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Bullying of Teachers Pervasive in Many Schools - NEA Today Bullying of Teachers Pervasive in Many Schools - NEA Today http://neatoday.org/2012/05/16/bullying-of-teachers-pervasive-in-... (http://neatoday.org/) News and Features from the National Education Association ARTICLES () MUST READS (/?POST_TYPE=MUST-READS) MORE NEA WEBSITES (#) TEACHERS AND THEIR CLASSROOMS (/CATEGORY /TEACHERS-AND-THEIR-CLASSROOMS/) JOB-RELATED RELATED POSTS STRESS (/CATEGORY/JOB-RELATED-STRESS/) ! APRIL 2, 2014 • TIM WALKER ! Top 5 Myths and Lies About MAY 16, 2012 • 10:35AM 4.6K 47 (#) (#) (#) (#) (#) (#) Teachers and Their ((#) (#) Profession Bullying of Teachers (http://neatoday.org /2014/04/02/top-5-myths- Pervasive in Many and-lies-about-teachers- Schools and-their-profession/) ! JUNE 18, 2013 • CINDY LONG NEA Provides Educators BY CINDY LONG (HTTP://NEATODAY.ORG/AUTHORS with Guidance on /CINDY-LONG) Preventing Workplace Bullying (http://neatoday.org /2013/06/18/nea-provides- educators-with-guidance- on-preventing-workplace- bullying-2/) ! MARCH 6, 2013 • TIM WALKER Three ‘Reforms’ That Are Deprofessionalizing Teaching (http://neatoday.org /2013/03/06/three-reforms- that-are- deprofessionalizing- teaching-2/) (http://neatoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/pointing- finger-e1445976229679.jpg)Workplace bullying is on the rise. ! FEBRUARY 7, 2012 • JOHN About a third of American workers have been impacted ROSALES How Bad Education Policies by bullying in the workplace, Demoralize Teachers 1 of 8 12/5/16, 3:38 PM Bullying of Teachers Pervasive in Many Schools - NEA Today http://neatoday.org/2012/05/16/bullying-of-teachers-pervasive-in-... (http://www.workplacebullying.org/wbiresearch/2010- (http://neatoday.org wbi-national-survey/) either as a target or as witness to /2012/02/07/how- bad-education-policies- abusive behavior against a co-worker. Unfortunately, it’s demoralize-teachers/) even more prevalent in the field of education. In a recent survey of medium-sized school districts, 25 percent of ! JUNE 7, 2011 • JOHN ROSALES employees reported that they had been bullied. The bullying Surviving Teacher Burnout of teachers has become a serious problem. (http://neatoday.org /2011/06/07/surviving- A teacher from Augusta, Maine, was so traumatized by her teacher-burnout-2/) principal and superintendent that she didn’t want her name or school mentioned, but wanted to share her story because she believes the pervasive problem of workplace bullying has gone on unchecked for too long. “I am sufficiently frightened enough by my former employers to fear that maybe they could still hurt me,” she says. “I need to get a new job but won’t be able to do so if I am unable to receive even one recommendation from an administrator. I know it and so do they.” After the Augusta educator resisted being transferred to a new school and new grade level, she began to be scrutinized by her administrators. First, they began examining her test CONNECT WITH scores, her communications with parents, and her relationships with colleagues. Then, with no explanation and no warning, the principal began interrupting her class to pull out students one-by-one to talk to them. When the educator (https://www.facebook.com asked the students why they were being pulled out, they told her they were instructed not to tell. /neatoday) (https://twitter.com She was accused of not using technology in her class, even /neatoday) though each student had a laptop. She was criticized for (http://www.pinterest.com relying on a literacy mentor, even though some of her /neatoday) students were struggling with reading. She was put on a (http://instagram.com behavior modification plan and was told to submit her lesson plans a week in advance for review by administrators. /neatoday/) (feed/) Her peers warned her that she was being targeted, and she EMAIL began to believe it. Finally, she left her job after her health Get the latest NEA news and began to deteriorate. features delivered twice a week to your inbox! 2 of 8 12/5/16, 3:38 PM Bullying of Teachers Pervasive in Many Schools - NEA Today http://neatoday.org/2012/05/16/bullying-of-teachers-pervasive-in-... It’s not just administrators bullying teachers, says Carv Enter your email address Wilson, a geography teacher at Legacy Junior High in Layton, Utah. He’s been an educator for 18 years, and has seen FOR TABLETS teachers bullying each other to get their way, as well as Click here (http://www.nea.org aggressive parents who fly off the handle and threaten and /neatodayapp) to read our latest print issue on your iPad! intimidate their child’s educators. But he says the worst case of ongoing workplace bullying he witnessed was by a principal. RECENT POSTS ! SEE ALSO: DECEMBER 5, 2016 • TIM WALKER Top 5 Myths and Lies About Teachers and Their Profession The Evidence is In: ‘Happy’ (http://neatoday.org/2014/04/02/top-5-myths-and-lies- Schools Boost Student about-teachers-and-their-profession/) Achievement Violence Against Teachers – An Overlooked Crisis? (http://neatoday.org (http://neatoday.org/2013/02/19/violence-against- /2016/12/05/school- teachers-an-overlooked-crisis-2/) climate/) (http://neatoday.org/2013/02/19/violence-against- teachers-an-overlooked-crisis-2/) ! DECEMBER 1, 2016 • MARY (http://neatoday.org/2013/02/19/violence-against- ELLEN FLANNERY teachers-an-overlooked-crisis-2/) NEA Member’s Exploration The Long History of Blaming Teachers First Into Racist Ideas Wins (http://neatoday.org/2014/09/22/the-long-history- National Book Award of-blaming-teachers-first/) (http://neatoday.org ‘I Was a Bad Teacher’: Five Months In a Corporate School Reform Nightmare /2016/12/01/ibram-x-kendi/) (http://neatoday.org/2013/09/04/i-was-a-bad-teacher- five-months-in-a-corporate-school-reform-nightmare-2/) ! NOVEMBER 30, 2016 • TIM Teachers in Kansas May Soon Face Jail Time for Doing WALKER Their Job Educators Dipping Into (http://neatoday.org/2015/03/05/kansas-teachers- Their Own Pockets To Help soon-face-jail-time-job/) Fill Funding Gaps (http://neatoday.org “I was heavily involved in school leadership both as a Davis /2016/11/30/scholastic- Education Association Rep and on the school representative survey-equity/) counsel, and I heard about or witnessed first-hand the abuse ! NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • CINDY of other teachers, staff, and students by this principal,” he LONG says. “She specifically targeted individual teachers and the Looking for Community and only thing that seemed to offer any protection was Support, New Educators in membership in our local association.” Arizona Turn to the Union (http://neatoday.org Wilson says more than 60 percent of the educators were NEA /2016/11/29/new-educators- turn-to-the-union/) members, and the other 30 percent “suffered dramatically at her hands.” The number of transfers out of the school was ! NOVEMBER 22, 2016 • TIM 3 of 8 12/5/16, 3:38 PM Bullying of Teachers Pervasive in Many Schools - NEA Today http://neatoday.org/2012/05/16/bullying-of-teachers-pervasive-in-... higher than 50 percent each year of the eight years that she WALKER A 9 to 5 School Day: Are was principal of the school. Longer Hours Better for Students and Educators? “She seemed to revel in people being driven out of education (http://neatoday.org or to another school,” he says. “The memories of that time /2016/11/22/longer-school- still haunt me from time to time, but it solidified my belief days/) that having representation both in school and in the local community through the association is critical. It’s the only defense against unfair and even punitive measures that are sometimes solely prompted by personality conflicts.” Denise Mirandola is a union representative for the Pennsylvania State Education Association who holds trainings for members called “Bullying in the Workplace.” CATEGORIES “I presented it at an Education Select Category NEA Provides Support Professionals meeting Educators with and was surprised to see so Guidance on many heads nodding,” she says. Preventing “I believe that the phenomenon Workplace Bullying has been overlooked far too long In 2013, NEA and should be brought to the approved a surface quickly.” resolution to “Defend the Rights Like Wilson from Utah, she says and Dignity of association representation is vital Educators,” which if you’re being targeted by a calls for the workplace bully. The first thing association to you should do, in fact, is contact inform its members your union representative. Then, on ways to challenge document, document, document administrator abuse – save emails, letters, memos, of teachers and notes from conversations, or education support anything that shows the professsionals mistreatment. She also (http://neatoday.org recommends confronting the /2013/06/18/nea- bully with a supportive ally, like a provides-educators- union rep – and to describe the with-guidance- offensive behavior you’re on-preventing- experiencing, and the change in 4 of 8 12/5/16, 3:38 PM Bullying of Teachers Pervasive in Many Schools - NEA Today http://neatoday.org/2012/05/16/bullying-of-teachers-pervasive-in-... workplace- behavior you’d like to see. bullying-2/). According to Dr. Matt Spencer of the Workplace Bullying in Schools Project (http://www.workdoctor.com/schools/), “the bully steals the dignity, self-esteem, confidence, joy, happiness, and quality of life of the targeted victim”. And when the target is an educator, it is a great “injustice” because the bully deprives students of a caring adult who is crucial to their education. Currently there is no law in any state against workplace bullying, unless it involves harassment based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age
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