohost for the What New Teachers Need to Know mini series, which was great. And I feel like today this podcast kind of fits in with the What New Teachers Need to Know mini series.

Janet:

I should add that I also supervised student teachers at the college level. that’s kind of, yeah, like a lot of our impetus for these new teacher series was like, my gosh, we need to have support for our new teachers because we love them.

Tim:

My undergrads need a little bit more area on this topic. So yeah.

Janet:

Yeah, so today we are going to dig into a mailbag, kind of like a mailbag version of difficult scenarios that you might face in your first year, right? So of course, in our new teacher series, we’ve covered all of these overarching topics like professionalism and classroom management and stuff like that. But as Tim and I were talking, we were like, you know, there’s also some weird scenarios or difficult things that pop up in your first year. That you’re like, what do I do? How do I handle this?

Tim:

Yeah, no matter how good your curriculum is, or no matter what kind of handle you have on your professionalism, there’s going to be some things that you don’t have to deal with.

Janet:

Yeah, even 20 years in, still like, wait, what? What just happened? So yeah, so that’s what we’re gonna do today.

Tim:

Yeah, we have a really good collection of questions from Mailbag. And if you’re ready, Janet, let’s go ahead and dive right in here. Let’s go. Our first question comes from Rachel Monroe in Ohio. Rachel says, I’m starting my first job with two other teachers in my department this year, and one veteran colleague keeps sniping that my projects are too messy and not real art. Ooh, ooh.

Gosh. It gets better. Rachel says, she moves my supplies critiques my cleanup routines and complains about me in front of students. how do I set boundaries without turning this into a full on feud? All right, let me just say good on you for trying to

set boundaries and not immediately escalating because I don’t know if I would be able to do that. Janet, ⁓ your thoughts, please.

Janet:

Okay.

So this is a really good question and it makes me really sad because I mean, we love new teachers. Okay. So I get it. Like as a veteran teacher, it is very hard when you have like your tried and true systems and you have to maybe share or give up some space with the newbie, right? Or it sounds like a couple newbies or maybe you’re like feeling, I mean, let’s be honest, you you might feel a little threatened, you know, by a different way of

things being done or you maybe they have cooler lessons or the kids engage with them in a different way or whatever. And so I try to like look on the flip side as a veteran teacher, try to look through their lines. It might be difficult to bring this into my new space, you know.

Tim:

We do need to make the point that no matter what big feelings you have, what emotions you have about sharing your space, that’s not an excuse to act like this.

Janet:

My gosh, never. And it is never, ever okay for someone to talk poorly about another teacher in front of students. way. So I don’t even know. Okay, deep breath. So it’s like just so hard to do, but I think my advice would always be it’s a good idea to confront the teacher.

Tim:

Absolutely.

Janet:

And I don’t mean like, what are you doing? Why are you talking like getting all angry and up in their face? Like you can’t do that, right? put on your most professional demeanor and try to lead from curiosity and empathy. So that’s the part of the empathy that I’m like, you have to like, maybe take a break, go home, take a deep breath, maybe jot down some notes of what you might want to talk about or think about.

try to look from their perspective so that you can actually approach it from a place of not attacking because sounds like this feature there might be a lot of like defensiveness and attack and it will not go well, right?

Tim:

Yeah, was gonna say that’s not gonna go well. And I would say no matter what, you need to remain professional. And so definitely don’t address it in the moment. Right.

As you made clear, Jen, do not, you know, when, when we say confronting it, we’re not saying, like you said, ⁓ get up in their face and be like, why is this? No, you, you do not escalate this in any way, or form. Like your, your job is to teach your kids. Your job is not to involve yourself in any drama here. And so you need to address this in a really professional way. And so I like the advice to step away. Think about how you’re going to talk about these things, and get your thoughts in order before you take them to this teacher. But yeah, we definitely do need to set boundaries. So Janet, let me ask you, how would you address this?

Janet:

Okay, so there’s a couple ways that you could go about this, right? Depending on your situation, they’re all different, right? So one is just addressing the elephant with the teacher, right? The elephant in the room. you have to find the right time and space to talk about this, right?

Tim:

This is not a conversation that happens during a passing period.

Janet:

Yeah, yeah, it’s it’s more like okay we’re at lunch together or we happen to have a common prep or it’s after school and maybe that person’s standing around working on something or whatever it is like you have to find the right time and place which I know is not always easy you know, especially if you don’t have like the common time but okay so addressing it so you could say something like.

I am feeling like you’re a little unhappy or I’m getting the sense that you’re unhappy with how I’m teaching or approaching my classroom. Like, first of all, like check that, right? Like, am I wrong? Did I understand that correctly? Right? And then maybe saying, can you tell me kind of what the situation is? Can you explain to me why you’re feeling this way? And leaving it open really allows them to take a moment to check themselves.

