Likeable People

In Why do you need to be likeable? from Blue Skunk Blog, Doug Johnson asks

“What do you find that makes those with who you work likeable?”

Over the many years of teaching, I’ve found that I enjoy working more with certain kinds of teachers than others.

The people that I gravitate to are:

·      Passionate about teaching and enjoy their work. (I like to be around positive people.)

·      Looking for creative ways to teach concepts. (Love having conversations with teachers from other departments who are willing to bounce ideas around in order to come up with a good lesson.)

·      Doesn’t mind sharing strategies that work in their classroom. (When asked what is working in their classroom, they don’t mind sharing information).

·      Willing to chip in if needed. (When I was new to a school, I had an emergency IEP meeting that was called, and another teacher jumped right in and offered to do my bus duty for me. Since then we have become great friends!)

·      Offers emotional support when they see that I need it. (When I’m down and need encouragement, these people remind me the good things that I’ve done).

What a great question and a fun discussion for colleagues and for students!  

I think it would be insightful to have this discussion with colleagues and could learn a lot. It would be interesting if anything I do would be on the list and also interesting to learn if I need to change some things that I do.

 If I had this discussion with my students, it would be important to stress that no names may be used and all comments need to be given in a respectful way. This would be a great way to talk about interpersonal skills and skills for the workplace.

What would be on your list? Please share.