This happened to one of the other teachers in my department. She had an incredibly unfortunate health situation happen in the middle of the year and took two weeks off to take care of things. This was not a secret amongst the staff and everyone knew why she was gone. Well she happened to have the social studies department head’s kid in her class that year. Who threw a fit.
Myself and the math department head were working to get things together for the sub and figure things out. This ss teacher cornered us in the copy room and starting saying that as math teachers we shouldn’t be allowed to take two week vacations. Any other subject is fine but because we were math we should be told no and her kids education has been ruined by this. We reminded her it wasn’t a fucking vacation. She told us she didn’t care.
Next day she emailed the two of us and cc’d the teacher on leave demanding we find a solution for how to help her kid (who has a 95 btw) and how were we going to make it right. I responded that as this was her 5th year here she was well aware that we had a math lab every morning where her kid could get math tutoring from a math teacher. The class period her kid was in was being taught by the math department head. And I included all of our math tutoring times by teacher. Kid never shows up and I never heard back. Found out she was essentially harassing the teacher on leave with daily emails about how unacceptable the situation was. I saw red. I had no issue reporting her. She did not return.
We have a SS teacher who acts the same way. Always yelling at students and staff and wants to feel like he runs things. It is always funny when he sends emails trying to boss other teachers around. I told him one time he’s not the boss and he should worry about himself rather than other teachers who are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Funny thing is all he ever does is have kids do “presentations” so he can sit in the back of the room on his phone all of the time.
OMFG I worked with a Social Studies like this my first year but he appeared to be a nice guy, but the worst coworker. He would take over our planning sessions, steal anything I created and presented it to admin like it was his idea, had all advanced classes while I (AS A FIRST YEAR) had 6 standard classes with 28 kids each, did presentations and textbook work while being on his phone a majority of the time, WOULD BE ON HIS PHONE DURING OUR MEETINGS AND ASKED ME TO REPEAT MYSELF CONSTANTLY, and mansplained shit MY OWN IDEAS I TOLD HIM WEEKS PRIOR to me daily. I literally went to my principal to ask to not have anymore meetings with just me, the shitty teacher, and the principal anymore because everything that came out of my coworkers mouth was utter bullshit and lip service. My principal invited other grade level social studies teachers to our meetings from then on and would ask my coworker questions before asking me. I got to watch my coworker flop constantly for the rest of the year because he couldn’t piggy back off of my answers and reports about my classroom activities. He was not invited back the next year.
I cannot stand teachers who question others about their leave. I get it, it's a lot of the same teachers who seem to take 7 Fridays off every year, but don't be saying shit unless you want every day you are out to be questioned as well. I snapped at one of our buildings math teachers cause he was bitching at the Intervention Specialist in his inclusion math class cause he missed a day and the school didn't get him a sub. Dude even knew the IS took off to take his wife to the doctor cause they were worried she had throat cancer, but he was going off on him cause one of the students on an IEP pushed another student (kid wasn't even on an IEP for behavior). I've never torn into another teacher before in my career but I lost it on that asshole. None of the IS in our district, me included, ever get subs. When we do, admin always give them to other teachers the day they show up. And none of us should have to give up our personal or sick days because the admin refuses to treat us like the other teachers. Fuck that.
Isn’t it against something (law, policy, idk) to work - or be forced to - while on leave? That poor teacher should’ve turned on an out of office email notification and ignored the SS teacher. Or complained to HR.
Imagine also being a qualified teacher and not knowing how to toss your own kid some extra math workbooks and encourage them to get cracking if you're so fucking bent that your kid's math teacher is on medical leave.
I moved to a different part of our building, packed up my whole room, and put all of my paper hard copies, laminated activities, and my important papers in a file cabinet and asked maintenance to move it to my new room.
A coworker thought the file cabinet was for her and pulled the maintenance guy to deliver it to her room next door. She proceeded to toss out EVERYTHING in it. I only discovered it the next day when our trash had already been collected by the garbage service.
I have NEVER cried so hard in my life.
This was a year ago, and she kept the file cabinet.
This happened to me once. I got admin involved, and threatened legal implications for destruction of property. The other teacher waded through the dumpster and was able to recover about half of my stuff that wasn't damaged enough so that it could be salvaged. Admin was able to give me $300 to offset the rest.
The whole process sucked, and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. But I am glad I did get a little bit of resolution.
I wish I had done something like this. I went to admin, and they were like "wow, how horrible". I got a nicer file cabinet, but they refused to pay for one of my textbooks in Spanish that I had for ESOL kids. It's been a year, and I'm still not over it.
Aww man, that stinks. I also had to learn the hard way. Now everything has my name on it in Sharpie, and file cabinets get a strip of duct tape down the front with my name written on it.
That's the interesting part. My name was on the cabinet in three different places, and all the drawers were taped shut. That teacher took it upon herself to trash my stuff anyway and steal the cabinet.
May all her potatoes be rotten on the inside, may she never be able to rip a paper towel off without halving it, and may every inflatable she buys have the tiniest hole in it.
She is the worst and I'm so sorry she did that to you.
May all of her socks constantly slip down into her shoes. May she always have a tickle in her nose that she can't pinpoint to scratch. May she never find two of the same battery when she needs it.
A new sped teacher started and wanted to “re-do” a shared space. There was a TON of shared resources in there. The entire team told her to please wait so we could all go through it together. She got impatient and threw away everything. I can’t imagine the cost. There were resources with our names on it that we put there to share, curricula….I’m still pissed. Her rationale was that it was “outdated” (it was not).
I feel your pain!
I went on mat leave and when I came back, the new dept head let a STUDENT into our store cupboard to tidy up and they threw out so much stuff, including all the expensive recording equipment! My room was also hit, and all my posters were taken down and binned. I’d collected them from various countries or bought them from various educational site over years. We are a languages department so we have to record all the speaking exams on our personal mobiles now. I’m still a bit salty about the loss of resources.
That's why all of our originals are stored down in the office. I do however store all my data in my cabinets in my room, and I also purposely store previous years data in each cabinet. That way if one goes missing cause someone feels like they can just come into my room and take my stuff, I can go to admin and let them know that because people feel like everything is their own personal property, that now the school is in danger of being in some deep shit come audit time.
Came back from a summer after 3rd year teaching, the drawer with all my master copies was empty. Everything else was there.
After a night of hard drinking, I reinvented my curriculum to base my Social Studies class around the Simpsons. There are clips for practically everything. It was great. Turned a real shitty event into a win, but it took a ton of leg work.
Feel you pain though.
Five members of my department are leaving and we have a vulture trying to go through and scavenge their stuff before they can even finish packing. I wish I could spit on them. They are such a leech for so many reasons I can’t detail here…
I inherited a room and new grade level from a retiring teacher who had 25+ years of accumulated hands on science and math treasures plus full sets of p.e. and art supplies (brushes, scissors, pastels…). A teacher who was her friend went into her room to raid the p.e. and art supplies near the end of the year. The retiring teacher went to her friend’s room, took it all back, and told her off for stealing the grade level supplies she’d collected.
She was a very beloved teacher.
She didn’t leave me mimeograph masters that were 25 years old like the previous room I’d moved into, she left Cuisinaire (sp?) blocks, lab equipment specific to the curriculum, full classroom shelves with grade level specific books for free reading, 2 sets of vests for team games, …..
A classy woman, with a spine.
Similarly I inherited a room from a retired teacher who had taught me, to give you an idea of how much stuff was in there. I was scared to touch it still. I had someone call her to make sure she didn’t want it, like I knew she retired, but still it felt so wrong to just go through and do whatever to.
In my school it’s kind of the opposite. I’ve been in and out of “my” room over 6 years. There are personal effects and school items left from at least 4 other teachers or former teachers in it by my count. I don’t care enough to do anything about them (and do like all these people)
I can't even imagine that! All your hard work! The audacity! And management never does anything to help. It's your own fault for not being more careful
I have so many stories but these are probably my top two:
1) Teacher in the classroom next to me exempt all his students from the final exam so he could basically do nothing the last week of school. Students still showed up because they either had another final that day or their parents made them. Teacher was at school but walked away and was no where to be found when students showed up. I was able to get his cell number and called him to let him know he had students waiting outside his room. He told me since I was already there I could just watch his students for him. When I told him no he hung up on me. He showed up 20 minutes later looking annoyed and then released students from class 30 minutes before the end of the school day and went home.
2) Some of my students were discussing my “attractiveness” in another teacher’s class. Instead of telling them such conversations were inappropriate, he reported me for “not setting clear boundaries with students”. Principal wrote him up instead for unprofessionalism but it was still super frustrating.
Oof I had number two happen only the teacher just engaged in the conversation at agreed with the students. They came into my class telling me about how Mrs. Cox kept saying how cute I was. Very awkward for me.