And respond. Yeah, like think about, wait, was I maybe I maybe I didn’t realize I was putting it out there. Like I am irritable and inside I’m irritable. Right. But maybe I didn’t realize I was like putting that out into the world. And so sometimes like just saying that will stop somebody and they’ll say like, my gosh, I didn’t realize that I was doing that. Whether they say it out loud to you or not, usually that sits with somebody. And so the next time that you guys have an experience together, it’s a little softer, I feel like, you know? Yeah. And then opening the door, these are like what I call opening the door, right? So do you have suggestions that work for you? if the person says, well, you know, yeah, you’re like really messy. Okay. Well, do you have some suggestions because, you know, I’m trying to figure this out and, maybe that person’s feeling a little defensive about sharing their space.

Tim:

Yes.

Janet:

Maybe offering to collaborate or show them that you’re really open to trying something breaks down those barriers and also creates that mutual respect between you.

Tim:

I do know, and I think there are a lot of teachers, I’ve run into a lot of teachers that just want to be asked. They want to be called on for their expertise or their experience. And it can go a long way because I hear so many veteran teachers talking about, these new kids don’t even ask questions. They, teachers don’t know what they’re doing. ⁓

I know it’s tough to, ask for help. know it’s tough, but it can a lot of times go a long way to just see if, know, your, your colleagues have suggestions or have ideas on how to handle things. And it may be a case where it goes one ear and out the other. You don’t have to listen to them. You don’t have to implement those things, but just asking can go a really long way. So let me ask you though, Jen, like if you want to be more direct, if you want to set these boundaries,

What does that sound like?

Janet:

I think a great way to do that is to kind of communicate what you’re trying to do. You don’t have to ask for permission necessarily, but just letting them know. For example, like hey, just a heads up. I’m trying something new today. I’m really working through it. It may not work. It may take me a bit to kind of work it out, but I need time and space to be able to work through this so that I can learn best for next time.

kind of just setting the stage and letting them know. So it’s not just like a mess, you know, and then you’re dealing with that and then they’re coming in and they’re frustrated by it. Now, maybe you’re not messy. I’m just using that, the perception of it. Yeah, right. So I think sometimes just like sharing that with somebody sometimes it just helps them feel like they’re

Tim:

So.

Janet:

hurt of it and you’re not just kind of flailing on your own like you said, kind of trying to figure it out and never asking for help, but saying, hey, I am aware of this, you know, is a good way to start that. I also think that kind of combining all of these methods, right, like addressing the elephant in the room, kind of through confrontation and setting the boundaries really works pretty well too. because like you said, you don’t ever want to have

somebody talking about you to students, I think it’s important to address that you, that that actually happened and you know that that happened, right? So something like this, you could say, you know what, I heard you say some things about me in front of students. I get that you might not be super solid on how I’m teaching or, you know, it’s hard to adjust to me being in the room. I know it’s not working that great, right?

But I would really ask that you refrain from saying negative things about me in front of students. I’m working really hard. I’m trying my best as a new teacher. And then also approaching it like, I’m sure, do you remember what it was like when you were a first year teacher? I’m sure you have some stories about that, too. And if you have concerns, I really invite you to talk to me directly about that. But when you go and talk about

me in front of my students that really undermines my teaching and makes it really harder for me to keep behaviors at bay and kind of keep engagement up. kind of talking through that, I think just even explaining that you’re like, you’re like, hey, I know this is happening. And also I’m not going to be upset about it. And so that person maybe gets off the defensive, but also you’re saying like, Hey, I’m aware of this and I’m thoughtful and reflective. And I’m not just like willy nilly moving through space, not caring about how you feel about sharing this space or working through, you know, these lessons.

Tim:

Yeah, I don’t know. was thinking about that and I feel like I would actually be more direct with something like that. Like talking badly about another teacher in front of students like that is like, would draw the line there and I would probably say like, that’s over the line for me. Do not do that again. And that may be a little more combative than, than what we’re saying or what we’re addressing, but you know, everybody has those, those lines that you don’t want crossed. And, know, I think the boundaries are important. And if you want this behavior from your colleague to stop, you may need to be more direct and just say like, Hey, this particular needs to stop.

And I don’t know though, like does that burn bridges? Like does that make things worse if you’re being that direct with people?

Janet:

I mean, I guess that’s the approach. Like some people are not comfortable with that kind of confrontation themselves. Like, be honest.

Tim:

Conversations are hard. Yeah. Yeah. Those can be difficult.

Janet:

Like I definitely, I mean, I’m giving advice on this, but it would be hard for me to have any of these conversations, right? Like, and to say like, stop talking about, now I’ve been teaching for a while and I feel pretty comfortable in my space. So maybe as a veteran teacher, I might feel a little bit better about it. Or, you know, Tim, like you could also start off saying like, hey, this happened, I’m not super happy about it.

