Our teachers need to be protected from bad principals/administrators

To the editor,

This letter is directed to Mr. Earle and all others who complain about tenure for teachers. These misguided people automatically assume that all principals and administrators are upstanding, ethical citizens who only have the best interests of the students in mind. While many educational leaders are wonderful people, there are those out there who, as in any field, enter a position of power in order to bully others and exert control. To illustrate my point, I am going to tell you the TRUE story of two teachers.

Teacher A worked in her field for eight years in an elementary school setting. She kept up to date on best practices, and always put the needs of her students first. She spent much of her own money on supplies for her classroom and the children under her care, and often went to work on weekends, holidays, and stayed after hours to ensure that her students had the best possible educational experience she could give them. Teacher A received glowing evaluations, recommendations, and support from parents, former students, and the administrators that she worked under throughout her eight years. As was district policy, she achieved well deserved tenure after three of those years. She also was a member of the teacher’s union, but often wondered if it was worth the extra money and considered cancelling her membership.

When her ninth year of teaching arrived, Teacher A found herself with a brand new principal who had just been hired by the district. Teacher A welcomed the new leader, and made it known that she looked forward to their partnership together for the good of all children. Here is where our story takes its first sad turn. The principal decided, for reasons still unknown to Teacher A, that he did not like her or her teaching practices. The principal found reasons to “nitpick” and over the course of the year, created a highly stressful and often intimidating environment for Teacher A. Instead of coming into the classroom to be a part of the educational experience, the principal would post himself in a corner and glower at Teacher A, waiting for her to “slip up” so that he could send her a strongly worded memo later. Of course, any and all such memos would be placed in Teacher A’s personnel file. Naturally, Teacher A was highly confused and tried everything to work with the principal, take the principal’s “suggestions,” and jump through hoops to satisfy the educational leader. None of it mattered. The principal was determined to get rid of Teacher A. He increased his intimidation practices, upped the level of his “nitpicking” until it took the form of out and out harassment, and even convinced some of the less-bright parents of Teacher A’s students to complain.

Teacher A’s health, sense of happiness in her work, and even her personal family life suffered under the ongoing abuse. She held on, taking each day at a time and knowing that this dark time would not last forever. She had gone into teaching in the first place because of a great love for children and learning, she resolved not to let the principal take that away from her.

Teacher A’s career was only saved by the fact that she was protected by her tenure. If she had not had tenure, the principal would have happily ended her successful teaching career and all of the children she has taught since would have suffered and been deprived of a wonderful education. Fortunately, Teacher A’s story does have a happy ending. After suffering under this principal for four long years, Teacher A’s request to move to another school in the district was finally honored. She started in her new position that following school year, and immediately impressed the new principal with her skills. Her personal file is once again filled with glowing recommendations and evaluations regarding her teaching performance.

That brings us to the case of Teacher B. Teacher B was also a great teacher who had a gentle, sweet personality and a love of children. She was skilled at classroom management, and her students respected her rules while learning in a relaxed, positive atmosphere. The same principal who had tormented Teacher A was also Teacher B’s leader. Now that Teacher A was gone, the principal needed a new target. Unfortunately, Teacher B was not yet in her third year of teaching, so she was not protected by tenure. You can probably guess the end of this story. The principal kept up his barrage of harassment and intimidation (the district’s contract did not provide any protection from this kind of treatment) and at the end of the year, Teacher B found herself jobless. She tried desperately to find another teaching position, as this was her life’s goal and the career that she had strived for. But with the job market the way it was, and with applications that ask the question “Has your contract ever not been renewed by another district?” Teacher B found herself in a difficult position indeed.

The conclusion of my story is this: Teacher A thanks her lucky stars every day for her tenure, without which she would be out of a job and have no way to provide for her family. Teacher B knows that she is a wonderful teacher, but also knows that the unethical principal is responsible for destroying her career.

Education of our children is too important. Teachers need to be protected because the bad principals and other administrators are out there. Letters like Mr. Earle’s show a disrespect for teachers and cause others to feel angry about the fact that their tax dollars pay teacher’s salaries. Understand that teachers are the lowest paid professionals and often work many, many more hours than they are compensated for without complaint. Please think about the other side of an issue and who your words will hurt before you write.

Leslie Kimball

Meredith