Bullying of Teachers Pervasive in Many Schools

[Reader Rabbit]

http://neatoday.org/2012/05/16/bullying-of-teachers-pervasive-in-many-schools/

Workplace bullying is on the rise. About a third of American workers have been impacted by bullying in the workplace, either as a target or as witness to abusive behavior against a co-worker. Unfortunately, it’s even more prevalent in the field of education. In a recent survey of medium-sized school districts, 25 percent of employees reported that they had been bullied.

I suspect that the actual percentage is way more than 25%. If my district is any indicator, there are a lot of teachers and classified staff out there being treated like crap who are too worried about retaliation to do or say anything.

I'm glad NEA has acknowledged this, but they don't seem to be doing a heck of a lot about it. My local union officials seem more interested in buddying up to the district bigwigs and working "with" them than they do in protecting their members. It's more than a little frustrating.

[southernyankeebelle]

1. Teaching is a wonderful job if you have the right school. Especially for working mothers. But

I wouldn't go in it today. It is a thankless job and they are getting from all ends. I have a feeling in a few years organized schools will be gone. Many kids will be taking education on line and at home. I did tell my daughter-in-law if the children get bullied at school please home school them.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Big public schools won't protect a person, typically. But smaller public charter schools might.

However, in the end, it's a rough world.

We teach because we love teaching (more often than not), not because it's safe.

[iemitsu]

3. charters will not protect a teacher.

they are privatized public schools designed to break teacher's unions and reduce the protections that public school employees used to enjoy.
don't fool yourself.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. +1

The charters here don't offer contracts to teachers, don't pay what they offer when they hire the teachers, have no union and fire teachers at will.

[southernyankeebelle]

5. Yes it is up to the teacher to stop a bully. Charter schools aren't so great either. You can find

bullies anywhere. Ask the kid who was bullied by Mittens at the fancy school. But your right bullies can be any where. I remember my son was in mass while I was handding out communion. After mass he told him this old man sitting next to him was pushing him and called him fatty to get out so he could receive communion. I felt upset for my son because he was only a child. Bullies are just mean.

[Moral Compass]

6. Charter Schools are not any safer

I decided that teaching might be a good 4th career a couple of years ago. My wife works for a small charter school in the administration and she knew they needed a Spanish teacher at one of the schools. So, I interviewed and got the job (the way it works in Texas is that if you have 28 or more hours in a given subject you are "highly qualified" to teach it).

I knew that it would be difficult and it was. But by the 2nd semester my kids and I were getting along pretty well and there was some learning occurring.

What I wasn't prepared for was for the hatred and bullying by certain members of the teaching staff. I was openly hated and there was a lot a trash talking about me. A couple of the teachers openly trash talked me to their students and since these students were very fond of me I got a full report.

I've worked a lot of places and I've never experienced anything like it. Needless to say, I'm no longer teaching or doing any work to get my certification. One year was enough. While I had my challenges with the kids it was the staff that drove me away.

[YvonneCa]

9. "We teach because we love teaching ...

...(more often than not), not because it's safe." Your words are very true. But, we teachers may persevere with risks from most sources...students, parents, community, violence. We SHOULD NEVER have to persevere through risks to our safety and/or health from colleagues and administrators we work with. NEVER.

Charter school teachers are 'at will' employees...no need to abuse or bully them to get them to leave.

[NYC_SKP]

11. Smaller schools, generally, public charter or not, tend toward individualized care.

Big schools, less so.

[MichiganVote]

17. Dream on. Every employee has a right to safe working environment.

But here we are with what amounts to an entire generation of kids subject to bomb threats and shootings. And what DOES Arne Duncan actually do about this?

Not a Goddamn thing.

[roguevalley]

7. l am doing llegal prep work for my old partner

They are getting rid of every old teacher in my district.

[YvonneCa]

10. In my district, too. We are...

...too expensive.

[iemitsu]

18. yep, in my district too.

seems the purpose of school reform these days is to attack the teachers. that way they can justify ridding themselves of the higher paid employees. and they save themselves bundles in retirement obligations by dumping teachers before their 30 years are in.

[southernyankeebelle]

12. Oh how terrible. I remember when teachers were revered. I am so sorry. My brother was

a school teacher. A couple of years back they forced him into retirement. He was a popular teacher and a department head. He taught advanced math classes. He was really good at it. The parents could call him at home any time they wanted to. Today that isn't happening. I think he was finally happy to leave. He said they were so many changes coming and that wasn't good for the kids.

[MichiganVote]

16. +1

[MADem]

4. Anecdotal experience, perhaps not translatable across the board, but what I have observed

is that if the superintendent is good, a leader and a team-builder who rewards cooperative conduct, that shit doesn't happen. If the superintendent is a martinet, all bets are off--let the "games" (backbiting, positioning, threatening, nitpicking, gossiping, ratting out, etc.) begin. This same paradigm applies within individual schools, but even a "good" principal, working for a martinet-superintendent, can only do so much and will sometimes be sacrificed because he or she is showing up the superintendent. The beatings will continue until morale improves!

It's pretty much the same in any other leadership venue--from the military to McDonald's.

[TrogL]

8. When I taught, my second principal was a bully

He was constantly harrasing me about stuff my predecessor did. He didn't like the way she closed the back door so every few days he'd complain to me about the way she did it. I barracaded the damn thing but it didn't make a difference. He thought all music teachers were idiots.

[knitter4democracy]

14. Of course we're bullied.

We're bullied by parents, by students, by our fellow teachers, by administrators. It's pervasive, and honestly, it's not that surprising that students are bullied and that many look the other way when you look at what's going on with the adults.

I've had parents get in my face and scream at me, call me at all hours to call me all sorts of names because their kids weren't getting As in my class; students threaten me with everything from getting me fired to killing me and then nothing happening to the student; fellow teachers isolate me (mostly in my long-term sub gigs) and refuse to work with me simply because they were angry that a long-term sub was hired instead of one of them getting the job; principals tell me that I can be replaced the next day and harass me to the point of health problems . . . You name it, I've seen it happen either to me or to a fellow teacher.

It's something the union's supposed to help us with, but if you can't be a union member (and subs can't be here), well, then you're screwed.

[MichiganVote]

15. Neither Admin. or unions will go up against parents.

So now we have a complete and total era of entitlement among student and their parents.

But in the meantime, Washington concerns itself with a Black President and gay marriage.

Go figure.