If it happens again, I’m going to have issues. Please don’t do it anymore. And then if it happens again, then you could be like, absolutely, this is not OK. And so maybe having that buffer, guess it depends on your relationship with that person at that time.

Tim:

Yeah. And so, and okay, so now next step, if you try the softer approach and it doesn’t work? What if this behavior continues after you draw that line? Like things continue to spiral. They continue to get worse. Like how do you remove yourself from that situation? How do you get help? Like what are, what are next steps if you can’t solve the problem?

Janet:

Yeah, I mean, so the reason why I say go to that person originally is because that is what you would be told by an administrator, right? So I would love to just be like, I’m so ticked off at this teacher. I’m so frustrated. Let me just go and complain to my department chair or my administrator, right? ⁓ But talking to that person first and trying to solve that, that’s what they’re going to tell you anyway. Like, have you talked to them directly? Have you had these conversations?

But then I do think after you’ve had those conversations, it is a good thing to talk to a trusted administrator, right? So like, let’s say your department chair is really close friends with this person and they also act like that, right? Absolutely, maybe that’s not the person to go talk to. But like the idea is that those people should, even if they’re friends with these people, they should understand and wanna support you, right?

I also think, you know, if things continue to get worse, you’ve already talked to somebody, would, you know, maybe document is a really important thing, like document these instances. ⁓

Tim:

Yeah, that’s, that’s a big deal because if you have a behavior you’ve addressed and it will not stop, then yeah, I would begin to document because you might need to escalate it up higher. Like you said, it may need to go to admin and you can’t go to your admin and be like, this person makes me feel bad.

If you have the ability to document those things and talk specifically about what’s going on, I would begin to do that for sure.

Janet:

So you still have to work with the person, right? You still have to share a room, trying to ignore it and just kind of get in the room, do your job, enjoy your time with students and get out and not really take what they have to say or their

opinion so personally, like if you’ve tried to resolve a conflict and it still is a problem and I get that like I’m super sensitive to like emotions and vibes, you know, and so like you can just feel the energy right when you’re walking your room and it’s just not good. But like, you know, when you’re with your students, it’s amazing, right? And that’s the part that you just need to focus on. Years ago, I had this amazing therapist who told me

She said, you really have to focus on it. Whatever’s happening is not about you, right? So like that veteran teacher or whatever is having their stuff. And I started this conversation like this, right? I was like, well, first, maybe this veteran teacher is having a hard time accepting, right? It actually has nothing to do with you, right? And so she used to say, it’s ⁓ not on my side of the street. Like, what can you control? What can you not?

And this has been really game-changing for me, both in school and out of school, to be you know what, like, let me take a step back. I’m getting really wrapped up into this. It’s giving me a lot of anxiety. I’m getting worked up. A lot of headspace is being used on somebody else’s issues that have nothing to do with me, you know? And so I’m just going to go in, do my job and remind myself that that’s not on my side of the street, right? It gets to stay over there. It doesn’t come over onto my sidewalk. It’s not about me.

And I think keep repeating that stuff is a nice reminder, you know?

Tim:

Yeah, I think that’s really good to kind of keep that in mind because just having a universal approach to dealing with that and a consistent way to sort of organize your thoughts around that can be incredibly helpful because I was thinking about all the other situations that you may face because there are a lot of teachers out there that, you know, I don’t want to say they like drama, but like, you know, they’re they.

there will be issues that come up and like, may be just burnt out. They may be unprofessional. They may be just overwhelmingly negative. And, I think we all know a handful of teachers like that, or, you know, you may have a personality conflict, maybe not with as much drama as going on here, but maybe somebody you just don’t get along with or somebody you don’t respect how they teach. like, those are not your problems. And I think that’s a good idea too.

And that can stay on the other side of the street. I think. All right. I would like to move on to our next question. This is from Luis Cabrera in Texas. And Luis says, our principal just volunteered quote unquote, me to design a hallway display with rotating student work plus hand painted signage for the fall festival.

No budget, no time in the day to do it, and a deadline not too far away. What’s a professional way to push back or negotiate time, pay and materials. So this doesn’t swallow my actual teaching. ⁓ this is, this is good. This is something that we have all faced. So.

Janet:

And time again. Yeah, I mean, so much so. It’s a good thing that this is something that Tim and Amanda just talked about on the mailbag talking about saying no. ⁓

Tim:

Two weeks ago, we had a long conversation about saying no.

Janet:

Yeah, I’m suggesting that you go and listen to that because that is, I mean, that’s like a super comprehensive on ways to say no, first of all.

