A couple of years ago, I took a 2-week class to learn how to teach a particular curriculum. All of the teachers who were taking this class were warned that it was intense and difficult. The principal said she got a B for the class when she took it for the second time -- after teaching it for years!

At that point, it was my goal to get a better grade than the principal had.

When we started the class, I realized I would be able to get an A if I worked at it. I could also tell that I could get a better grade than almost all of the other teachers in the class pretty easily.

There was only one other teacher that was doing as well. We'll call her "Kelly."

So, I changed my goal. It wasn't enough to get a better grade than the principal. I wasn't content with being in the top 2 or 3. I now needed to be better than Kelly too.

And I was.

I squeaked it out by 1/2 a point. (Yes, we told each other our grades. She also had a competitive nature.)

Granted, my competitive nature did drive me to get a very good grade in the class. I studied not to pass, but to get the highest score.

However, this competitive nature has a significant downside.

The Disadvantages of Competition

If I hadn’t received a better grade than Kelly (now my closest coworker and friend), I would have been pretty upset with myself. It wouldn’t have mattered that I had learned a lot in the class and had a good grasp of the curriculum. I needed to be the best.

Throughout the class, I was usually paired with Kelly and it gave me a bit of an edge, but when I wasn’t paired with her, I had a hard time staying engaged. What was the point of this class if not to win?

Obviously, that should not have been my attitude. Instead, I should have been trying to grow as a teacher by learning the curriculum.

I did learn the curriculum enough to pass the class, but I forgot a lot of the information I learned right after I passed the corresponding quiz.

I struggled to implement certain parts of the curriculum in my classroom after that class because my goal was never professional growth, it was competition.

Do you ever compete with your coworkers? Is your goal to create better lesson plans than Ms. Smith or to get your students' grades higher than Ms. Martinez's class?

It can be tempting to make teaching a competition - to want to do better than your colleagues. But you will accomplish more if you work with your coworkers, rather than against them.

What to Do Instead

Once we finished the class together and started the school year, my relationship with Kelly changed significantly. Instead of competing against her to get the highest grade, I started to work with her on lesson planning, classroom management, and other aspects of teaching.

Kelly and I taught the same grade and were both first-year teachers, so we leaned heavily on each other for support. We had already gotten to know each other through the class, and we quickly realized how much more we could get done and how much better we could be when we worked together.

I laid out a weekly schedule for our curriculum that she tweaked for herself, and she shared activities for centers with me. We shared lesson plans with each other and gave each other permission to send misbehaving students to each other's classrooms to take a break.

Whenever we had a question about a student, the curriculum, or school procedures, we would go to each other first.

Our relationship helped us both become better teachers. Teaching was easier because we had someone to support us and share the load. Working together also meant that we were both able to get more done.

Kelly was a great person to have in my corner, and I believe she benefited from the relationship as well. If we had continued our competition from our class throughout the school year, we both would have missed out on the amazing benefits of having someone to lean on.

Look at the teachers around you to see who you can work with. The symbiotic relationship will be rewarding for both parties in so many ways. Having a partner will also help dispel the feeling of isolation teachers sometimes get when they work alone. It's so important to have someone you can count on.

Better yet, initiate relationships with a few colleagues that teach the same or a similar grade or have more experience than you do. Lean on each other for support and create a community.

Plan Together

Perhaps the most obvious way to work cooperatively is to create lesson plans with another teacher. At my school, we have weekly meetings with our grade level to go over the overarching plans for the next week or two. At these meetings, we share ideas and resources which creates less work for all of us. We have the flexibility to tailor these plans to meet our needs and the needs of our students, but it is so helpful to start the week off with these conversations.

On the other hand, I had a friend who was starting her first year as a teacher. She was thrown into the deep end and had no support. Her school did not provide any curriculum for her and her coworkers refused to lift a finger to help. She floundered that year and decided to become a teacher's assistant the next year instead. Her lack of support from coworkers made teaching too hard.

Cover Duties

Another way to grow your professional relationships is to be willing to cover other teachers' duties, such as bus duty, carpool duty, or hallway and cafeteria monitoring. When you are willing to do this for others, they are usually willing to return the favor.

It can be so helpful to be able to trade a duty with a coworker. Sometimes, for no other reason than you need a break or you need to catch up on work.

Make Copies

There have been too many times when my grade level was doing the same lesson or assignment and we saw each other in the workroom making copies of the same materials. Work smarter, not harder! There is no reason for multiple teachers to wait in line at the printer when one person could make copies for everyone.

Tell each other how many students you have in your class and take turns making copies for everyone.

Run Errands

Possibly one of the easiest things you can do on this list is run errands for your fellow teachers. When you need to go down to the office to pick something up, ask the teacher next door if they need anything from the office. This only takes a few extra seconds for you, and it saves them a trip entirely.

Again, the idea behind this is to create a reciprocal relationship. If your coworkers know that you are willing to do things like this for them, they will most likely do the same for you. I have often been pleasantly surprised when a coworker hands me a donut that they picked up from the teacher's lounge when they grabbed one for themselves or when another teacher comes to my classroom with the paperwork I needed to fill out so that I didn't have to make a trip to the office.

Brainstorm

Even with 4 years of college, a semester of student teaching, and years of experience in the classroom, teachers can still be at a loss on how to handle a situation. Dealing with student behavior, classroom management, parent emails, and classroom procedures is not science. There are many areas of our job that we have to figure out, and there are many times we don't know what the best option is.

This is when it is great to have a relationship with another teacher to help you brainstorm. Oftentimes another teacher is your best resource! They can help you figure out how to support a struggling student, differentiate your lessons, or get your classroom under control. Just make sure you're willing to brainstorm with them when they need help.

Reciprocity

When you are willing to help out your coworkers, they will usually return the favor. If your coworkers haven't done any of these things for you yet, be the one to initiate. They will likely follow suit.

If you purposefully grow your relationships with your colleagues and act generously by helping them out when they need it, you will gain their respect and help in return. This is a valuable resource that will provide you with a sense of community as well.

In the end, growing your professional relationships will help you grow as a teacher as well.