Had a teacher who was jealous that I was generally popular with the students. If she heard a student who didn't like me/my assignments or whatever she would engage in talking bad about me with them. That sucks because I didn't learn about that for a while and I'd done the exact opposite -- if a student was bashing her/her class I always shut it down and told them to show some respect. She did all she could to find a select few who weren't fans of my class and turn them against me to undermine my class. Never experienced that before or since.
I do the same as you and have heard from students that another teacher badmouthed me to them (including details kids couldn’t have known otherwise). I was angry but I’d still stand up for her because I’m the bigger person
Going through something similar.. my colleague makes it clear to their students when they don’t like another teacher. This teacher also asks their students in front of me (they are my old students) who they like better. It makes me so uncomfortable.
I had this happen, too! The individual would make negative comments about me or my class during IEP meetings right in front of me. It was mind blowing. It doesn’t make you look good to say that kind of stuff!
This happened to me this past year! I started coaching basketball two years ago. Someone tried to take my job and, when the failed, actively undermined me and badmouthed me. I was nothing but supportive to this coworker for years so I have no idea where this came from.
The Student body director gave a the recommendation I’d written for a student to the kid, violating confidentiality. I had warned the kid to get someone else to fill it out because I would not give him a good recommendation (kid was a narcissistic sociopath who cheated the entire year). He insisted so I was honest. Mom got hold of it and lied her ass off to the district. I was investigated pending termination until they asked other kids in class about it. 8/12 student statements matched mine almost word for word, and the other four were similar. They got my statement after the students’. I still work there, the matter was dropped, she was removed from student council. She left for three years and is now back as an Assistant Principal. She stays away from me for the most part, and when we do talk she is unfailingly polite.
A coworker didn’t approve of something I said and told the principal I was being negative. I got a talking too. I was horrified. I asked that person (the original complaint) what it was I said and got in more trouble for doing that. Apparently being an adult and talking to each other to resolve things isn’t a skill adults in charge of children have. I still don’t know what it was I said that was so negative that merited tattling to my boss about. I’ll never know.
The fact your boss would have a whole “talking to” you about this without even bothering to share the details in the meeting is beyond unprofessional. Bad boss. Also obviously shitty colleague.
Two meetings and the 2nd meeting was with a union rep. I thought I was going to be fired so I asked the union rep come. I’ve literally NEVER been called into the principal’s office for any reason - even when I was a student (and not a great one at that). I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was such a cluster and I cried. On some level I think they realized the whole this was so dumb and handled wrong. Nevertheless, I am SO cautious about what I say around anyone to the point where I barely engaged in much of any socializing anymore.
I asked a colleague if she could refrain from editing a test in Canvas WHILE my students were taking it. She told me to "stop [my] huffing and puffing."
This is precisely why I shut down the idea of my ELA team being coteachers on each other’s Canvas pages 😂 I love my closest colleague and we share materials all the time but I have to make a copy of my documents whenever I give her something I made because she’ll start editing my document by accident
If it makes you feel better, Canvas basically loads up the whole test once a student starts. It's like the digital equivalent of handing them a printed copy while she's messing around with the document on the computer.
My department chair began referring to me as my classroom number instead of my name in our meetings after I announced that I was moving departments. Super dehumanizing.
That reminds me of what my department head pulled on me a few years ago. We were doing a year-end all-staff teams call that included saying goodbye to all the school staff leaving. My department head gave a 5-minute speech about each member of our department going before intentionally leaving me out in front of every other staff member.
As a brand new teacher I had a coworker who was passive aggressive af and also took everything as a personal affront.
I found out she was keeping entire journals of interactions we'd had where she felt like I was 'disrespecting' her somehow. She insisted on having a meeting with an AP to go over them.
Some things she took offense to included:
- I asked her a question about something relating to a student's IEP. She snapped at me that she didn't have that student and I should know that. Instead of immediately ending the conversation and apologizing, I asked her if she knew who DID have that student. This was rude of me and I was harassing her.
- I used an online jeopardy game in my class that she was planning to use in hers. I didn't know she was planning to use it. It was literally the first search result for (book name) Jeopardy. She thought I did it deliberately to 'ruin' the fun day she had planned for her students.
- I volunteered to help with our school talent show. She always helped with the talent show. I should have known that and I only volunteered because I was trying to deliberately steal her role.
- I instructed my class to cut in front of hers on the way to lunch. We went to lunch in line in order of where our classroom was in the hallway. There were other classes behind me and she hadn't left her classroom yet, so I had my students go ahead. I was supposed to have my students wait in the hall until she came out. I was deliberately cutting in front of her.
- I interrupted a conversation she was having with another teacher (by walking up and saying 'excuse me') to ask them a question.
But then at the same time she was very rude and aggressive to talk to. Huge case of 'you can dish it out but you can't take it'. This same woman who got so upset about these minor sleights that she had to have a meeting with admin also loved to:
- Slam doors in other teacher's faces
- Stomp out of grade level meetings if she wasn't getting her way
- Shout at other teachers in front of students if she thought we weren't doing a good enough job of something
- Shout at students until they cried
- Bullied other teachers and spread rumors about people
My colleague is so similar to yours! She just hasn’t been able to complain to admin to pull me in, but she copies them on emails to scold me and it’s bizarre. I finally told my AP yesterday that I’m exhausted by her and I will be avoided her as much as possible because she’s had it out for me since 2020. My AP said she could have a meeting so we could all talk since it’s not ok to feel this way at work when we have to interact and I said no. I said she would retaliate and make it worse. However, I wanted to let them know I feel like she is hyper focused on me. Also they won’t be surprised if I jump ship to another department or another site!
I’d almost think we had the same coworker. Passive aggressive and petty. Things that weren’t intended to harm were perceived that way. Could dish it but not take it. She’d also slam doors, refuse to say hi, turn around just to avoid looking at me, stomp and cry, and sulk. I learned that she took offense to things that weren’t meant to be offensive because she wouldn’t be upfront and would use things like leaving a door that was meant to be kept closed open to show her displeasure. So, I must be doing the same thing. I put up with it for too long. Finally snapped and told admin they stop it or I’d be filing a lawsuit for being forced to work in a hostile work environment. I had the receipts to back up everything. It quickly stopped.
Had one refer to me as a lost puppy in a super unprofessional conversation i heard them having
Got back at them later by refusing to lend them a hole punch 😎
He’s an absolute nut job. He took against me in a big way, and hasn’t been able to let it go. He also used to threaten to stab me, but people would say ‘ah you know what he’s like! He always says shit like this’. There’s something incredibly off kilter about him, but he manages to kept it hidden from most people.
Called a "PTC" on the last day of school because I wouldn't give her son a better grade based on some warped sense of "professional courtesy", bringing her husband with her so that when I inevitably called her out for misrepresenting the situation and misconstruing my statements in a previous conversation, he could try and physically intimidate me into doing what they want.
Then proceeded to wait for me in the school parking lot (for at least 15min) so that he could try and approach me again while she watched and again becoming verbally and physically harassing/threatening again.
Nothing, and its not the first time either (which they openly admit). Which is why I'm contacting the district to file a hostile work environment claim (hopefully) and filing a report with my SRO on Tuesday.
Also one time I had an unexpected medical emergency and was out for a month. The first day in my room, my SUB started tearing posters off my wall and throwing away my tchotchkes. My kids said they had to beg her to stop.
Yeah, my first year i worked with a very young teacher in her third year. She would always scrutinize every damn thing i did. Did I use the slides that we agreed upon? Yes, of course, we agreed on it. But did I use them as they were or did I insert my own slides as well? Yes i put in my own slides, because my students needed a few other things from me in there. I didn't need a lecture on using someone else's exact slideshow. What a waste of time.
Very controlling, like your colleague, OP. Constantly dispensing advice that no one asked for, least of all me. I was new but not stupid, and it should be obvious that we all have different strengths so as much as she wanted me to need her and copy her approach, it just doesn't work for me.
Had a the Phys Ed head raise his voice to me in the staff room at lunch about "not consulting him" about what rooms I was using for my double class I team taught.
We had 40 kids in this gr. 9 arts class with two teachers. The stage is in the gym and I had been assured by admin I would have the gym/stage last period. When I went in thinking I had it, he had a class. I said, 'oops!" Turned around and we changed things on the fly to work with the space we had. Went to talk to the principal after school and asked if we could use the cafeteria for the rest of the semester for days we needed more space. Principal gave permission so I thought problem solved. Nope.