Tim:

Yes, it’s good. See, we have so many good examples of conflict resolution and how to say no. And, you know, Luis brings us up and it’s not always a hallway display. It’s not always signs for whatever’s happening coming up next. But like, I know you and I have both asked, been asked to do a lot with theater stuff. I know you have a whole history in theater. So I’m sure everybody brings that up to you. like teachers get asked to do bulletin boards and displays and things with the community and like painting murals. Like that’s a beautiful thing to do if you want to do it, but like it’s a big pain if that’s not something that you’re wanting to do yourself. And so let’s talk about how do we say no, how do we handle that? And I would say, again, you need those boundaries. Like I don’t want to be at school till 7 p.m. every night painting these signs or doing whatever.

And so you need to figure out how to say no to those things. And I think Luis framed it well, actually, like how do I negotiate time paying materials? Like that’s exactly what you need to do. I think you need to frame it for your administrator because they’re probably not thinking about their thoughts, probably go, we need something that looks cool. The art teacher can do it and they didn’t spend any more time on that. And so I think you can frame that question in terms of, you know, the contract hours or the cost of supplies or just the idea of the opportunity cost where if I do this, I can’t do something else. And so you can ask them that, you know, and just say, Hey, I only have so many hours in the day. What do you want me to give up? What do want me to not do if I’m going to do this display instead? Or I don’t have the materials to do this. You know, where, where can I get these supplies? Where can I get money for these supplies?

And things like that are really good. And honestly, even just being in your first year is a great reason to say no. Like, hey, I really need to focus on my students and my curriculum. I don’t have time for these extras. Sorry, I can’t do it. So ⁓ I don’t know, Jen. What is your advice? How would you say no to these things if you don’t want to do them?

Janet:

Well, I mean, I’ve personally gotten to the point in my career where I say no to most.

Yes, I’m like, nope, nope. Okay, so I joke about that, but it’s true. Like I’ve set boundaries and then you know what, I’m like a bit of a sucker or softy, guess I should say. But I keep like adding more stuff back onto my plate, you know, it really is a slippery slope with all of this stuff.

You want to set those boundaries because you don’t want to set a precedent of like, OK, I can just do whatever anybody asks me. I’m just like this Mary Poppins bag that I can pull things out of and make it happen. So I kind of go by like, OK, if it doesn’t fill my personal bucket or even if it does and I don’t have time for it, I have to be compensated financially, right?

Like, who doesn’t want things for free, you know, and especially magically made, right? So sometimes, like you said, putting an amount like, ⁓ if you buy supplies or whatever, or just even saying, here’s how much supplies would cost. This is how much my labor costs, you know? And then people go, my gosh, really? Well, I can’t do that. And then you’re like, well, great.

A decision was made for me. I do not feel guilty. Yes, I don’t feel guilty at all, you know, because I’m not the one saying yes or no. They are the ones saying yes or no at that point, you know.

Tim:

I think that that’s an important point to make. There are things that you want to do, and we’re not saying that you have to say no to everything. if it sounds like fun and you have the time and they’re going to pay you, yeah, go for it. Definitely. But just be conscious of, you know, your own time, your own sanity, for lack of a better term, and just making sure that you’re not being taken advantage of. Make sure that you are standing up for yourself and

Just sharing the fact and being conscious of the fact that you can’t do everything all at once.

Next question is from Maya Chen, and Maya’s in Oregon. Maya said, I teach sixth through eighth grade, and a parent emailed a rant about how my behavior expectations are unfair. Their child obviously didn’t do anything wrong. And by the way, their child’s grade should be an A, because how do you even judge creativity?

Maya said, I have decent classroom management. use clear rubrics for process and expectations. They’re accusing me of quote unquote, killing the joy. How do I respond in a way that’s kind, firm, and in line with my grading policy? Okay, I’m going to give you this one first.

Janet:

Yeah.

So first, I’m laughing at myself because you’re like reading these questions off, and I’m like, this is not just difficult scenarios. This is like people behaving badly. Yeah. Okay. So first of all, you all know how I feel or you will know, cause you’ll go investigate my podcast episodes now about grading and rubrics. So there’s that. I’m going to put that on the table, but I’m just going to say, like, literally, haters are going to hate. Like you can not control.

Tim:

It really is.

Janet:

How people complain, how they don’t understand. mean, you could educate people, like that’s one way to do it. But like, sometimes people are not invincible. They’re just irritated and they want to complain and write about something, right?

Tim:

Okay. Again, on that side of the street, there’s.

Janet:

Yeah. Yes, that’s okay. But you still have to address this parent right in some way. So I would call them, I would pick up the phone to be honest with you. Or I’d request to meet in person like a short meeting like, hey, can you stop by after school? Or is there a good time I can give you a call so we can discuss this further? Like I would shoot that kind of email, because I feel like it’s so easy to sling hateful words or like mean things over email, right?

I would ask the parent to explain to you what their child told them at home and kind of like what the situation was, like what happened, right?

