CAN YOU ASK FOR MORE WHEN NEGOTIATING?

When it comes to negotiating your working conditions/ workplace benefits with your soon-to-be employer, the success of your negotiations could depend on the following among others; professional qualifications, skill set, years of experience, nature of the job, etc.

From my experience on job interview panels(in Nigeria, to be precise),when teachers (though, not limited to teachers) negotiate their benefits, it does not usually go beyond the salary(monthly take-home)and the rest is always at the convenience of the employer.

Can you as a teacher , negotiate other terms and conditions besides the monthly take home pay?The answer is an emphatic YES!

But to command such ‘power to negotiate’ , you must have some leverage.This can range from basic educational qualifications, post-graduate qualifications, experience, professional certifications, experience on the advertised job or role(s) and so on.

When you have all it takes, you have a leverage upon which to negotiate confidently without looking desperate or sounding arrogant to settle for what will be in your professional, family or personal interest.

                                                                               TIME TO NEGOTIATE

                                                                    

Do not leave anything to chance, speculations or assumptions.As soon as you have been considered for the job and invited over for discussion, this is the right time.This means , before you formally accept the offer, bare all on the table.This infers that you have to be ready.

                                                                               WHAT TO NEGOTIATE ABOUT

The extent of your negotiations may depend on the organization and of cause, what you have to offer.Having a knowledge of what obtains in the organization may be of help to you.

Let us consider some important things you can negotiate (not in any particular order):

• Salary before and after statutory deductions(tax, pension…)
• Promotions
• The scope of your responsibilities
• Holiday/leave
• Severance package
• Professional development(training, advanced studies, etc.)
• Bonus structure
• Title change – If you aren’t being paid what you want, you could at least improve your résumé by requesting that a title be given to your roles and responsibilities, in anticipation of higher opportunities.

  JUST BEFORE YOU NEGOTIATE, CONSIDER THESE THINGS

 

 

The way and manner in which you go about negotiations matter a whole lot.If you have the experience/skill set/qualifications and other profile that gives you the leeway to negotiate for all the perks you wish, you still have to do it with the right attitude.

Be professional and not emotional.

Don’t sound arrogant ,greedy or in a way that will kill your dream job.

Be humble yet decisive on what you want or expect.

Yours sincerely,

Uncle Goke.

Some hilarious Classroom matters

 

 

 

‘Paradigm shift’ or what?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHEN YOU THINK YOU’VE HAD ENOUGH:Exiting as a Professional.

‘‘There is a big difference between giving up and knowing when you have had enough’’.

                                                                                    Source: Anonymous.

 

It’s summer holiday and for teachers and their students, it’s a time to relax and take a break from all the paper works (homework, projects, lesson notes/plans, etc.) and other school runs.

Both teachers and students always look forward to this time of the year. Some look forward to the long break for adequate rest while others, the opportunity to travel with loved ones.

For teachers, this summer holiday could mean a time to reflect on the just concluded academic year with the intention of deciding what to do in the future. By extension, it is a time of intense activities among schools with respect to the movement of teachers from one school to another.

To use the terminology employed by football club managers when selling or buying players ( i.e transfer window), it signifies the opening of the ‘transfer window’ for teachers.

From my experience and interactions with some teachers, I gathered some reasons why teachers opt into the ‘transfer window’ from their current schools. They include, among others:

• Low salary scale
  
• Desire for change of environment
• Official Transfer of spouse
• Unclear staff promotion schedules
• Inadequate commitment for the professional development of staff
  
• Inconsistent management policies
• Imbalanced schedule of responsibilities among staff
  
• Bureaucracy
• Rural – urban migration.

 

HOW NOT TO QUIT

With reference to the quote I started with, when you do decide to give up or that you have had enough, do so as a professional that you are.

• You may want to check what the organization’s handbook stipulates about exiting. Try as much as you can to adhere to it.
• Do not exit unannounced, particularly to your employer or head. Abandoning your duty post without duly informing your head is totally unprofessional. Legal actions can be taken against you.
• Remember, it is your fundamental right to decide whether or not you want to remain in the organization. Your boss can only try to persuade you to do otherwise but cannot impose it against your will. Therefore, don’t exit like a ‘thief in the night’.

JUST BEFORE YOU  HAND IN THAT LETTER

You may want to consider discussing some of the bothering issues with your employer / head and as it affects you and your career. Perhaps, giving the benefit of doubt, your employer may choose to address the issues or be ignorant of them.

This will cost you nothing. It will only reflect a responsible attitude.

 

CAUTION

Once you have made up your mind that you have had enough, which is just enough, do not try to force it upon yourself to stay back with the intention of not hurting the feelings of someone or persons. This may negatively impact your productivity in the organization and by extension your career.

Once you are sure it’s time to move on, do so with all sense of responsibility and professionalism.

Yours sincerely,

Uncle Goke

 

Do you know your Learning Styles or theirs?