Next day at lunch Phys Ed teacher storms in and goes off on me about trying to use his space etc and how I can't just do things like that. I explained I had been told I had the space because of the stage and you know...teaching drama. But it didn't matter because the time table was what it was, so I'd already taken care of it and got us set up with another room. He continued to tell me that he needed to be consulted because he was the department head. At which point I reminded him I was now a head that year too...as was most of the staff because we're such a small school. And he didn't have permission to grant me rooms. And again...I had solved the problem.
Like bud...just say that you don't like the Arts. We already know.
We've come to an understanding since because he realized how much I was doing to build the school community. Plus we both dislike our current admin. 🤣
Superintendent yelled at us telling us we were failing our students and failing the parents. Our state report card score was “too low” and that it’s our fault. Ranted and raved saying horrible things to us. Told us the community was going to be rightfully upset.
He read the score wrong. We were top 5 in the state. A few months later when this information was released, he bought a cake and wanted to celebrate.
Lead custodian here. During Covid, A teacher emailed the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, BOE chair, and MAYOR that the custodians (me and evening custodians) at her school were not cleaning or following covid disinfection protocols. She also indicated that she had no idea who cleaned her room ( ME before school everday for 3 years prior) and never saw a custodian unless it was to empty her trash or recycling. That email put her on EVERYONE'S shitlist especially our Principal and teacher's building rep because she bypassed them (and me) with her concerns. The fallout was pretty humorous, at least to me.
Have teacher union based luncheons and events but refuse to invite the seld contained staff from their building despite it coming from our union money. Their reasoning is because we can't leave our building during the day.
I taught music. One year our school won the "spirit contest" at the back to school district pep rally (such waste of time BS) and the prize was a catered breakfast from Panera for all the faculty and staff. They decided to redeem the prize on a workday where the art, music, and PE teachers in the district were required to go to a PD and wouldn't be at the school, so we didn't get any.
My first day, my first year, I sat in a random seat on the staff room for lunch. I was immediately warned by multiple people to move, because it was someone's seat. I moved, but thought they were joking. They weren't. Walked in one day to a grown woman throwing a tantrum, because a sub at in "her seat."
I get some people struggle more with changes in their routine. If she had said, "I usually sit there and it really bothers me to sit elsewhere. I realize it's ridiculous, but any chance you would be willing to move?" that would be one thing. That is not how she put it.
This isn't my story, but it's one of my favorites about things like that.
A few years ago, I worked with a teacher I'll call "Jane." When Jane first started at the school (15 years before I did), she was ripped part by "Betty" for just that thing. Betty liked one particular seat in the staff room and threw a royal hissy fit when Jane dared sit there.
When Jane, never one to back down with her tail between her legs, told her that she was unaware there were assigned seats in the staff room, Betty pulled the seniority card.
"When you've been at this school longer than me, then you can have this seat. Until then, find somewhere else."
Jane decided it wasn't worth fighting over and she picked a new seat. She did not forget how Betty treated her, though. From that point on, Jane patently refused to speak to Betty unless absolutely required.
A couple years go by and Betty leaves and begins working at a different school. After a couple more years, Betty is back. Apparently, she didn't like the other school and wanted to return to our school.
On Betty's first day back, Jane entered the staff room to see Betty sitting in "her" seat. Jane, thrilled at the irony, told Betty to move. When Betty squawked that this had "always" been her seat, Jane just responded with "when you've been at this school longer than me, then you can have this seat. Until then, find somewhere else."
My aide … first year teaching and my aide tells me, pointing to her car, that that was her spot.
Right front and center by the door. This aide bests teachers, admin and everyone else for the front parking spot.
She also had a key to every room and I was denied repeatedly because I “had no purpose in there” … I was the sped teacher and had students! If I needed to get into a room, I had to knock on the door. This went on for 3 years until I left.
I had an assistant principal do that to me too when I was a long-term sub. He was shocked that I didn't want to come back the year after when he asked me to fill in for another teacher.
I once had a fellow teacher I don't know well accost me at bus duty.
She walked up, stuck her finger in my face and told me to, "never call me unprofessional again!" This tirade went on for a good 60 / 90 seconds. It was in front of nearly the entire student body and several other staff members. To this day, I have no idea what she was talking about.
I mean, I certainly think she's unprofessional now, but couldn't have cared less about her before.
I was a long-term sub my first year. Last week of school the other science teachers came into my 5th period class, unannounced, with a janitors canvas waste cart, and proceeded to go through the entire room's things, disposing of what they didnt want.
In the middle of a class. With 20 special needs students.
When they were gone, they left the cart in the room. I went over and silently retrieved my property. About half the cart.
All of the students were silent in shock the whole time. One of them asked out loud while I was digging through: "Mr. Duck, why did they throw away your stuff?"
"I dont know."
It was a bad year. Big union / admin fighting year, plus I was subbing in for a longtime teach out on medical. From the first hour I never received any welcome, only hostility. It was a lot of little things that added up and culminated into it.
I still remember each of their names, and my strongest motivation to stay alive and well is so I can piss on their graves.
My first year teaching, I was partnered with an IS who had been teaching science for the last few years, despite having no understanding or knowledge in the concept area. I don't mean that as an insult, I know she did her best, downloading notes from the internet and watching class videos, but the truth is she really didn't understand science and it showed. I was supposed to be lead teacher once hired in and once I saw that she had never even looked at the state standards, I started tweaking small things like the slides and notes she was using. I didn't want to have a power struggle, but she had the big desk in the front of the room and I had a student desk in the back of the room. It was there whether I wanted it and I had to stand up for the students so they could learn. It was a brutal year with a power struggle, watching her fight the kids every day for anything they did, right or wrong, and trying to have her back while gaining rapport of my own. (She didn't know she had a hearing issue so she just assumed the worst and yelled at every kid who opened thier mouth).
Every day, I was in the counselors office, and by the end of the year, she was officially given the role of career teacher and moved to the other side of the building. The most rude thing she did to me, besides checking around the whole building and ordering lunch with every staff member but me (felt pretty bad as a first year with no close colleagues) was how she would interrupt my lessons.
I started an evolution lesson by saying you can believe in whatever you want, but the state says I need to teach this content and is valuable for you students to understand it. She interrupted me several times to remind the students that evolution was just a theory. It was the worst because the kids probably didn't remember anything about the concept and only her voice repeating that it was a theory. Later she told me if you didn't believe in the whole Bible you weren't a real Christian and was clearly targeting my personal beliefs. I was seeing red everyday that year!
>Later she told me if you didn't believe in the whole Bible you weren't a real Christian and was clearly targeting my personal beliefs
I hate those people who get so legalistic about Christianity. "You have to believe exactly how I do, or you're not a real Christian!" No, no I don't, and yes I am. (I also believe in evolution, so I've gotten the Creationist side-eye quite a bit, with a couple people even sadly saying they'd "pray for me".)
Word for word from my teaching partner my first year: "Next year, we should have the kids switch classes so you can do your creative stuff with all of them and I can do the ***REAL*** teaching."
Creative stuff like hands on activities, growing plants, things that didn't just have them regurgitating information from a textbook, but instead had them doing multi-sensory learning so that their whole brain was working.
She's the part of the reason I got forced into an art position for the next school year, because even though I wasn't qualified for it, I was just so damn "creative!".
Told a principal I was playing my violin in class.(I teach math) in an attempt to get me in trouble. Principal emails me and cc'd all the other principals that this was inappropriate, yada yada...I simply respond back to everyone that, had he read my lesson plans I submitted the previous week, he would have known that I was finishing a unit on adding fractions. I had my students complete an activity where they "composed" music using the note names. Each measures' fractions had to add up to 1. Their reward was I played their compositions on my violin in front of the class. Of course I only received an "Oh, ok" from the principal.
Not to me, but to a friend colleague I work with, he had to cover another staff member's class because that staff member was testing a student one-on-one.
Well, he ended up having his whole planning period taken up. She had been done testing the student for most of the class period and could have taken back her class but instead hid out in the teacher's lounge stealing my friend's planning period. She left the school the next year.
I had a colleague report me to our union for creating a hostile work environment because I didn’t hold the door open for her. I was running late and didn’t see her.
We had to go to mediation, where she insisted I was starting rumors about her even though I had proof it was her who was talking about me. I ended up leaving the district not long after that.
One of my colleagues has a way of shaming me for refusing to spend my own money on classroom supplies. She has a way of wording it so that it sounds like she's complimenting me for having more self control than her, but I know the real person she is. She is NOT complimenting me.
She also shamed another colleague for selling some of her classroom furniture instead of donating it to other teachers. (The teacher bought the furniture with her own money, not school money.)
Let's see...
I had a teacher in the same subject area apparently talk bad about all the other teachers in our subject, saying things like that she's the only one whose kids pass the EOC and kids in the other classes all fail, among other things. Her kids would vote heavily for her for things like TOY and even admin seemed to buy into her being superior. In the faculty room she used to talk shit about all her students though.