Tim:

Yeah, can I give you an idea that combines those things? I actually learned this from my wife, who’s a social studies teacher, middle school. She has the kids call home themselves and explain what the problem is or explain what’s going on. And so she will have the kid go to the phone with them, call their parents, and then she is right there. The kid explains what’s happening, and then she takes over the phone call.

And I stole that idea from her. It’s very effective because it really puts kids on the spot about telling the truth and that you’re connected to the parent immediately.

Janet:

So that’s like if something happens in your class and you want the kid to call home and be like, hey, I was not doing, was breaking the ruler in half. That’s like that kind of thing, right? That’s a great tip. I like that.

Tim:

Yeah.

It’s pretty effective. I use that a lot. Anyway, I completely interrupted you though. So what…

Janet:

No, no, I love that. Okay, so but like, I guess I’m thinking on the flip side more, or maybe that’s why I was answering it that way is like, maybe the kid, maybe the kid was fine in class, it was just like, you know, the parents saying something, right, or whatever. So as a parent myself, of course, we all really want to believe that our kids can do no wrong, they’re perfect little angels. But let’s be honest here, kids are kids and…

Tim:

Yeah.

Janet:

They are known to, you know, shall we say, stretch the truth a little bit. So, I mean, sometimes we have to really educate our families, right? And administration and other teachers on what we do. And when everyone says, How can you ever create art? I just say, well, actually, you can. Like, you know, I think people say that, like, how can you create art? It’s so subjective, creativity, ha ha ha. And they expect you to be like, Ha, you’re right, but I usually am like, Actually, you can. We have clear standards. We grade and assess based on techniques, concepts, and skills that students are expected to be able to demonstrate, just like in math or science. ⁓ And then as she mentioned, I have these clear rubrics in her question or whatever. So you just be like, you could see it right on this rubric. I’d be happy to take a photo of it and send it with you if you have not seen it yet.

And I can explain to you in the student like what this looks like. I reinforce these expectations daily in my classroom. ⁓ You can see that posted in my Google classroom on my daily agenda. You know what I mean? Like you can just give these evidence of without being rude back, right? You can be like, hey, this is an opportunity I’m going to use as an opportunity.

Tim:

I think that’s a good way to look at that is just as an opportunity. I think it’s important to, know, whatever parents are upset about and however they contact you, just be professional in your responses. don’t get defensive and be like, but I do it this way because just

share your systems this is what we do for classroom management. This is what we do for our rubrics. And like you said, just kind of educate them. And I think that’s a really good way to go about it and just stay professional that whole time. And if it is something about behavior, offer specifics for improvement, you know, how a kid’s behavior can improve, how it can change, what you’re looking for. And to say he did X, Y, and Z.

Instead, I would like to see him do these three things, you know, ⁓ we work on that. Can you talk to him about this and see if we can get them to do these things? And just any support from home? It may or may not come, but the support is worth asking for.

Janet:

Yeah, I like the concrete examples, you know, like this is what I’m seeing and this is what they can do, you know. I also think just sometimes just saying these things, you know, people may not even respond to you. You know what I mean? just like just responding to them and being like, you know, these are the things. then sometimes that happens and it just squashes it completely and nobody even responds again. You know, they just want to complain. ⁓ I will add because I always like to just say, hey,

I’m on your side. if any email ever sounds like threatening in any way, you need to talk to your admin immediately. There’s so much out there and there’s all these, you know, FOIA requests and things like that. Emails and stuff that go back and forth can be, you know, taken and used, right? ⁓ So I would say if anything at all feels not right, then you should. contact somebody, you sometimes those people like they know the family, right, and they already have insight and they might deal with it for you, you know, or other times it’s just really good to record that so it doesn’t keep escalating, you know.

Tim:

Sure, and it’s super easy to just copy your administrator on the response and then just go talk to them face to face and just say, real quick, I just want to make you aware of the situation. Copy them. I copied you on the email and just letting you know what’s going on. And if you say back to the parent, I would love to have you come to a meeting with myself, the principal, and you and your student. That’s a good way to kind of loop them in and figure out everything that’s going on. Like you said, just kind of cover your bases as much as you need.

Janet:

Yeah.

Tim:

Okay. And then I was also thinking about similar situations that could be like this. And honestly, it could literally be anything. parents will complain about anything. It might be behavior, might be grading. It might be how you address the class. It might be the shirt you wore. who knows? But, you know, as long as you remain professional with all of your responses, I think you can avoid most problems.

Okay, our next question, this is from Deshawn Porter in Georgia and Deshawn says, I just moved in my classroom and I’m overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that’s in the supply closet and I don’t even know what’s good. There’s piles and piles of supplies from like 1972, but I never find a working glue stick. My budget is I think $400 for the whole year. What do I even do?

Janet:

Deshawn. I think we’re living parallel lives.

