360 Tour

The teacher strategy that was working was planning and integrating plans based on well thought out strategies and appropriate resources. However, the teacher failed to take into account the other educator in the classroom. The learning needs of students are not being met if all educators values, opinions and knowledge are not being considered. The DECE acted without any collaboration with the teacher and thus no planning was considered. There is a serious conflict of strategies at play and an ongoing power struggle which will only continue to negatively impact the students' learning. The two educators must work together to develop a pedagogical approach together.

The parent role was the catalyst for the event becoming contentious. The parents coming forward with complaints and accusations have escalated the incident significantly. The teacher and the principal will take the parents' concerns seriously, as the fears and comments made by the students are quite serious in nature. This incident will likely damage the parent-teacher relationship and sense of trust with the school that may be unable to be fully repaired.
The teacher and the admin must respond with a clear message to parents and the incident may even need to be reported at a higher level. The teacher should take responsibility for the incident and provide a clear plan on how it will be handled going forward.

There is an open lack of commitment to the idea of professionalism in that neither educator is trying to collaborate and work as a team. The classroom teacher and DECE are not demonstrating a collegial relationship. Tensions are caused in advance of this situation owing to the fact that a team dynamic and relationship was not established by the adults in the classroom. Both educators do not have clear guidelines or communication on their role. Tensions are further caused by the imbalance of one ethical standard over another, in the sense that the teacher may understand her ethical commitments but the DECE does not. How will these two educators be able to repair trust and respect after this situation?

The teacher is concerned that interjecting in the situation will make the relationship between the teacher and the DECE more contentious. The teacher is concerned about how her behaviour will be viewed when she initially says the video being played and now when she is being questioned after the fact.

Both educators clearly are demonstrating a significant misalignment in educational goals and societal values. This has converged within a highly complex topic in very young learners. The teachers are not only misaligned on their attitudes and behaviours they are misaligned in their understanding of the developmental process and stages of their kindergarten learners. Clearly both need to review how to teach and approach complex topics to young learners. Philosophically speaking, the AT, DECE and TC differ on their handling of how war should be represented in general and, more specifically, for primary learners.

Both the AT and the DECE have not yet resolved their ongoing communication and dynamic, creating a tense environment for both the TC and the students to be in. When the DECE doesn’t collaborate with the AT for the video, and shows it during a period of time that the AT is not present, she further undermines this tension. It is possible that the DECE is feeling maligned/undervalued since her prior work experience allowed her to be more useful. The AT seems preoccupied with her assessment (which, given that her relationship with the AT has been a good one, should not necessarily be such a strong consideration) to the point that she remains silent when she witnesses professional breaches which have an impact on the students and their families.