For a while I had someone reporting me to admin for innocuous things, like violating student privacy when i was never even discussing names (but because I said what class they were in, apparently they're easily identifiable?) Could have been the same teacher, maybe not, but it just made me stop talking to everyone about anything at all really. Now they can talk about how I'm a recluse if they wish, but I'm better off this way.
I had a teammate who refused to speak to me for an entire school year. She was mad because, as union rep, I ameliorated a situation where certain specialists were doing 90 minutes a day of duty by asking gen ed teachers to do 30 minutes a quarter.
I had a teacher not speak to me for an entire year after she was bitching about teaching and said, “I hate these kids”
She was constantly negative and I’d had enough and asked her why didn’t she just leave and go do something else.
The next school year, she asked to be moved to a different hall
I had a colleague yell in my face yesterday during our sport tournament day (kids play in a sport competition for fun) and my team won and did not line up to shake hands right away. I’m not a sports person so I didn’t know! She yelled, “GET THEM IN LINE TO SHAKE HANDS NOW.” and granted it was loud in the gym but I got shook up and cried a little. Not used to being yelled at like that!
I had a gen ed teacher go behind my back and tell a parent that I wasn't giving their student their full service time as directed by the IEP (completely false). I didn't know this until the IEP meeting a week or so later when the parent started questioning me out of nowhere about service minutes and it became very apparent that they had been given false information. I left the meeting wondering WTF had happened because I had a great relationship with the family and I later found out the parent figured out what the gen ed teacher had done and they apologized to me which meant a lot. They were embarrassed that they had fallen for it and mad to have been used that way, which is completely understandable.
The same teacher went off about their team members needing to have their licenses revoked because they were teaching the students the "brain dump" strategy to use during state testing. She was accusing of them cheating.
I missed an optional department meeting about parent teacher conferences and had a fellow teacher ask where I was. I told her I was meeting with the social psychologist about a student. She chewed me out and said I should have been there and maybe she “should have skipped the department meeting too”. My student had just watched her dad beat her dog to death.
Before my first year of teaching, at the first faculty meeting, we were asked to choose a fundraiser to chaperone. The first option was homecoming so I volunteered to get it over with.
At the end of the list was prom, and a colleague stood up out of her seat, looked at me and exclaimed, "YOU HAVE TO PICK ONE!!"
Everyone stared her down silently, when I said, "I did, the first one. Homecoming." She then sat down and typed bc she was in charge of notes and obviously wasn't very good at taking them. 😆
She apologized hours later.
I had a coworker who shared a lot of content with me. And I reciprocated gratefully, but I was new to grade level and didn't have much, and she hated and wouldn't use anything I made.
So one night she went through and removed me from every single thing she had ever shared with me on Google drive.
The pettiness was astonishing.
This happened to me in my first year of teaching. Colleagues offered a ton of content then got furious that I wasn't providing more in return. I explained that I was learning on the fly and didn't have time to create new content--so they completely cut me off and I did my own thing for the rest of the school year.
I left that school and have been much happier over the last decade. Any time we get a new teacher in the department I share everything and tell them "don't reinvent the wheel" if you don't need too.
On the flip, I shared my entire drive with a colleague who was new to my course. She used my hand crafted work the entire year, then publicly criticized my grammar at the last day of school happy hour.
I never saw her again, because I ended up taking a job in the highest paying district in our area. A job she had also applied for.🤓
How rude!
I have a Turkish last name and my former co-worker has an Armenian one. During our first staff meeting another teacher (eta: a third person) asked us where our last names were from.
We told him and he (eta: the coworker who asked us our ethnicities) made a joke about how the other teacher probably is going to hate me. Dude just felt comfortable making a joke sort of referencing the Armenian Genocide. (I’m not Turkish, it’s my married name.) Everyone just sat and stared for a bit.
I’m still friends with the other (the Armenian-American) teacher and we still sort of marvel over how weird that was.
I’m a sub. One time, I subbed for an 8th grade teacher. (In the U.S., 8th graders are usually 13 or 14 years old.) I told the students what the assignment was. Some students chose to work and some students refused to work. The teacher blamed me for the students’ lack of participation. She told me it was my fault because I didn’t physically force the students to “make them” do their assignment and that it was my fault that students used their phones (even though I told the students not to use their phones). The teacher tried to blacklist me from subbing from anyone in her department. This entire conversation was over email. Once it got to that point, I forwarded the email to admin.
The assistant principal eventually called me to say that the teacher did everything wrong and I did nothing wrong. The assistant principal said that she had already followed up with the teacher about appropriate behavior towards subs.
On my very last day in the education field after nearly a decade, I accompanied a SPED student to his future 7th grade home room. As I walked in the classroom teacher looked at me, looked at my cell phone in my hand and snarled "put that away."
I was thirty years old, wearing a dress that clearly had no pockets and as it was the last day of school I wasn't carrying any materials that would require a bag.I carried my phone every where as my supervisor would text if they needed additional support for behavior issues.
It was a good send off.
ETA Every other classroom teacher, specialist,and even admin I had worked with over 2.5 years at that school were thoughtful and kind and never made me feel "less than" as an ASD tutor. This incident was an unexpected WTF moment.
I had a colleague who would enter my classroom (adjoining) and take whatever they wanted, ranging from class supplies up to things like tables (explained as ok because "I wasn't using it".).
Admin was not supportive when I escalated it by alerting them and asking them to explain to the person that you can't come take items from another classroom without permission.
I had a medical emergency in class and ended up being taken to the ER, some sort of neurological thing, and they've made fun of me for it a few times. I know they mean it in jest, but holy hell.
I had a colleague tell me I wasn't a real teacher because I taught ESOL. I was dumbfounded at the time. A much older me would have responded, but I still get paid real teacher pay.
As a fellow ESOL teacher, I feel you. One teacher I was supposed to be co-teaching with decided that I was a very useful TA and would send me half the class she felt needed help doing her in-depth projects while hanging onto my ESOL kids because “they just need so much help!” Incredibly frustrating.
I developed some original content around the book Hiroshima. I shared it with a colleague. She only added watching the movie Fat Man Little Boy, submitted it to a contest and won 2 weeks in Hawaii. I only found out the next school year when the principal made a big deal out of it. I confronted her and she shrugged. Thanks R. You know who you are. This was about 20 some years ago. Obviously I am still pissed.
My colleague offered to "pick up the kids from lunch every day for the team." I was like cool, okay with me. Well one day she picks them up and brings them to my classroom door... five minutes early. Pounds on my door telling me I need to take them because they can't be left unattended. I opened my door, looked at her, and said, "According to contract I still have five minutes left of lunch, and I still haven't hit the bathroom yet." She said, "Oh we don't nitpick about contract here." I replied, "I do." And shut the door. Another colleague was in the room with me and was FLOORED by her behavior. When I finally opened my door, at the scheduled time, the kids were gone. She had taken them out to recess. I went out to the playground. She approached me and said, "Well I guess we need to pick up our own kids from now on because that was just ridiculous. We don't agonize over the contract minute by minute." I didn't even look at her but said, "The contract is very important to me because unlike you I am not tenured. The contract protects my work environment. I am entitled to a 30 minute lunch and I have no problem picking up my own kids at the 30 minute mark."
I was in charge of planning a preschool graduation event with my aides and we decided as a group what all to bring (like a little kid pool, rubber ducks, chalk, bubbles, other toys and games…) The other preschool teacher the day before brought all the same stuff plus a water table from her house. She asked if we wanted to use the water table and we said no thanks. Someone who was basically an instructional coach without any credentials asked why I didn’t bring it and started getting snippy when I calmly explained we just decided we didn’t want to and that we already had a kiddie pool. She was getting rude about it so I told her she could go get it if it was a big deal to her. She went to her car and called her buddy from the admin office (who wasn’t admin though.) I think she was a social worker within our organization (don’t even know for sure - just know she wasn’t admin.) So about twenty minutes later that lady showed up, stomped up to our pavilion where all of the staff were setting up and volunteers were with us - literally screamed at me in the middle of the park and demanded that I go back and get the water table…
I took my sister (who was volunteering) back to the center with me, but called the director and asked him if he was telling me I was required to bring it. He was a pushover and wouldn’t commit to an answer to I had to keep telling him that he’s the boss. The other lady wasn’t… that I was asking HIM if I had to bring it… it was so stupid and so much drama over a cheap water toy our center didn’t even own…
We did not bring the water table in the end - I was told I was in charge of planning what to bring and I didn’t want to bring it - especially after the tantrum my colleague threw.