I feel like this is like verbatim out of my mouth. Okay, this just goes to show you like how universal all of these issues are for years and years and years. Okay, also have you seen our art room makeover that we…

Tim:

He did. That’s for YouTube. That’s, that’s good stuff.

Janet:

I mean, if you want to see a supply closet, it’s stuff from baking. So you have to go in and check that out. It’s so good. Okay. All right. So speaking of that, okay, so I would say, first of all, please feel free to throw things away. I’m going to say that cautiously because Tim, I’m pretty sure in that art room makeover, there’s literally a clip of me saying wait, this could be used.

X, Y, Z, like don’t throw this out.

Tim:

I thought we were going to have to have an intervention with you again.

Janet:

and I take it on the plane home with ⁓ me. So bad. I’m feeling very embarrassed right now. You should see my face. It’s like beet red. Okay. You know, judgment free zone, right? This is where we’re at. So I’m going to say this. Okay. I’m going to amend my feel free to throw it out kind of statement and say, maybe sit on it for like a year. Okay. And I could say this cautiously depending on

Your situation so you know, whatever, but sometimes you find things that you don’t know what they’re used for and then you’re like well I don’t need this i’m just going to purge and throw everything away. yeah and the next year you’re teaching a different class or you’re trying a different project and you’re like wait I swear I had like 50 of those band to sue me ink brushes somewhere. worth that’s what that was for I had no idea.

Tim:

Yeah, revelations come a little bit too late, but to be honest, like it doesn’t matter. I’m going to tell you to go ahead and throw things out. you will figure it. You will find some different brushes that you need for that. You will adapt your creative. You can problem solve. Just get rid of it. ⁓ Yeah, don’t don’t be afraid to purge stuff. ⁓ And it might be worthwhile to keep some things if you don’t know what they are.

Janet:

Yeah.

Tim:

But to be honest, if you don’t think you’re going to use it, get rid of it. and I would say just, slowly tackle the mess. feel like almost every art teacher has a story like this. Very few teachers have walked into a clean room with well organized supplies. So you did count yourself ⁓ as lucky. But, you know, it’s not anything that you have to do immediately. you’re you’re going to be in the room for a while and you don’t get it perfect on your first day or even your first year.

Janet:

I was just going to say, like, no, totally. Like, it’s very overwhelming. Do the flip side of this, right? maybe you want to purge, but you’re like, I don’t even know where to start. This is so overwhelming. There’s just like, like you said, I cannot find a glue stick. I think there might be some glue sticks underneath here, you know? So trying to pull everything out and trying to do that. I remember doing that. That’s why I’m laughing at this. And I think I had $400 to my budget, my, you know, when I was teaching and years ago.

And I remember opening this closet, which is so much stuff. don’t even know where to start. And I thought that I had to pull everything out before the first day of school, you know, and like organize it and figure out what I had so that I knew, you know, what I had to purchase with, or I knew what I had to do curriculum wise. And sometimes it’s like, that’s just too much when you’re just trying to figure everything else out, right? Especially as a new teacher, you’re like, I don’t even know where to start with anything, to be honest with you, you know? So

My advice is always slow your roll. You don’t have to do everything on day one, even though it feels like that. You absolutely do not. And you don’t have to have it done by the next year. I’m still going through things. But I would say take a look at your curriculum. Figure out what you’re teaching when. Plan it out based on really minimal supplies to begin with so you can start to feel more comfortable with what is actually accessible.

And then reusing like those some of those supplies in different ways. how can you use cardboard in different ways? How can you use paper in different ways? Right? Doesn’t all have to be drawing and with a pencil, right? You can use paper in a lot of creative ways. I think we have a ton of resources for that, too. And then, you know, as you feel comfortable and hopefully you can order supplies of it. So I know some schools also have different rules on when they can order supplies and how often and how much at a time.

Tim:

But the school year starts and when the board approves the budget.

Janet:

Exactly,

Like July 1st, when nobody’s in school, that’s when you can start, like, cool. I don’t want to do that over the summer, but ⁓ so I think sometimes it’s good to get your foot in the door, plan for minimal supplies and then go like, okay, wait, I do know I want to teach this lesson. I do know that I can reuse these supplies if I purchase them or tools or whatever, and then kind of go from there.

I also think like adding on every year a few specialty items is kind of a great way to go to because you don’t always have to have a class set of everything to begin with. You can be creative on doing like little workshops or you know, tabletop groups or whatever it is to teach something and then other kids are doing something else.