Learning preferences/styles describe the different ways in which people learn.Individuals could also have a mix of learning styles.Some people have a dominant learning style or ways of acquiring information and some others use a mix of learning styles in different situations.

Learning preferences/styles are usually associated with students, particularly, when it comes to the process of teaching and learning.It enables the teacher to prepare  lessons with the intention of catering for the individual needs of the students.

”I can’t wait for the term to be over so these children can leave my class.They’re just lazy”.

Does the statement above sound familiar or perhaps, you have used it some time ago!

Maybe, you just haven’t discovered how best they learn and learn well.When you don’t understand their learning styles, you may find it challenging to get them to learn.

It is your responsibility as a teacher to seek to discover the learning preferences of your learners.This may help reduce some of the prevalent classroom challenges you face with your students.

Teachers are meant to be custodians of most of the information the learners need for a meaningful academic or moral development.Therefore, as a teacher, you must be at your best in the discharge of your duties.

Consequently, it is also important for teachers to discover their learning preferences.Good teachers are open to learning and in doing so, they have to learn well to teach effectively.When you discover how best you learn as a teacher, you’ll appreciate more, the need to see your students as individuals with unique needs rather than as a class with common needs.

Know your learning style today and make sure you know theirs.

Yours sincerely,

Uncle Goke.

 

 

 

 

Classroom Actors

 

 

 

Are you that teacher?

More than a Teacher.

 

 

 

As a teacher, you are more than the subjects you teach.To your students, you are meant to be their coach, manager of their emotions/ lives, facilitator of their learning, encourager, comforter, confidant and ROLE MODEL.You are a second parent to them and must (as a matter of necessity) do all you can to raise them as such(a parent).

Dear Teacher, do all of these describe your relationship with your students?

Uncle Goke.

Don’t burn out! Take off your ‘Teacher Hat’

Don’t loose it!Take it off .                                              Evidence from research and international studies has revealed the high amount of stress associated with the teaching profession. Teaching is a duty of care and as such, teachers are expected to be available at their duty post at every point in time.

Teaching may be your calling or you may have chosen it as a career but it doesn’t have to become your whole life! Many teachers get so tied up with school work that they forget about the people they were before they became teachers.

It is absolutely important to be passionate about your job, but there is really more to life than just teaching. Know when to switch off and take some time out from teaching every day. It is important that you wind down and relax at the end of each teaching day or you may end up trying to push yourself too far to the point of burning out(stress).

Decide to set out a time, each day, when you take off your ‘teacher hat’ and become you. That means keeping away the marking, lesson notes, plans etc. You should also try to cultivate an interest in something completely different from you profession (hobbies).

You may also consider the following to avoid burning yourself out:

• Avoid taking school work home (let what happened in school stay in school) and if you really have to, don’t take school work into your bedroom so you can switch off from it.
• Shutdown from school works as much as you can and as soon as you leave the school premises.
• Make good use of your holidays. Plan a real holiday for at least half of the holiday period. Don’t spend most of your holiday planning lessons or marking. If possible change your environment.
• Consider spending some time (maybe weekends) on your hobbies.
• Think of having a network of friends outside your profession.

Although, it is only responsible to be passionate about your job but it can also be a dangerous thing to get consumed by this passion. Love your job and be diligent.

Remember, you are not just a ‘Sir’, ‘Ma, ‘Mr’, Mrs’, ‘Miss’ or ‘Uncle’ you are also a person.

Also, work to live don’t live to work!

Yours sincerely,

Uncle Goke

 

 

Dealing with SEN Students.

 

A lot of students in mainstream schools have Special Educational Needs (SEN). In previous years, SEN students were separated from the mainstream: but this is now discouraged as much as possible.

A child is considered to have SEN if he or she has a learning difficulty that requires special educational provision. Although, many children may have learning difficulties, they will only be considered to have SEN if the difficulties are seen to be significantly greater than the majority of other students of the same age.

Here are some tips for teaching SEN students:

• Never assume that SEN will automatically create a learning barrier.
• Adapt your teaching style to suit the student – don’t expect them to adapt to you.
• Find out their strengths, weaknesses, background, etc.
• Engage them in the lesson by asking them questions within their ability-make them feel involved.
• Encourage group work so that the students can learn from each other.
• Seat SEN students near to the front of the class to help them focus their attention.
• Give written and oral instructions for all activities- ensure they know what they have to do.
•  Differentiate your learning resources so that every student’s needs are met.
• Explore the use of ICT.

Laugh it out!

• Joseph the latecomer

Teacher: “Why are you late, Joseph?”
Joseph: “Because of a sign down the road.”
Teacher: “What does a sign have to do with you being late?”
Joseph: “The sign said, ‘School Ahead, Go Slow!’”

 

• Word Problems on Money

Teacher: “If you had ten naira and you asked your father for another ten naira, how much  would you have?”
Vincent: “Ten naira.”
Teacher: “You don’t know your arithmetic.”
Vincent: “You don’t know my father.”