“One of the teachers I work with is bad at their job. Does this hurt my credibility, too?”

First of all, what do you mean, “Bad at their job?”

Sometimes, folks who say this just differ with that teacher's philosophical or pedagogical positions.

• E.g., “That teacher is stern and traditional, and I don't think those are good things, and, therefore, that teacher is bad at their job.”

To me, fair enough that you don't like that style of teaching. But to say that teacher is bad at their job isn't necessarily accurate. Their job isn't to align with your perspectives on teaching. Their job is to promote the long-term flourishing of young people by teaching them toward mastery of a given subject.

Furthermore, when it comes to Credibility, it's all about what the students believe about the teacher — not what you believe.

These are the kinds of things that negatively impact a teacher's Credibility with students:

• The teacher harshly yells to quiet students down.
• The teacher is rude to students and puts them down.
• The teacher has clear favorites and bends policies and procedures to suit those favorite students.
• In professional conversations, the teacher tends to blame students for any problems that occur in the classroom and tends to avoid taking responsibility.
• The teacher consistently wastes class time at the start or end of the period.
• The teacher is often seen on his phone or checking email during class periods.
• The teacher shows movies to students for no apparent instructional purpose.
• The teacher is slow to give feedback on student work.

When a teacher is behaving in these ways often, then yes — they'll likely be perceived as not Credible (i.e., bad at their job) to some students.

So, in these cases, is our Credibility with students hampered by merely working in the same building as these folks?

In short, yes. I think so.

>>But!<<

It's not nearly as important to your Credibility as your own actions are. If I had to pie-chart all the sources of your Credibility, it would look like this:

Notice that, in that chart, 75% of the influence on your Credibility comes from your actions and the things those actions signal to students. For the remaining three, you don't have direct control, but they do influence your Credibility:

• Your reputation with a given student's parents
• Your reputation with a given student's peers
• A given student's perception of the school and faculty

In short:

• Yes, your Credibility can be negatively influenced when a given student perceives one or more of your colleagues as bad at their jobs.
• No, this isn't something for your as a teacher to lose a ton of sleep over. You can only control so much.

Best,

DSJR

P.S. This article is an expanded version of one of the nearly 30 “common teacher hang-ups” that I handle in my new book on student motivation. You should check the book out.

P.P.S. Was this article too long, or you'd prefer a video version? I made one here.