Tim:

Yeah, I would just add, you can always ask for donations from community, PTA, PTO. I think that’s always a good place to go as well. But I would just reiterate, just start with the basics of like, what do you need to teach your curriculum? And of those things that you need, what do you have? And I think that can really help direct your budget and figure out where it needs to go. And again, you know,

You can always look for, for outside help too. And like, I don’t know what I should spend my budget on. These are the things I have. What would you suggest? And just get a discussion started and see what, see what other people might want to do. And that may give you some insight as far as what you want to do with that budget. Okay. Our final question comes from Aaron Vassallo in New Jersey. Aaron says yesterday, a student kicked a chair during cleanup.

through a jar of glaze and stormed out, leaving me and other students feeling unsafe. Admin took almost 10 minutes to arrive and now I’m being told to document and move on. How do I even handle this? What do I do with the other kids? How do I handle that particular student when she comes back? And how do I tell my admin that I need more from them?

Janet:

This is really hard. Think about behaviors and not getting support, and like, how do you deal with that? How do you move forward? I mean, just big, right? Okay. So my, I know we’ve talked about behavior, like escalating behavior. There’s a great episode on that too, like deescalating behavior, right? With Chris Cusack and you and I.

So I highly suggest listening to that one too, because that’s going to be really good for new teachers and veteran teachers alike. But in that, we talk a lot about kind of stepping back again and trying to figure out what’s going on with the kid, right? So Chris Qusay talked a lot about how behaviors are a symptom of something else, right? So how are they communicating through this behavior? So I often think of that.

What’s going on with this kid? Are they having a hard time in general? Is something undiagnosed, or maybe there’s some diagnosis that hasn’t been shared with us, you know, or is it attention-seeking behavior? Is it in or out of their lives, can you kind of tell what’s going on there?

Tim:

If we’re we’re kicking chairs on jars, what’s probably out of our control, but you don’t know for sure.

Janet:

Never know, right? So first of all, I would definitely document. It would be my first step, right? I would definitely call home. That would be something I would definitely be doing. I’d be looking for a lot of help within the school, maybe not the admin, you know, but maybe there’s a social worker. I get that not only I worked at a school that had a social worker one day a week, I get that, you know, but is there anyone that can help you? So

I know that not everyone has a resource and I know that’s just really, really hard. Like what do you do? But honestly, if you don’t feel safe, then you need to decide what’s best for you. And that means maybe requesting that the student is removed from your classroom. Or, you know, maybe that’s like a privilege that gets revoked from them until they can regulate their bodies. Maybe you need to request that another adult is present.

to support you in the room, should something happen, maybe you, so this is a pretty drastic experience, right? Like if some smaller behaviors, yeah, I would say removing the materials, you don’t get to work with those until you can show me that you can be respectful of the materials and your classmates, right? I would say that if you are ever in a situation though where the student is being disruptive to that extreme.

And your class feels unsafe, then you need to actually take the class out of the classroom and leave the kid in the classroom because you can’t you can’t that’s like a not winning battle, you know, to try to write. Yeah. So the best way to do is take the kid out of the class out of the classroom, have them go in the hallway, go somewhere else, go to library, whatever. And then maybe you can call for help.

Tim:

You can’t wait. Yes.

Janet:

during the incident so that the kid can be addressed directly at that time by a team or other person or whatever. After, will say after, like if they’re like, okay, document move on and the kid’s going back to your class, right, the next day, I think it’s really important to have boundaries set up, like a list of consequences for that and taking the kid and telling them and making that very clearly defined before they step.

But back in the classroom, right? So you see them, they’re in your classroom, say, okay, I’m getting class started. Can you please come with me? And then you stand outside or whatever, away from other students. So you’re never talking and addressing that with that student in front of other students, right? And then saying yesterday was unacceptable. This is making me feel unsafe. It’s making the class unsafe.

And you are unsafe, right? It could be unsafe for your body. So here are the steps that we’re going to go through in order for you to continue to do this. So X, Y happen, then one, two happens, right? Like cause and effect, consequences.

Tim:

Yeah, I think that’s good.  That’s actually really good advice on how to handle that. So let me ask you another thing that Aaron said is how do you address that with the rest of the class? is that something you bring up when, that student’s gone? Is that something that you talk to them about? Is that something you just leave them to wonder about? how would you address that with, with the rest of the class?

Janet:

I think it depends on the situation. So I don’t want to say this is the one size fits all right. But I do think that whether the kids in the class or not. Let’s say this happened, you were not able to remove the student or the class, the rest of the class, right?

There was no separation. So this all happened. It’s chaos. Kids are leaving the classroom to go to the next class or leave for the school day or whatever it is. The kid is dysregulated all these things, right? The next day, the kids come back, these other kids with them, right? I think it is okay also to, at some point address the whole class and what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

I guess I’m trying to think of like, what would you do with that kid? Maybe they could be out of the classroom talking with an administrator that time. Maybe you ask the administrator, if you’re going to put them back in my classroom, maybe not the day after. Like, give us a day. Can they come and sit with you during my class period? I need to address it with my class. And then when you’re addressing it with your class, can say yesterday’s behavior was completely unacceptable. It makes us all feel unsafe, whatever, right? And then you can say, if you ever feel unsafe, here are things that you can do. Because I think the worst feeling is being in a classroom where you feel helpless and don’t know what to do. So equipping students with, you know, this is what I can do to help the situation or to make myself feel safe, I think is important.