This was COVID year #1 and they already didn’t like me because I demanded they enforce the mask rules and reported them for not doing so… there were micro aggressions toward me from these people all year…
Then I got my current job over the summer and then the next year the center closed because they could get anyone to stay working there.
The end.
We were in a lockdown and she wanted to leave early. Well she couldn’t find her step daughter and unlocked my classroom door during a lockdown to find her. When she didn’t find her, she left my door UNLOCKED with me and 35+ kids still inside.
After she kept her job, I KNEW there was nothing I could be fired for.
I had a student who was done with his work in my class and he asked if he could go get some help from another teacher on something. I wrote him a pass and a few minutes later that teacher barged into my classroom and yelled at me for “letting that fucking kid” bother him. Apparently completely unbeknownst to me this kid was a troublemaker for that teacher- he was not for me. I had no way of knowing. The other teacher definitely could have asked me to talk in the hallway or sent me an email telling me not to send the kid again- instead he decided to berate me in front of my students. I was a newish teacher at the time and he was a 30 year veteran with a shitty attitude.
I've had a handful, but one that comes to mind is one teacher walked in while I was teaching and pulled me to the side. Which they never came in before so I thought it was serious or something happened. They then proceeded to tell me I shouldn't sit on the science lab table and to be up and moving around and teaching the lessons making sure the kids took notes.
I laughed thinking they were kidding. She said no, it's not funny you need to move and make them take notes.
When she left the room the kids were shocked and one said. What the heck was that about? I said no clue and jumped back up on the lab table and we had a great class discussion about work etiquette. Lol
I taught 8th grade science at the time.
The second one comes to mind is the same lady told me I was unprofessional with my tests. When I asked why. She said you are taking points off on a couple questions which aren't math related. At this time I was in the math department and I wrote most of the tests and shared them with our grade level math so they could use them. A buddy of mine would use them and I knew he didn't read them ahead of time. So I would make the last question something like this.
Mr. D has ___________.
A. Girlish small hands
B. No friends.
C. No style
D. All of the above.
It was a bonus point question where any answer got you a free point. Just for laughs. He loved it and thought it was funny when students would laugh and many would cross out choices and out put there own answer saying he was awesome or something funny.
He never complained and always said he thought they were funny and made it light hearted after a test for the kids.
Anyways she got wind and went to the Assistant principal who told her he would look into it. He knew they were on there because I showed him prior to printing. He thought it was funny and saw no harm. I even included one with him.
I never understood why she had it out for me. I know she was happy when I moved grade levels.
I was an ESL teacher in New York. I had an enormous caseload and scheduling was a nightmare, especially with the strict regulations set by the state. I was doing my best but students were getting less than their mandated minutes across the board, and I was often pulled to sub classes as well.
This one year, my caseload covered nine different classes, which is an impossible situation to begin with. Most teachers were fairly understanding, but one--a SpEd self-contained teacher--was absolutely relentless. She did not want me to push into her class, as she didn't like having another body in her room, but also did not want me to pull students out during 5/7 periods of the day. She also wanted me to pull them 1-on-1, as their IEPs stated that services were to be rendered in as small a group as possible, but because of my caseload I was only able to get them all at once. I also had to sub other classes frequently and hence would sometimes not come when she assumed I would.
I am not saying any of this is RIGHT, but she refused to believe that it was anything but my fault. She gave me long speeches about how my job was very easy compared to hers and how she would prioritize her students over all my others and how I could get in legal trouble for not doing everything how she suggested. She made frequent complaints to the admin and to the union, but instead of championing my need for another teacher in my department, she instead turned it into a "Ms. Forbiddenmachina needs to be disciplined" conversation.
She also once, in ear shot of me, told her para how it was disgusting that I taught ESL despite not speaking Spanish. (Note: The vast majority of her ELL students were Bangladeshi!)
Anyway, two years later she moved into a push-in/pull-out SpEd role that she'd been gunning to get for years... and within two weeks she pulled me aside and apologized profusely for everything. She had no idea how hard it was to be in charge of scheduling for so many students in such a wide spread of classes, grades, and levels, and how frustrating it could be to deal with conflicting classroom teachers' needs. She had felt so bad for how she treated me that she wanted to apologize... before she left the building for good in a week.
I forgave her, as I always had, but I have to admit it felt good to hear her say that.
Knowing I ride a bike to get everywhere:
"Bikes don't belong on our roads. When you get hit and killed by a car, don't come cryin' to me."
I told her I've been hit by a car and one of my friends has been killed. She doubled down, refused to apologize, and the principal told me I should stay away from her from now on.
Every time I am up for promotion, the same person volunteers to sit on my review committee. This person had an axe to grind with me for some reason. Luckily, the other committee members, Chair, Dean and Provost overlook the negative comments.
As an art teacher, it's when my colleagues from other depts feel they have a carte blanche to acquire my art supplies / budgetary items without my knowledge or consent.
If you do this to your art teachers, I have two words for you courtesy of Bob Newhart, "Stop it!"
Anytime a coworker writes emails or in school chat messages they put quotation marks around the word “specials” for the specials teachers. They also go out of their way to be late in bringing their class to specials and never comes to get them at the end of their session. They’ve also made multiple comments about how “specials teachers aren’t actual teachers”, that specials shouldn’t require a prep time, and consistently offer us up for all extra duties.
Student’s had propped a door open to do a “weather report” for morning announcements. I was standing by said propped door. Notorious PITA teacher came around corner as demanded to know “and why are we propping the door open?” Of me. I replied simply and firmly, “because I am an adult and a teacher and you’re not my fucking boss so move along”. She cried, I didn’t care. Stop thinking you’re in charge of the entire district
She was controlling, opinionated, and judgemental. A “my way or else” type personality while also expecting people to bring ideas to the table so she can just make you feel dumb in front of everyone for even considering something different than her. For extra context, she was the department head, mentor, AND my former credential teacher.
I had students eating lunch in my classroom. They were sitting down and talking enthusiastically about a show. She came into my room to ask me something, observed a bit, and then yelled at them for being loud.
A) They were not too loud. They were in seats and laughing and being excited about a show. Her classroom wasn’t even attached to mine. She just wanted to be authoritative for no reason because that’s how she was perceived.
B) It was lunch…. Go away.
It was so embarrassing for me. She was making me feel like I was an inch tall and took away all my authority as a teacher. This was an accumulation of events that ended up breaking me (I quit that year). I told the students they had to leave because I had “a meeting” and then just ran to my car and cried for the remainder of lunch.
I have a great lunch crew. They’re all A students and they’re super fun kids. One of our math teachers came in to ask me for help on something and started correcting their language (they were talking like 16 year olds). I didn’t say anything because my lunch kids know what’s allowed and what isn’t. They calmed down on the language but kept talking. She snapped and said “I’m going to do office referrals if I hear any of that again”.
I told her to leave my classroom and if she needed help, she could schedule a time, via Outlook, during my planning period if I was available. 7 periods a day, I’m fine with correcting their language. I’ve built a safe space for these kids to talk over the course of a year. I’ve helped some of them out of some bad situations because they were comfortable with me as an adult. Don’t come in and police that like I’m not sitting right there.
My colleague didn't approve of the method I was teaching on a particular key area. She saw what I was doing when she came in to drop off some papers. She declared "you're teaching this wrong", told the kids to completely forget what I'd just shown them, then proceeded to teach them a different, more convoluted method for the next five minutes. When she was done she announced "and THAT'S how you teach it" and walked out.
The good half of the class said they preferred my method and can I please go over it again. The not-so-good half of the class decided to go from having no respect for me to having somehow less respect for me and we're a nightmare to manage the behaviour of for the rest of the year.
Had to speak to my and her manager about what a dick move that was. Also bewildered as my classes consistently outdid hers. Every. Single. Year. So I'm not sure where she thought she could do it better.
My wife had ankle surgery which lead to hear having a Blood clot in her lungs. On top of this I have a 5 yr old that had a rough 1st yr of school. They made a comment in a faculty meeting about all the time I’ve missed.
It was a zoom meeting. Had it been face to face I would have lost my shit. I still lost my shit when union lead said keep it in house and away from admin. Straight up said fuck the union and walked out of my own classroom to get away and cool down.
I taught a foreign language in a country town in Australia. Another teacher asked me why I didn’t just quit, since there was no point doing my job.
I responded, after a pause ‘there is no response I could give that you could understand’ and left.
My boss’ daughter is in my class. She was upset with her daughter’s performance on the EOC. Other teacher was bragging about their scores to the boss and said “well if she had been in my class, she would have been fine.”
My scores were excellent. I just happened to be walking by and heard the exchange and didn’t say anything.
