Books tell stories—real or fictional. They share their knowledge and wisdom with us as they tell their stories. One children’s book that we want to share with you is That is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems

You know how the story goes… The sly fox temps the wide-eyed damsel-goose-in-distress. Doesn’t she ever learn? Well, apparently, she actually does learn this go around!

Things aren’t always what they appear to be. The goose and the fox show us that what we expect to happen may not always be the outcome. If you want to know more, you will just have to read the book. 🙂

As we read this and thought more about how it relates to our teacher candidates (because they are always on our minds), we decided that there are many “foxes” out there trying to lead them astray. Here is our take on how to keep our teacher candidates going in the right direction. They do tire of us ol’ profs preaching the rules and high expectations to them over and over and since we love to tell stories… We brainstormed a list of “That is Not a Good Idea” for our teacher candidates or anyone in the professional world really…all of us! Or if you aren’t professional and you just don’t want your goose to get cooked, then read on! We have five “NOT good ideas” to share with you.

1. Avoid Facebook and any social media when having too much fun! Future employers will check you out so be on your best behavior. Posting inappropriate pictures, comments, anything that you do not want your grandma to see is not encouraged. That is NOT a good idea!

2. Avoid interview mayhem! It is interview etiquette faux pas to respond to a classroom management question with a “I’ll get my mom in my classroom to handle discipline problems because she is good at that.” …Unless of course this is a lead-in to a joke. True story…really happened. That is really NOT a good idea!

3. Avoid signing more than one contract for the same school year. Lucky you should you be offered three contracts…that means we did our jobs. 🙂  However, a contract is a legal document binding you to a school district. Signing three contracts could cause alarm, a lawsuit, and a revoked license. That is really, really NOT a good idea!

4. Avoid offensive slang when communicating with parents…especially at conferences. Consider the proper etiquette of euphemisms. Instead of saying “Your kid doesn’t shut up!” try instead “Your child has above average communication skills.” Also, it is important to talk about the correct child to the parents. 🙂 To mistakenly talk to parents about someone else’s child is frowned upon. That is really, really, really NOT a good idea!

5. Avoid toxic teacher lounge talk. Research shows that it only takes seven seconds to become negative. Do not be negative; do not contribute to the verbal vomit, and do not just stand by and say nothing. Always remember that every student is someone’s special “Jackson” or “Warren.” Trash talking in the lounge is not acceptable. That is really, really, really, really NOT a good idea!

A key ingredient is missing in this teacher soup… have common sense and never jump into a pot of boiling water. We told you that is NOT a good idea!

Stay Calm & Lead On!
Profs Dr. C. & Dr. V.