In education, the phrase “picking your battles” means choosing which issues or behaviors are most important to address rather than responding to every minor problem. I have heard this phrase for decades. But how does one go about actually picking these battles? What criteria do we use? What are these battles? Does our administration play a role in what battles we fight or give up on? Does it change from year to year? Are we improving our teaching when we pick and choose what to focus on? Do our colleagues influence us on what we do or not?

What have my battles been? It’s hard to remember- I’ve been teaching 40 years. These battles were different depending on prevailing policies or educational trends. At the beginning of my college teaching, it was cell phones and laptops and most of my colleagues did the same. Why? Some research demonstrated students weren’t learning or focused if they were on phones or laptops- most likely still true. But how much teaching did we do if we kept interrupting to close a laptop or take a cellphone? That was a battle I dropped. Why? Too much aggravation on my part. Were students still learning? Some yes and some no. Did I have a responsibility to make sure all students were learning? At times, part of me feels that I cannot force students to learn if they are unwilling to engage, and that the situation ultimately became a disservice to the other students in the class. Now, with the addition of Chromebooks for students, that battle has probably changed to a different focus.

Student attire was another battle I recall. Yes we all had dress codes in the student handbook so part of that was decided for us. But did it impact learning or class management if a student had three pierced earrings, a tattoo or a purple streak in their hair? Why was it that some teachers really made a case of this while others did not? (Some Catholic schools had strict policies and it was typically the first-period teacher who had to catch the rule infractions. Did I teach first period? Yes- was I asked about how I missed these infractions? Yes and I probably made some excuse.) I really felt you could damage student relationships by focusing on some of these mundane issues. I was usually glad the student showed up to class ready to participate.

Physical education attire is another one. That attire can be flexible and perhaps set by the administration. What was it that made an administration give up on that policy about dressing for physical education class? Was it parents? Teachers? Students?

Nagging students about missing homework. I gave up on the daily nagging. I also assigned less individual homework as the years went on.

Do I have the answer? No, but think about what battles you choose, what you can control, and cannot control . Do not let these battles get in the way of maintaining positive relationships and focus on what matters most. Perhaps there is a battle you can change for everyone’s benefit. Use your time and energy wisely to support effective teaching and learning.

This microblog post was a featured post in #slowchathealth’s #microblogmonth event. You can search for all of the featured posts here. Please do follow each of the outstanding contributors on social media (including Dr. Marcia Berke, adjunct clinical professor NIU and ISU, and the author of this post) and consider writing a microblog post of your own to be shared with the global audience of slowchathealth.com

Pair this blog post with the following:

I Used to Think…But Now I Know….. by Judy LoBianco

I Didn’t Need to “Remember My Why” I Needed Therapy by Casey Langendorfer

Learning IS the Joy by Drew Miller