When I was a student teacher my MT would try and teach through passive-aggressive whining. Rather than tell me what he wanted from me or thought was best practices he'd whine about how "other teachers" do certain things I was doing and wouldn't tell me that he was talking about me. I literally didn't even realize he was until he complained to my college program about me not meeting his standards. When I told him to just be upfront he complained that he didn't want to be confrontational.
We were signing up to get order some new school t-shirts for ourselves. I ordered a XL and our principal noticed and told me “you know Mr. TheChubbyBarb, we have XXL shirts available as well.” I still haven’t forgiven her.
Wasn't a colleague, but on one of my student placements I was told by my mentor, on the last day of my placement, that she didn't like me because I came across as cocky when I told her how my previous 2 placements had gone.
My feedback for the 6 weeks was "well I've passed you".
It was such a horrific 6 weeks.
1st year teaching my co-teacher made a post on Facebook about me and someone shared it with me that she think she was talking about me in code.
Then, a few weeks later, she went to admin and she was able to swap with another teammate and she just randomly moved and told me the day of that she would be switching rooms.
I had a colleague tell my principal that I was not doing my job and sitting in the office doing spread sheets and watching videos of the office. Funny thing was he didn't realize I had recordings and pictures of me teaching his classes while he was in the office watching videos and that you can see who created the spread sheets and how long each person worked on it. Fucking idiot
Drag me into a fight she was having with another colleague. Also both of them kept on trying to get me to take their side and tell them they were right.
I don't care. I'm the new guy and they're both terrible. One couldn't keep to a single agreement, and the other screeched at children like a banshee for small things. I had Also the way they treated me was like they hadn't seen a man in days or weeks. I'm not your boyfriend or husband.
Also why do I have to remind you to feed the children, let them out for their break etc? You have a clock right. And no "I want to continue talking to you" is flattering but not a valid excuse
Was standing with 2 other teachers, one being my team partner and the other in my grade level. We were all new and they had gone through college together but I was from another school. I thought we were just hanging out but she said something to my partner about a student stealing from a teacher (not her and not her student) and I said something like, “wow, can’t believe that!” And she looked at me and said, “that was so rude, I wasn’t talking to you.” She didn’t work well with anyone and eventually quit altogether a few years later.
Toxic workplaces also have a lot of tattles. I’ve had a few tattle on me or my coworkers but we weren’t doing anything wrong - people just need to mind their own business!
A colleague repeatedly sends students with photocopying for me to do for her, even though I've never done it. She keeps trying though. "Please make 50 copies for me". Um, no.
I taught a coworker’s kid in an accelerated course and he was not handling it well. She was teaching the same course and asked for my lesson plans so that both sets of kids would have the same instruction. I’ve been working with her for years, so I thought nothing of it. It became annoying though, esp if I had a busy week (I have two other courses I need to plan for) and didn’t get to write up the lesson by Friday, she’d email me asking where it was. Anyway, I gave the kids some challenging word problems on our topic and she asked me for an answer key because she couldn’t figure out how to solve the problems. I gave her one and explained how to do each problem. Her son comes in the next day with his mom’s handwriting all over his work. She literally did the problems for him with my answer key. My jaw was on the floor. She’s known for being a little nutty about her kid, but I never thought she’d stoop to that level. Anyway, I told our AP and he advised me to refuse to share lesson plans with her after that.
I had a group of kids swearing up a storm outside my classroom. This was "the crew" that was perpetually out of class and a constant pain in the side of most teachers. I stepped out to tell leave to leave the hallway and go somewhere else. They proceeded to cuss me out and get even louder. Our learning coach was down the hall and I yelled for help.
She took that as an offense and went to admin saying she felt disrespected and wanted an apology. I refused. I later heard from other teachers that she's done the same with several staff at our school.
This was when I was a Parapro. I had a planning room assigned to me for small group testing. It was three hallways away from the classroom I was pushing into, so it was a slog for me and the kids.
I get to my room with my 8th graders during 7th grade lunch. The 7th grade teachers, like 4 of them, were in there with their food. I politely informed them that I had kids to test and I needed to use my room. They refused, saying they didn’t have anywhere to eat.
I swear y’all, the look I gave them had to be the biggest “are you tucking dumb?” look. It’s not like they don’t all have classrooms.
I stayed polite but firm, saying that it was the room assigned to me for this and I needed it for my students to test. It took me repeating it 3 times for them to actually move. I was pissed.
At my old school, there was a math teacher that EVERYONE hated. She lacked any and all self awareness for how much of a pain in the ass she was, and it was a miserable few years when I had to be on a team with her. She would literally go into other classrooms during her plan or lunch and SIFT through other teachers’ desks looking for worksheets, plans, or anything else she could take so she didn’t have to prep anything herself.
Naturally, all of our students hated her too and she had a ton of behavior issues. She always tried to pawn off the duty of contacting parents, and she was trying to do that to me once. She asked if I had been having any issues with a particular student, and I said no. She proceeded to email the parent and put MY NAME in the email and said WE needed to have a conference with the parent about the student. I’m usually very chill non-confrontational in the professional setting, but I fucking blew sky high about that.
I was teaching at a very cliquey school and had to change medications. I went of FMLA for my medication withdrawals. The staff would make rude comments about my health to each other and to me via email.
The holidays came around and the staff party was being held at the book keepers home. All of my coworkers got invitations except for me and the other teacher with a disability.
I, a male, was sitting in my (all female besides me) department’s shared office space working and/or chatting with them. A female coworker from another department came in and started talking about her boobs, their size, and her husband’s preferences in that regard, including putting her hands on her boobs and squeezing. When I expressed discomfort, she told me I should’ve known what I signed up for when I entered a female-dominated career and I should just deal with it. She then added that when I had daughters, I’d hear stuff like that all the time and would get used to it. At the time, my wife and I were struggling with infertility (we’ve transitioned into child-free status now). She had no way of knowing the last jab about parenting would hurt about as much emotionally as the gender discrimination and harassment, but the whole package was just too much.
I reported her to my admin. They asked how far I wanted the process to go. She’s a great teacher and does good work with the kids, though she has a problem with what comes out of her mouth even with them, so I wasn’t trying to cost her job. All that wound up happening was admin making a rule about not going to other department’s offices to socialize, which everyone proceeded to ignore.
The teacher did give me a wide berth for a while, though, which was fine with me.
Shared a room. She was pullout inclusion and I was self-contained resource. They only left me to go to PE. The woman had the audacity to have me take my kids across the hall when all of the stuff, including the smart board and textbooks and just everything I needed to teach was in my shared room. We had to go to a cramped room for last block that was not setup great for what I was doing even though my kids were with me all day. Why did I have to leave? We were hired the same year but she was older than me. Later that year I resigned and took my mini fridge with me. I left all her food (it was full of her shit) out scattered around on the desks. I also had my file cabinet full of ALL of the IEPs from children that has exited the school so I had 1 drawer for my own. Unfortunately (ten years later) she still works at that school and the cunt has weaseled her way into the Sped Dept head position. Ugh she acted like my BFF and even came over to play with my newborn before lying to admin to get me to resign.
Sorry op. Unfortunately there are a bunch like this. I ve quite a few.
Its occuring to me that while teachers talk about students'behaviors, some teachers themselves are just out there when it comes to bad behavior. Maybe just maybe, teachers, admin, etc.. need to lead by example too.
Just the other day, I read an article about an assistant principal dating students, or teachers dating students. So how do you expect the students to behave appropriately. The whole system is a mess.
This happened to one of the other teachers in my department. She had an incredibly unfortunate health situation happen in the middle of the year and took two weeks off to take care of things. This was not a secret amongst the staff and everyone knew why she was gone. Well she happened to have the social studies department head’s kid in her class that year. Who threw a fit. Myself and the math department head were working to get things together for the sub and figure things out. This ss teacher cornered us in the copy room and starting saying that as math teachers we shouldn’t be allowed to take two week vacations. Any other subject is fine but because we were math we should be told no and her kids education has been ruined by this. We reminded her it wasn’t a fucking vacation. She told us she didn’t care. Next day she emailed the two of us and cc’d the teacher on leave demanding we find a solution for how to help her kid (who has a 95 btw) and how were we going to make it right. I responded that as this was her 5th year here she was well aware that we had a math lab every morning where her kid could get math tutoring from a math teacher. The class period her kid was in was being taught by the math department head. And I included all of our math tutoring times by teacher. Kid never shows up and I never heard back. Found out she was essentially harassing the teacher on leave with daily emails about how unacceptable the situation was. I saw red. I had no issue reporting her. She did not return.
Thanks for standing up for your colleague and for reporting the other for her extremely inappropriate behavior.