And also letting them know that you know that that was not okay, right? Like the last thing you want to do is open this door of bad behavior across the board. Now, obviously this is an extreme case,

Tim:

Yeah, but no, I think that’s important. And you you want students to feel safe in your classroom. And so I think addressing it with them is important. And you know, I would say one of my jobs as a teacher is to keep you safe and tell them I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe while we’re in here.

I think just reassuring them and reiterating that that is part of your job will go a long way to making kids feel better about what’s happening in your classroom. And then I would just say, you know, like this is this is a failure on administration’s part to take to show up to something that dramatic and then on document and move on. I’m going to say I’m not surprised to hear that.

Because so many administrators just, I mean, it’s just a fact of life that they don’t want to deal with these things. And so you do need to document. I don’t know that you need to move on. I would say you need to go talk to your admin and say, you know, hey, I will handle this to the best of my ability, but I need your help. I need your support. And when you don’t show up for 10 minutes, that scares my kids, that scares me.

⁓ and you know, I don’t know how long it’s can be until we get back to a normal learning situation. as behaviors are going to happen, you know, you’re going to have defiant kids, you’re going to have apathetic kids, you’re going to have other behavior issues. and, and I love the idea, like you said, Jen of having a plan for those things, know what’s going to happen, like how you’re going to deal with those. Think about those things in advance so you can address them successfully. But.

no matter what your plans are, you still need administrative support. And so I would go to them and make that clear that, you know, this, this is not going to cut it. I need your help. And so I think that’s something that you probably want to address, but just make sure that, you’re communicating with students, with the kid who is misbehaving, with the admin, with whoever else needs it. And just make sure that you’re all on the same page kind of moving forward. And I think that

may help prevent behaviors, but definitely will help deal with behaviors when they happen. So I think that’s all good.

Janet, these were way tougher than I thought. You said difficult scenarios, but these were some really difficult ones. But I’m going to hope two things. I’m going to hope that the situations that people are facing are maybe not quite this extreme or not quite this bad. And I’m also going to hope that the bits of advice that we’re sharing will be helpful to whoever’s listening.

whatever situations they might face. So Janet, thanks for putting together this episode with me and thank you for all of your advice and your expertise.

Yes, please do.

It would not be a Janet Taylor podcast if we didn’t have another addendum after I’m trying to say goodbye.

Janet:

Okay, okay. But I was thinking that I was thinking like, want you to stay in the f a teacher and these s like those are pretty dr will always pop up. So I support you and know like this everywhere. where you’re like, this is

I did not sign up for that, that is not necessary, whatever it is right?

But we want you to stay in the field and know that you’re supported. So please make sure that you are reaching out to us. You are not alone, and it can feel very lonely. Come join us at the community, talk to us. We are here to support you.

Tim:

That’s all. Okay, sounds good. Thank you, Janet.

Janet:

That’s it this time.

Thanks, Tim.

Tim:

Thank you to Janet for coming on and sharing that entire discussion with me. I really appreciate all of the experiences that she can share. I really appreciate all of the great advice that she gives and I love having her as part of this show. Now I know that being a first year teacher can feel overwhelming, especially when you are facing

Some of these scenarios that you may never have imagined, you know, whether it’s a colleague who is making your life a little more difficult, or an administrator who’s given you extra work without thinking about it. Parents who are being parents, let’s be honest, or honestly, just the challenge of dealing with your budget, dealing with behaviors and all of those things, no matter what situation you’re facing. I want to remind you that you’re not alone.

Every art teacher has been through these moments and we all kind of know what you’re going through and so it’s it’s great to reach out it’s great to hear that other people are going through those things because it can give you the confidence that you’re going to get those through those things as well and the important thing is to remember that you don’t have to solve everything on your own you know setting boundaries asking for support ⁓

Keeping your focus on your students. Those are the kinds of things that are going to help you get through these situations that are going to help you move forward and those tough days are part of the learning process and they are giving you the opportunities to grow into the teacher you want to be. You know, Jen and I brought that up a lot in the discussion today, a lot in the entire what do new teachers need to know series. This is not all going to click into place in that first year. It is a process to become a great teacher and you’re going to get there, but it does take a little bit. And the other thing I think you need to remember that even with the stress, even with the unpredictability, teaching art is still one of the best, one of the most joyful jobs out there. You are creating a space that is meaningful for students. You are giving them a chance to explore their creativity and build their confidence and discover new ways of seeing the world and being able to have that impact is something that’s very, very special. And it shows that you are doing really important work.

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