GUEST BLOG: Episode 86 Struck a NERVE! or was it a chord?
By Cristobal Saldana
I actually listened to episode 85 (Is There Value in Having Music in the Classroom) and 86 (Are They “My Students?”) while working yesterday. I thought about tweeting out about both of them, but 86 hit me kinda square in the nose. Like you said, your intent was to disrupt, and you did that for me. I mean, you always make me stop and think, but this one stopped me cold in my tracks.
So here are a couple of thoughts.
I too am working on my vocabulary and my vernacular. I'm especially mindful of words that have certain connotations or subtle meanings. It's one of the reasons why I don't use the term "going to battle" when I talk about confronting the issues we do on a daily basis as educators. I cringe when I hear that. I have family members who were in the military who actually went to battle, and I think that using that terminology or phraseology diminishes what they went through.
One of the first things that gave me pause was Chey's bristling at the use of "my staff," or the use of "my students," "our students," etc. As I said in a blog and then again on my own podcast, there is power in the words "we", "our", and "us." And a good leader limits the use of "I", "me", and "my". And I guess part of what gave me pause is not that I don't understand Chey's point. I do. BUT, as an administrator, you often get told about how these people are "your staff" and not always in the nicest way. And what is the response to that? "My staff...." So we get conditioned a bit to using the term "my staff" or "my teachers." Usually, it's in defence of the staff.
The other thing that caught me a little off guard is not referring to students as our students. As a teacher and even as an admin, I'm a part of the community. And I think using THE students removes me from the community. I don't think that this necessarily shows ownership. And I think you both arrived at a similar conclusion toward the end when you both say that it is going to depend on how, where, and when it is used.
I also make a big point in saying that there is no such thing as a former student. Once my student, they are always my student. Mostly because that's where they live in my heart. I have a special love for every student I have ever had the opportunity with whom I have ever interacted. So may have gotten on my nerves a bit more, but they were learning. They were students. And I have loved having them. My point here is that the other day I ran into one of my students who is now a doctor. She introduced me to her parents who just happened to be with her at the store. But when she introduced me, she introduced me as Coach Saldaña, her teacher. She and I stay in regular contact on Facebook. She knows I graduated with my doctorate and that I'm no longer actually teaching high school world history. But in her eyes, I was still her teacher, just like she will always be my student.
And what about when we talk about our friends? I've always referred to both of you, when you join a twitter chat, I always greet you with "my friends." Mostly because I usually don't know at least at that point which one of you is running the account. Even in this email, I opened it with that same greeting.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that your latest episode really struck a chord/nerve. *LAUGHING* Not sure which one, maybe both. It made me think and will continue to make me think about my vocabulary and vernacular. It makes me think back to a couple of years ago when I took my previous position, about how I had to change my thinking and the way I talked. I was the Special Education principal. So, I had to learn that instead of using the term Autistic students, I needed to use Students with Autism. Or Disabled Students (don't think I ever used that one much), to Students with Disabilities. It was the whole person first vocabulary. I see this topic in very much the same way.
So much of what we do as educators is subtle changes. Like a pitcher, adjustments by the millimetre can mean a world of difference when the ball is coming to the plate. When I was learning about classroom and discipline management, I learned how changing my vernacular from "I need to talk to you" to "I need to listen to you" changes things in a hurry. I still say, "Come talk to me" when I deal with students on a daily basis.
Thank you for making me pause and think. I will carry that with me for the rest of my career. Glad to be on this journey with the both of you, Chey and Pav. You make me a better educator every day!
Cris Saldana
Dr. Cristóbal T. Saldaña (@saldanact) currently serves as an assistant principal at Los Fresnos High School in Deep South Texas. He is completing his nineteenth year in education and his ninth as an administrator. He recently launched the Building Leaders Podcast (@buildleadersedu) and has a blog at http://onestepedu.wordpress.com.