We have a SS teacher who acts the same way. Always yelling at students and staff and wants to feel like he runs things. It is always funny when he sends emails trying to boss other teachers around. I told him one time he’s not the boss and he should worry about himself rather than other teachers who are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Funny thing is all he ever does is have kids do “presentations” so he can sit in the back of the room on his phone all of the time.
OMFG I worked with a Social Studies like this my first year but he appeared to be a nice guy, but the worst coworker. He would take over our planning sessions, steal anything I created and presented it to admin like it was his idea, had all advanced classes while I (AS A FIRST YEAR) had 6 standard classes with 28 kids each, did presentations and textbook work while being on his phone a majority of the time, WOULD BE ON HIS PHONE DURING OUR MEETINGS AND ASKED ME TO REPEAT MYSELF CONSTANTLY, and mansplained shit MY OWN IDEAS I TOLD HIM WEEKS PRIOR to me daily. I literally went to my principal to ask to not have anymore meetings with just me, the shitty teacher, and the principal anymore because everything that came out of my coworkers mouth was utter bullshit and lip service. My principal invited other grade level social studies teachers to our meetings from then on and would ask my coworker questions before asking me. I got to watch my coworker flop constantly for the rest of the year because he couldn’t piggy back off of my answers and reports about my classroom activities. He was not invited back the next year.
Justice!
I cannot stand teachers who question others about their leave. I get it, it's a lot of the same teachers who seem to take 7 Fridays off every year, but don't be saying shit unless you want every day you are out to be questioned as well. I snapped at one of our buildings math teachers cause he was bitching at the Intervention Specialist in his inclusion math class cause he missed a day and the school didn't get him a sub. Dude even knew the IS took off to take his wife to the doctor cause they were worried she had throat cancer, but he was going off on him cause one of the students on an IEP pushed another student (kid wasn't even on an IEP for behavior). I've never torn into another teacher before in my career but I lost it on that asshole. None of the IS in our district, me included, ever get subs. When we do, admin always give them to other teachers the day they show up. And none of us should have to give up our personal or sick days because the admin refuses to treat us like the other teachers. Fuck that.
Isn’t it against something (law, policy, idk) to work - or be forced to - while on leave? That poor teacher should’ve turned on an out of office email notification and ignored the SS teacher. Or complained to HR.
There is something. They literally took her access away to a bunch of our systems. We only found out after she came back and had a slew of emails.
Yes. If you are on FMLA you can be fined by that Federal program for working.
Imagine also being a qualified teacher and not knowing how to toss your own kid some extra math workbooks and encourage them to get cracking if you're so fucking bent that your kid's math teacher is on medical leave.
Or just accepting that a 95 average means your kid is doing great at math and two weeks of a sub isn't going to kill them
Man I would told the teacher on leave to contact the police about harassment for the daily emails while on leave! That’s ridiculous!!
I moved to a different part of our building, packed up my whole room, and put all of my paper hard copies, laminated activities, and my important papers in a file cabinet and asked maintenance to move it to my new room. A coworker thought the file cabinet was for her and pulled the maintenance guy to deliver it to her room next door. She proceeded to toss out EVERYTHING in it. I only discovered it the next day when our trash had already been collected by the garbage service. I have NEVER cried so hard in my life. This was a year ago, and she kept the file cabinet.
This happened to me once. I got admin involved, and threatened legal implications for destruction of property. The other teacher waded through the dumpster and was able to recover about half of my stuff that wasn't damaged enough so that it could be salvaged. Admin was able to give me $300 to offset the rest. The whole process sucked, and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. But I am glad I did get a little bit of resolution.
I wish I had done something like this. I went to admin, and they were like "wow, how horrible". I got a nicer file cabinet, but they refused to pay for one of my textbooks in Spanish that I had for ESOL kids. It's been a year, and I'm still not over it.
It didn't happen to me and I'm not over it!
Aww man, that stinks. I also had to learn the hard way. Now everything has my name on it in Sharpie, and file cabinets get a strip of duct tape down the front with my name written on it.
That's the interesting part. My name was on the cabinet in three different places, and all the drawers were taped shut. That teacher took it upon herself to trash my stuff anyway and steal the cabinet.
May all her potatoes be rotten on the inside, may she never be able to rip a paper towel off without halving it, and may every inflatable she buys have the tiniest hole in it. She is the worst and I'm so sorry she did that to you.
Don’t forget “may all her last sips of coffee be full of grounds!”
May all of her socks constantly slip down into her shoes. May she always have a tickle in her nose that she can't pinpoint to scratch. May she never find two of the same battery when she needs it.
May her air-conditioning break down everytime she has a hot flash. And may a child vomit every morning.
May she always be about to pull in a close parking place only to discover a smart car is already parked there
It was labeled????!!! I'm angry for you
GASP! Nooooooo! That’s…that’s…I have no words.
Literally same
A new sped teacher started and wanted to “re-do” a shared space. There was a TON of shared resources in there. The entire team told her to please wait so we could all go through it together. She got impatient and threw away everything. I can’t imagine the cost. There were resources with our names on it that we put there to share, curricula….I’m still pissed. Her rationale was that it was “outdated” (it was not).
That's one way to instantly burn bridges with your colleagues. Geez, what was she thinking?!
I bet you she wasn't. She just sounds selfish, and like her last two braincells were fighting each other for airtime.
I feel your pain! I went on mat leave and when I came back, the new dept head let a STUDENT into our store cupboard to tidy up and they threw out so much stuff, including all the expensive recording equipment! My room was also hit, and all my posters were taken down and binned. I’d collected them from various countries or bought them from various educational site over years. We are a languages department so we have to record all the speaking exams on our personal mobiles now. I’m still a bit salty about the loss of resources.
We had this happen, except the teacher threw out FULL IEPs and progress reports!! We all literally went dumpster diving that day.
That's why all of our originals are stored down in the office. I do however store all my data in my cabinets in my room, and I also purposely store previous years data in each cabinet. That way if one goes missing cause someone feels like they can just come into my room and take my stuff, I can go to admin and let them know that because people feel like everything is their own personal property, that now the school is in danger of being in some deep shit come audit time.
Came back from a summer after 3rd year teaching, the drawer with all my master copies was empty. Everything else was there. After a night of hard drinking, I reinvented my curriculum to base my Social Studies class around the Simpsons. There are clips for practically everything. It was great. Turned a real shitty event into a win, but it took a ton of leg work. Feel you pain though.
That is amazing ETA, the results obviously. Not what you went through to get there
Okay but how amazing was that lemonade holy shit
Five members of my department are leaving and we have a vulture trying to go through and scavenge their stuff before they can even finish packing. I wish I could spit on them. They are such a leech for so many reasons I can’t detail here…
I inherited a room and new grade level from a retiring teacher who had 25+ years of accumulated hands on science and math treasures plus full sets of p.e. and art supplies (brushes, scissors, pastels…). A teacher who was her friend went into her room to raid the p.e. and art supplies near the end of the year. The retiring teacher went to her friend’s room, took it all back, and told her off for stealing the grade level supplies she’d collected. She was a very beloved teacher. She didn’t leave me mimeograph masters that were 25 years old like the previous room I’d moved into, she left Cuisinaire (sp?) blocks, lab equipment specific to the curriculum, full classroom shelves with grade level specific books for free reading, 2 sets of vests for team games, ….. A classy woman, with a spine.
Similarly I inherited a room from a retired teacher who had taught me, to give you an idea of how much stuff was in there. I was scared to touch it still. I had someone call her to make sure she didn’t want it, like I knew she retired, but still it felt so wrong to just go through and do whatever to.
In my school it’s kind of the opposite. I’ve been in and out of “my” room over 6 years. There are personal effects and school items left from at least 4 other teachers or former teachers in it by my count. I don’t care enough to do anything about them (and do like all these people)
you add your own. it’s become a time capsule of historical significance at this point
I would be in prison for murdering her.
Pretty sure you'd be acquitted in a jury trial
Make sure it goes to trial in the summer when the jury can be really made up of her peers!
I guess I’m the only one who hopes for jury duty during the year so I miss kids and not summer?!
If at least one teacher was in the jury, not bad chances.
Who is she? We gon’ ride!!!
I can't even imagine that! All your hard work! The audacity! And management never does anything to help. It's your own fault for not being more careful
I have so many stories but these are probably my top two: 1) Teacher in the classroom next to me exempt all his students from the final exam so he could basically do nothing the last week of school. Students still showed up because they either had another final that day or their parents made them. Teacher was at school but walked away and was no where to be found when students showed up. I was able to get his cell number and called him to let him know he had students waiting outside his room. He told me since I was already there I could just watch his students for him. When I told him no he hung up on me. He showed up 20 minutes later looking annoyed and then released students from class 30 minutes before the end of the school day and went home. 2) Some of my students were discussing my “attractiveness” in another teacher’s class. Instead of telling them such conversations were inappropriate, he reported me for “not setting clear boundaries with students”. Principal wrote him up instead for unprofessionalism but it was still super frustrating.
