Help! My Principal Told Me I Have to “Work On” My Stutter, But I Can’t

Dear We Are Teachers,

I have a stutter that is mostly controlled, but gets worse if I’m nervous or stressed. I’m in my first year of teaching, so obviously stress activates it quite often. My principal called me in to say that parents have complained that students have trouble understanding me because of it, and that I need to “work on” it. I was too scared to argue back, but my principal needs to know that I can’t really work on it. How do I approach this conversation with him without seeming combative? 

—Why Don’t You Work On Your Baldness

Dear W.D.Y.W.O.Y.B.,

First of all, I laughed out loud at your signoff. Excellent.

An employer cannot legally ask you to improve your stutter. This is discrimination based on a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States. It’s illegal to ask someone to change a protected characteristic like a speech impediment as a condition of employment.

If you want to avoid rocking the boat (which is valid), just email that information to your principal, making sure you include the federally-protected language. That’s not combative. In fact, for the sake of his job, your principal should be kissing your feet that you didn’t actually get combative.

If you don’t mind shaking things up (also valid), I’d contact an employment discrimination lawyer to see what you’ve got on your hands. I don’t love the idea of a school leader who is this confident in asking you to change a characteristic you can’t help. What other conditions might he feel confident asking employees to change or hide?

Dear We Are Teachers,

My school has started a new program called “The Collective Good.” The idea is that once a month, each of us—teachers, staff, admin, everyone—do something extra for the greater good of the school. I really love my school and this idea. But I just don’t have the bandwidth for a “big” project like a lot of teachers are doing. Someone on my team is starting a vegetable garden, another teacher is heading up an after school drama program. I feel like all my “once a month” ideas pale in comparison! What’s something I can do once a month that isn’t going to load me down but still has a meaningful impact?

—My Collective Good Needs Improvement

Dear M.C.G.N.I.,

These teachers are doing incredible things! But they are going way, way, way beyond the “once a month” call. I would bet these are programs the teachers already wanted to initiate. They just needed the nudge of this “Collective Good” program.

Let me tell you a story. After my son was born, I quit almost everything I was involved in—neighborhood groups, clubs, volunteering—because I just wanted to stare at my baby and sniff his head for the rest of maternity leave and maybe also eternity. I told a friend I felt guilty about this, and my friend said, “Those groups are others’ to give right now. It sounds like you’ve asked yourself, ‘What’s mine to give right now?’ and this is the answer. And it’s the right answer.”

So ask yourself, “What’s mine to give right now?” Maybe it’s an uplifting student art project about kindness. Or maybe once a month you spruce up the faculty bathrooms with fancy soap. Or decorate a new person’s parking spot with chalk. Whatever you decide, it will be the right answer.

Dear We Are Teachers,

I’m in my first year teaching high school World Geo and APUSH. Here’s my question: what do you do about “A”-obsessed kids hounding you for extra credit? I have a handful of kids after every test or quiz who flood me with emails asking for extra credit if they make anything less than a perfect score. I respect their hard work, but it creates so much extra work for me. Can I just eliminate extra credit opportunities?

—Slow Your Roll, Kiddies

Dear S.Y.R.K.,

Talk to your department chair and/or administrator eliminating or limiting extra credit opportunities. I suspect there’s a departmental policy on extra credit you might not be aware of. Also, they will likely have recommendations for you on how to get the messaging across. After all, these students are used to bumping up their grade at a moment’s notice. It might be a shock to the system (and their GPA) if you take that away without warning.

I got into a similar situation one year when I was offering unlimited extra credit. The next year, I changed things up. I told students in August that I would offer one big extra credit project at the end of each semester. (I announced it early so it wasn’t competing with finals exam). The grade on that would replace one lowest test/project score in the gradebook. Because students knew that I would only be offering extra credit once, they didn’t ask. The opportunity seemed to work out well for the ones who took advantage of it. Just some food for thought.

Do you have a burning question? Email us at askweareteachers@weareteachers.com.

Dear We Are Teachers,

Well, I can’t believe I’m asking this, but I am. When I noticed a student’s handwriting and writing ability improved dramatically overnight, I asked the student, “Did a grown-up help you with this?” Without skipping a beat, he said, “Oh, my mom didn’t just help me. She did it for me.” When I called home to ask about it, the mom confirmed nonchalantly. After a long pause, I said that homework is intended for students to complete. She said they didn’t have time that night and that she has “the right to help my child with his homework to whatever extent I want.” Cool. Not knowing what to say, I suggested we meet in person, so we have a meeting scheduled next week. What am I supposed to do with this? 

—Am I on a Different Planet?