Five Ways to Sabotage Your Teaching Career Without Realizing What You’re Doing by Nancy Soonpaa Associate Professor of Law Director, Legal Practice Program Texas Tech University School of Law

“Sabotage is indeed inflicted by one’s enemy, never by one’s ally. But the troubling truth is this: Each of us carries within an enemy of greater potential destructiveness than any external foe.”

1. Fail to model professional behavior

 examples: –behavior

1. Fail to model professional behavior  examples: –behavior –attitudes

1. Fail to model professional behavior  examples: –behavior –attitudes –teaching materials

1. Fail to model professional behavior  examples: –behavior –attitudes –teaching materials –timeliness

1. Fail to model professional behavior  examples: –behavior –attitudes –teaching materials –timeliness –preparation

2. Fail to recognize institutional priorities

 examples: –complying with school policies

2. Fail to recognize institutional priorities  examples: –complying with school policies –publishing

2. Fail to recognize institutional priorities  examples: –complying with school policies –publishing –receiving good evaluations from students

2. Fail to recognize institutional priorities  solutions: –find a mentor

2. Fail to recognize institutional priorities  solutions: –find a mentor –watch analytically and ask critically

3. Fail to understand students’ priorities

 examples: –being respected

3. Fail to understand students’ priorities  examples: –being respected –getting a job

3. Fail to understand students’ priorities  examples: –being respected –getting a job –passing the bar

3. Fail to understand students’ priorities  examples: –being respected –getting a job –passing the bar –understanding what is expected of them

4. Fail to know yourself as a teacher

 examples: –Who are you as a teacher in the classroom? (A good resource is Daniel D. Pratt’s Teaching Perspectives Inventory, which identifies five main ways that teachers view what they do in classrooms filled with adult learners.)

4. Fail to know yourself as a teacher  examples: –Who are you in the classroom? –What are your goals for your students?

4. Fail to know yourself as a teacher  examples: –Who are you in the classroom? –What are your goals for your students? –Why do you teach the way you teach? hand out what you hand out?

5. Fail to know yourself as a person

 examples: –What makes you feel good about yourself?

5. Fail to know yourself as a person  examples: –What makes you feel good about yourself? –What makes you feel angry? challenged? defensive?

5. Fail to know yourself as a person  examples: –What makes you feel good about yourself? –What makes you feel angry? challenged? defensive? –What are your priorities?

Questions? Comments?

Thank you!!