We All Compete
It is human nature to compete. I always thought when I became a teacher in a school, I would be amongst colleagues who had a sense of respect and camaraderie. Although we do have a sense of respect for one another, there is a lingering sense of competition, sabotage, and jealousy that occurs within a community of educators. I truly believe for many educators, the kids are the #1 reason why we teach. And they can still be the #1 reason, even with the competitiveness.
Turn Your Desire to Be Better into a Desire for Excellence
I try to not let it get to me, but I am going to be honest, people get annoying. And because people are annoying, I feel the need to outdo them. So what is it about competition that drives us to be better every single day? And how can we channel the need to be better into a desire for excellence? Because trying to outdo someone is exhausting. That could have been energy that I could have spent on my kids, or my life outside of work.
Let Go.
I have spent the last couple of years not caring AT ALL about competing with other teachers. And it’s made me a better teacher! I know my worth, and I know I am a valuable asset to a school.
Here’s a little story for you. Maybe you can relate.
There was a teacher on my team who took everything I created for my class for a certain component of our day. She made sure the principal saw what she was doing with my materials I had created, and got tons of kudos for it in a group email. Although I could have stressed myself out to the max, I just let it go. Who cares? Because I knew at the end of the year, my test scores would reflect my efforts. I didn’t need a shout out, and affirmation that I was doing a great job. I am just going to continue doing what I do.
Want to read more? Here are some coping strategies!
1. Ask yourself if it’s going to matter in 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, etc.
If it won’t be an issue in the future, don’t spend a second on it now.
2. Let people have the spotlight.
If someone did a great job, or takes credit for something you did, let them have the spotlight. They obviously have deeper issues to require that kind of constant affirmation.
3. Find your outlet.
Whatever it is, find something that is better than worrying about someone outshining you. For me, blogging is my outlet. Once I started blogging, nothing was an issue anymore. If the people I was required to be around at work didn’t make me a better teacher, I found other people around the world to learn from.
If you are interested in joining, I have a Facebook group with amazing teachers and conversations!
5. Achieve greatness on your own terms.
Don’t do it any other reason other than for yourself, and your students. It’s okay to want to achieve greatness, but don’t do it because of a select few teachers on campus.
6. Help others.
When you are able to help other people, you rise above the need to compete. Show others that excellence can be achieved through hard work and cooperation. Not competition.
7. Don’t be accessible to those that put you down.
If someone passive aggressively judges you through common conversation, just let them talk. I understand two can play that game, but sometimes, disagreeing will do nothing but give them more fire. Limit your time with these people. There was someone on my team who would belittle me and play devils advocate on things I (and my team) would say and/or do with my/our kids. Everything had an unsolicited response from this teacher. I just made sure to limit our contact time.
8. Celebrate with your students.
This goes back to why we became teachers in the first place. We didn’t do it because of other faculty, our administration, or policymakers. We did it because of the kids. Celebrate victories with them, as they will be more excited than anyone to share celebrations with their very special teacher.
Whatever you do, just make sure you are doing things for you, and not for anybody else. Take your energy and put it into an area of your life that matters! I would love to hear if you have any coping strategies for avoiding that competitive side in the workplace! If you liked this post, be sure to pin or share it with your teaching friends!
Marta says
August 11, 2015 at 3:55 pmI loved this article it definitely relates to me. I got tired of all the competitors and now I just let it go. My students know how I work and they love me for who I am and for how I love teaching them, that’s what really counts
Katie C. says
August 12, 2015 at 9:05 pmThank you so much for writing this article. I’m currently dealing with competitive teachers and this article is just what I needed. Now I know how to deal with the situation. THANK YOU!!!
dia says
August 18, 2015 at 6:42 pmThank you! I so needed to read this. I have always worked with a great group of teachers and we’ve always shared and never competed until…….our grade level began to grow and it seems every new teacher that has joined our team tries to out do or out shine the others. They also take our ideas and take credit for them. I have been praying to let it go because it eats me up on the inside. So thank you for reminding me why I teach
El Angeles says
August 19, 2015 at 6:05 amThank you very much for this post! I have been starting to do most of your tips, I just regress sometimes because I thought I was the only one in the world to do this. Now I know that I am doing the right thing.
Sarah Smith says
September 1, 2015 at 5:07 pmI love this post! This is such a good read and reminder for me. At the end of last school, I told myself some of the tips that you stated. This read is a great reminder and I will be saving this to come back to and read more over and over again!
Donna says
September 26, 2015 at 1:30 amExcellent article! Very good advice. Thank you for voicing in words how we feel. Competition is in sports, not in teaching.
Rose says
January 24, 2016 at 5:09 pmYes, i can identify with this….also when another teacher is bitchy and gives me a hard time, i treat their nastiness as if i don’t understand what they are saying, as if they are trying to help me and i go out of my way to be sweet to them…there us nothing worse for these people than getting no reaction AND they think i am so “dumb” that i don’t understand what they are atrempting to do or say to and about me…it all becomes too much if an effort on their part and they give up and if I’m lucky ignore me…my policy s “well if that makes them happy ok…but i don’t have to engage with them in their nastiness”.
Dana says
January 25, 2016 at 10:22 amYou are a better person than I. You deserved recognition of the work you did. But you are right that person needs a lot more than what she got, although it may have helped her cope for a short time. Great article and great points. Thank you for sharing.
Maria Storto says
August 16, 2016 at 2:01 pmEmily you look so young and are wise beyond your years. My first Principal would make a point to announce what I was doing in my class and direct other teachers to have a look. Well one of them told me to “Stop doing so much. You make the rest of us look bad.” It didn’t bother me and I have kept doing as much and more as always for 40 more years. My present Principal is the exact opposite of my first one. She belittles or ignores my extra efforts (practising Ageism to in order to push me out (retire, so she can hire one of her buddies).
Have you read “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand? Her main character Howard Rourk achieves excellence all his life, allows a competitor to take credit for his work, and then becomes penniless. He achieves only for the love of his work.
It is important to take the “High Road” and know that you are achieving your purpose in life.
Emily says
August 18, 2016 at 10:49 pmMaria, you are too kind:) Sometimes, I don’t think principals even know they facilitate this this divide amongst staff members. Regardless of how they praise their staff, I just think it’s so wrong for someone to tell you stop doing so much:( I have been in a similar situation. To be honest, I think those that don’t seek credit are much happier in life. We realize there is a greater picture in life, and we get to help paint it. Thanks for your dedication to the field and setting an example for teachers like me. I know we would be good friends if we worked together.<3 -Emily
Deehan says
September 15, 2016 at 11:01 amThanks for this article…ive been dealing with a lot of things in our school. I have decided to just move on and find a new school as it is not worth the fight.. the only thing that keeps me going are my children.my students know how I work and how passionate I am with their learning needs. Hopefully the next chapter of my profession wwill have a better working relationships. I did learn a lot though. Every challenge is a learning curve for me as i am just in the early years of my profession.
Livana says
April 11, 2017 at 7:59 amWhat a great article! I am a young teacher and being around teachers that are quite a bit older makes it difficult! Obviously we bring different ideas and view points into the work place but jealously should not be brought in. Once I figured out how to avoid all the negative comments and the downplaying of my teaching abilities because I am a young teacher,I really enjoyed going into work a lot more! I cope with the competitiveness by keeping most of my ideas and work things inside the classroom unless someone really does ask how I did something! Also if I get negative comments, I make it a habit to reply with something nice no matter what is being said! This does give me some hope in the educational career field!