Assist! My Coworker Is a TikTok Trainer Influencer—and I am Not On Board

Expensive We Are Lecturers,
I’ve been part of interviews this summer season for a emptiness on our staff. After researching every of the candidates on-line, I found my principal’s best choice is a trainer TikTok influencer with over 10k followers. She options pupil faces, promotes sponsored content material from her classroom, and has what looks like tons of of movies of her dancing—some even with college students! I notified my principal instantly, however she simply shrugged it off. I’m very uncomfortable with our college students’ privateness being in danger. Ought to I attain out to this trainer earlier than the college 12 months begins about holding her influencer enterprise off campus or wait till I’m working together with her?
—Not Right here for Hashtags

Expensive N.H.F.H.,

OK. To start with, good on you for doing all your homework (a light-weight Google search ought to be par for the course lately in an interview). And also you’re completely proper to be involved the place pupil privateness, security, {and professional} boundaries might be in danger. 

However, respectfully, and to borrow a phrase from the youths, let her prepare dinner.

Proper now, you’ve got restricted data, each about this trainer and in regards to the guidelines she could or could not have damaged. Perhaps she has dad and mom signal a waiver about being featured in her movies. Maybe her final district supported her social media presence due to how she portrayed the college in a optimistic mild. Perhaps she has no plans to proceed her influencer facet hustle at your college. There are every kind of prospects you could not have thought-about.

What I’m saying is that in case you rush to chastise her whenever you’re not in a supervisory function, you’re prone to come off as confrontational. As a substitute, welcome her to your staff as warmly as you’ll anybody else. Then, maintain an eye fixed out for the way this new colleague operates as soon as the 12 months begins. Should you see her ignoring privateness insurance policies, that’s the time to have a chat together with her.

Expensive We Are Lecturers,
Wanting a change of surroundings after a breakup, I signed a contract at a college district in a state midway throughout the nation again in Might. The Zoom interview was nice, however now that I’m right here, I see that I’ve made an enormous mistake. The city—bought to me as a suburb “minutes” from the large metropolis—is a ghost city a cool 40 minutes away (and that’s with no visitors). The college appears like a large well being hazard from the Nineteen Fifties. Lacking ceiling tiles, peeling linoleum and paint, random leaks and drips all over the place. My staff appears good, however I can’t shake the sensation that I jumped too quickly. Ought to I break my contract?
—Regretfully Relocated

Expensive R.R.,
Breakups will make you do daring issues, received’t they? No less than you didn’t get bangs. (Truly, bangs could have been simpler to get well from. Relies on the bangs.) 

Right here’s the robust fact: Should you signed a contract, breaking it could include severe penalties. That stated, contracts aren’t jail sentences. Should you’re really depressing, it’s value trying into your district’s resignation coverage and timeline. Some colleges could help you resign with discover earlier than the college 12 months begins. Others could hit you with certification penalties or some sort of different ding in your file. Will that file comply with you again to your house state? These are the sorts of questions you’ll want to be asking.

However earlier than bailing, discover the closest picturesque pond, peer into your reflection, and ask your self this: Can I give this a 12 months? You want your staff—that’s an awesome place to start out. There’s clearly one thing that drew you to this space. Might this 12 months be a stepping stone to one thing higher? 

If the reply is completely not, then begin making calls now. Search for one other place in a district that feels extra aligned, and get the official course of rolling. Simply make sure you’re working towards one thing higher, not simply working away.

And subsequent time? Perhaps simply get the bangs.

Expensive We Are Lecturers,
I train center college in a district that’s anticipated to change to a year-round mannequin. Whereas I see some upsides, I’m having a tough time worrying about how this transformation will impression our planning time, household schedules, and the recharge I often get from a protracted block of time without work in the summertime. How can I put together myself (and my classroom) if this transformation goes by way of?
—Calendar Calamity

Expensive C.C.,

Why don’t you simply cease worrying? 

(I’m kidding. Sorry. That is typically my dad’s recommendation and it drives me bonkers.)

I’d be nervous, too, a few shift that massive! I’m positive you already know that the year-round mannequin doesn’t imply extra college—it often simply means shorter breaks unfold extra evenly all year long; assume 9 weeks on, three weeks off. Some districts even maintain a six-week summer season. Nonetheless, it’s rather a lot to get used to.

Right here’s learn how to ease the transition:

• 🗓 Begin planning your breaks now, even when they’re solely two or three weeks lengthy. Per week on the seaside throughout the much less crowded low season? Sure, please. A 3-day nap in March? Downright dreamy.
• 📚 Get forward on curriculum pacing, as year-round calendars often imply tighter cycles. Use planning time now to map out models throughout your new schedule. You’ll thank your self later.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 In case you have children in a standard college calendar, this may get sophisticated. Begin conversations early with household and assist programs about protection, camps, and childcare swaps.
• 🧠 Do a cheeky little reframe! This isn’t “dropping summer season”—it’s gaining respiration room in what’s in any other case a nonstop marathon.

Lastly, join with lecturers in different districts in our HELPLINE group on Fb (2% of lecturers we surveyed are in year-round colleges) who’ve already made the swap. They’ll have ideas, hacks, and possibly some high-quality memes that completely seize the year-round instructing life.

Do you’ve got a burning query? E-mail us at [email protected].

Expensive We Are Lecturers,
My principal referred to as this morning and stated {that a} “group member” despatched her an image of me {that a} native information group printed. Within the photograph, I’m carrying an indication that claims “Defend our democracy.” My principal stated this violates our district’s code of conduct, which prohibits “speech that’s disruptive, unprofessional, or inconsistent with their instructional mission.” She stated I’m selling a “partisan message” that might offend college students and households I work with, and that I ought to have identified my attendance would ship a destructive message to our college group. She requested me to put in writing a press release of apology to the guardian, and after I requested what would occur if I didn’t, she stated it might end in a “formal reprimand.” I haven’t had a lot as a slap on the wrist within the 23 years I’ve been instructing! What would you do?
—Caught With a Trigger