TL;DR:
- The end of the school year can be chaotic, but it’s also an excellent opportunity to foster camaraderie in co-teaching relationships.
- Co-teachers should find authentic ways to showcase their unique personalities as a team, whether through matching outfits or shared actions based on common interests.
- Strategies for building camaraderie include leveraging commonalities for positive shared actions, demonstrating positive interactions through non-verbal cues, and utilizing inclusive language and personal conversations.
- Celebrating shared successes strengthens co-teaching relationships.
For many educators, the end of the school year is a battle to the finish line. Warmer weather, field trips, countdowns, final learning opportunities, end-of-semester grades, oh my! While it can feel like the craziest time of the year, it can also be the best time of the year to build and model camaraderie within a co-teaching relationship.
Camaraderie is the observable positive bond and mutual trust amongst two people who spend time together. Co-teachers are comrades in arms in the trenches of education. Seizing positive and fun opportunities alongside your co-teaching comrade can help make the hard fought battle more manageable.
A Leader in the Trenches
There are numerous co-teaching best practice leaders that can be added to your professional learning network. @PaulaKluth is someone to follow! Check out this Youtube link for her catchy co-teaching rap, “Are Those Apple Sweaters?” The video depicts two real life co-teachers co-jamming in their matching apple sweaters. The team’s instant observable camaraderie is #squadgoals.
Each co-teaching team is unique. It is important that your co-teaching team finds or creates authentic ways to show your unique personality as a team. Matching outfits is one way to show camaraderie, but it may not be for everyone. The key is to be true to yourselves and have fun.
Each co-teaching team is unique. It is important that your co-teaching team finds or creates authentic ways to show your unique personality as a team. Click To TweetCamaraderie Strategies
First, brainstorm commonalities. Then, link at least one commonality to a positive shared action within your classroom. Do you both have a playful or sarcastic sense of humor? Include intentional back-and-forth co-teacher jokes while teaching. Do you both like music? Create a co-teacher playlist that could be played while students are working. Do you both like sports? Tell stories about your favorite teams or last night’s game as a brain break. Are you both competitive? Challenge your class to a game: students vs. co-teachers. The options are endless.
Another way to show your team’s camaraderie is intentional positive interactions among co-teachers. Non-verbal actions can demonstrate your camaraderie. Be aware of your facial expressions and body language while you communicate with your co-teacher during class. A smile or visual look to check in with each other can go a long way.
Additionally, utilize strategic verbal statements while you communicate with your co-teacher during class. Be sure to utilize the pronouns we and our while talking to students about your shared classroom. Further, find opportunities to chat back and forth with each other. Did a team member create a new activity? Acknowledge their efforts while introducing the activity to students. Did your co-teacher hand you a stack of papers to help pass out? Model manners and say thank you. Allow your students to hear you talk to each other as humans and ask each other, how are you? Or, how was your weekend?
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Success in Sight
The amazing battle that has been this school year has almost been won. Co-teaching relationships grow and strengthen through shared successes. Enjoy this time with your co-teacher comrade in arms. Share your awesome co-teaching camaraderie with our Teach Better Family! Snap a photo or share a quick strategy on social media.
About Meghan Pahlke
Meghan Pahlke is a 7th Grade Resource Special Education Teacher at Plano Middle School. Throughout her career, she has had the honor to work alongside eight phenomenal co-teacher teammates in math and language arts classes. Co-teaching is her passion, and she is dedicated to supporting teams to co-teach with parity. When she’s not teaching or talking co-teaching shop, she enjoys spending time with her husband and Goldendoodle, Murphy.
