Q: I’m an elementary school teacher, and I welcome parent involvement. We have a large immigrant population in my school. Without fail, the parents who come on field trips, volunteer to read the students stories, or act as room parents are the U.S.-born parents. I think there are several issues at play. In some cases, there are language [...]
Q: I’m a principal, and one of the teachers in my school is in a bad state. He doesn’t practice proper hygiene and often takes off “ill” in the middle of the day. He’s forgetful, irresponsible, and seems to have an altered view of reality. Conversations indicate that his perception of events is off, whether he’s [...]
Q: I’m in a weird position. I work at a high school, and I have a pretty good relationship with another teacher in my science department. He’s a respected teacher. The kids like him, and they perform well on the AP bio exam after taking his course. He’s been at the school for four years, and [...]
Q: I’m a high school math teacher. Five months ago, I made a stupid mistake. I accidentally sent personal information about one of the students in my class to a different student’s parents. I not only shared that this kid was failing, I expressed concern about his mental health. I know. The second parent knew the [...]
Q: I’m a principal at a large public high school in Wisconsin. As principal, I know some teachers will need more hand-holding than others, but one of my 9th-grade science teachers is really giving me a run for the money. She’s actually a competent teacher. Her students leave her class with a solid knowledge base, she [...]
Q: I’m a principal, and one of my teachers recently confided in me that she’s been sexually harassed by a male colleague. She said that he’s been asking her to perform sexual acts and making sexual comments. As she spoke, I had this gut sense that she’d been sexually assaulted and asked her if he’d made [...]
Q: I work in a highly regarded school that’s full of ambitious people, including myself. I’d like to be an administrator. Even our principal wants to be promoted to director and oversee other principals. He makes self-serving decisions about which teachers to support. He caters to staff members he thinks might have useful connections in [...]
Q: I’m a homeroom teacher in an elementary school. It seems like whenever I leave the school building, a parent is lying in wait, wanting to talk to me about a school issue. They don’t pick up on any hints that it’s neither the time nor the place. I can be literally sitting in my driver’s seat, [...]
Q: I work in human resources for a pretty big school district in Ohio. Staff members contact me for help when they feel wronged or bullied. I’ve gotten more than one complaint about a specific principal. One teacher who complained is an underperformer, and the principal is under tremendous pressure from parents and supervisors to [...]
Q: We have rules at my school regarding when it’s appropriate to send an all-staff email. Basically, it needs to pertain to school business. I get that. No one wants their inbox clogged by teachers looking to sell old couches or find an in-network dentist. Still, I was shocked when my principal chastised me for sending [...]