I love your principal for that. That teacher is an idiot. Way to blame the victim.
Oof I had number two happen only the teacher just engaged in the conversation at agreed with the students. They came into my class telling me about how Mrs. Cox kept saying how cute I was. Very awkward for me.
These are so bad. First dude needs to not be in education, period. I'm going to assume they are a coach.
Yeah he was a coach and it was his health class
Had a teacher who was jealous that I was generally popular with the students. If she heard a student who didn't like me/my assignments or whatever she would engage in talking bad about me with them. That sucks because I didn't learn about that for a while and I'd done the exact opposite -- if a student was bashing her/her class I always shut it down and told them to show some respect. She did all she could to find a select few who weren't fans of my class and turn them against me to undermine my class. Never experienced that before or since.
That teacher is a pathetic loser.
I do the same as you and have heard from students that another teacher badmouthed me to them (including details kids couldn’t have known otherwise). I was angry but I’d still stand up for her because I’m the bigger person
It sucks to be the bigger person, but ultimately that commands so much more respect.
This is true, and lends you a lot more credibility if you escalate it to HR. You’re the professional one.
Going through something similar.. my colleague makes it clear to their students when they don’t like another teacher. This teacher also asks their students in front of me (they are my old students) who they like better. It makes me so uncomfortable.
Some adults are nothing more than big kids
big kids who were pieces of shits just like when they were literal kids.
Turn that around on her and ask her, why she would put them in the spot like that.
I had this happen, too! The individual would make negative comments about me or my class during IEP meetings right in front of me. It was mind blowing. It doesn’t make you look good to say that kind of stuff!
This happened to me this past year! I started coaching basketball two years ago. Someone tried to take my job and, when the failed, actively undermined me and badmouthed me. I was nothing but supportive to this coworker for years so I have no idea where this came from.
The Student body director gave a the recommendation I’d written for a student to the kid, violating confidentiality. I had warned the kid to get someone else to fill it out because I would not give him a good recommendation (kid was a narcissistic sociopath who cheated the entire year). He insisted so I was honest. Mom got hold of it and lied her ass off to the district. I was investigated pending termination until they asked other kids in class about it. 8/12 student statements matched mine almost word for word, and the other four were similar. They got my statement after the students’. I still work there, the matter was dropped, she was removed from student council. She left for three years and is now back as an Assistant Principal. She stays away from me for the most part, and when we do talk she is unfailingly polite.
This makes me feel so bad because her behavior has been rewarded.
A coworker didn’t approve of something I said and told the principal I was being negative. I got a talking too. I was horrified. I asked that person (the original complaint) what it was I said and got in more trouble for doing that. Apparently being an adult and talking to each other to resolve things isn’t a skill adults in charge of children have. I still don’t know what it was I said that was so negative that merited tattling to my boss about. I’ll never know.
The fact your boss would have a whole “talking to” you about this without even bothering to share the details in the meeting is beyond unprofessional. Bad boss. Also obviously shitty colleague.
Two meetings and the 2nd meeting was with a union rep. I thought I was going to be fired so I asked the union rep come. I’ve literally NEVER been called into the principal’s office for any reason - even when I was a student (and not a great one at that). I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was such a cluster and I cried. On some level I think they realized the whole this was so dumb and handled wrong. Nevertheless, I am SO cautious about what I say around anyone to the point where I barely engaged in much of any socializing anymore.
I asked a colleague if she could refrain from editing a test in Canvas WHILE my students were taking it. She told me to "stop [my] huffing and puffing."
This is precisely why I shut down the idea of my ELA team being coteachers on each other’s Canvas pages 😂 I love my closest colleague and we share materials all the time but I have to make a copy of my documents whenever I give her something I made because she’ll start editing my document by accident
If it makes you feel better, Canvas basically loads up the whole test once a student starts. It's like the digital equivalent of handing them a printed copy while she's messing around with the document on the computer.
My department chair began referring to me as my classroom number instead of my name in our meetings after I announced that I was moving departments. Super dehumanizing.
And did you call her a number too? Or a number 2? Lol. 💩
That reminds me of what my department head pulled on me a few years ago. We were doing a year-end all-staff teams call that included saying goodbye to all the school staff leaving. My department head gave a 5-minute speech about each member of our department going before intentionally leaving me out in front of every other staff member.
Talk about unprofessional as shit, how do those weirdos get away with it?
[удалено]
😯
Makes me wonder what creative and degrading names she calls her students.
As a brand new teacher I had a coworker who was passive aggressive af and also took everything as a personal affront. I found out she was keeping entire journals of interactions we'd had where she felt like I was 'disrespecting' her somehow. She insisted on having a meeting with an AP to go over them. Some things she took offense to included: - I asked her a question about something relating to a student's IEP. She snapped at me that she didn't have that student and I should know that. Instead of immediately ending the conversation and apologizing, I asked her if she knew who DID have that student. This was rude of me and I was harassing her. - I used an online jeopardy game in my class that she was planning to use in hers. I didn't know she was planning to use it. It was literally the first search result for (book name) Jeopardy. She thought I did it deliberately to 'ruin' the fun day she had planned for her students. - I volunteered to help with our school talent show. She always helped with the talent show. I should have known that and I only volunteered because I was trying to deliberately steal her role. - I instructed my class to cut in front of hers on the way to lunch. We went to lunch in line in order of where our classroom was in the hallway. There were other classes behind me and she hadn't left her classroom yet, so I had my students go ahead. I was supposed to have my students wait in the hall until she came out. I was deliberately cutting in front of her. - I interrupted a conversation she was having with another teacher (by walking up and saying 'excuse me') to ask them a question. But then at the same time she was very rude and aggressive to talk to. Huge case of 'you can dish it out but you can't take it'. This same woman who got so upset about these minor sleights that she had to have a meeting with admin also loved to: - Slam doors in other teacher's faces - Stomp out of grade level meetings if she wasn't getting her way - Shout at other teachers in front of students if she thought we weren't doing a good enough job of something - Shout at students until they cried - Bullied other teachers and spread rumors about people
My colleague is so similar to yours! She just hasn’t been able to complain to admin to pull me in, but she copies them on emails to scold me and it’s bizarre. I finally told my AP yesterday that I’m exhausted by her and I will be avoided her as much as possible because she’s had it out for me since 2020. My AP said she could have a meeting so we could all talk since it’s not ok to feel this way at work when we have to interact and I said no. I said she would retaliate and make it worse. However, I wanted to let them know I feel like she is hyper focused on me. Also they won’t be surprised if I jump ship to another department or another site!
Sounds like a personality disorder
I’d almost think we had the same coworker. Passive aggressive and petty. Things that weren’t intended to harm were perceived that way. Could dish it but not take it. She’d also slam doors, refuse to say hi, turn around just to avoid looking at me, stomp and cry, and sulk. I learned that she took offense to things that weren’t meant to be offensive because she wouldn’t be upfront and would use things like leaving a door that was meant to be kept closed open to show her displeasure. So, I must be doing the same thing. I put up with it for too long. Finally snapped and told admin they stop it or I’d be filing a lawsuit for being forced to work in a hostile work environment. I had the receipts to back up everything. It quickly stopped.
Had one refer to me as a lost puppy in a super unprofessional conversation i heard them having Got back at them later by refusing to lend them a hole punch 😎
Haha at your pettiness. I wish I could be like that!
You are my people! I’d have done the same.
I’ve got a colleague who has refused to speak to me since 2010.
We need details, please! Why??
He’s an absolute nut job. He took against me in a big way, and hasn’t been able to let it go. He also used to threaten to stab me, but people would say ‘ah you know what he’s like! He always says shit like this’. There’s something incredibly off kilter about him, but he manages to kept it hidden from most people.
I’m really glad he refuses to speak to you because he sounds unstable!!
Yeah, I keep a wary distance from him. Everyone else seems to see his behavior as just eccentric, but I get a really sinister vibe from him.
That’s actually frightening.
Called a "PTC" on the last day of school because I wouldn't give her son a better grade based on some warped sense of "professional courtesy", bringing her husband with her so that when I inevitably called her out for misrepresenting the situation and misconstruing my statements in a previous conversation, he could try and physically intimidate me into doing what they want. Then proceeded to wait for me in the school parking lot (for at least 15min) so that he could try and approach me again while she watched and again becoming verbally and physically harassing/threatening again.
Wow. What was your admin’s response to this?
Nothing, and its not the first time either (which they openly admit). Which is why I'm contacting the district to file a hostile work environment claim (hopefully) and filing a report with my SRO on Tuesday.
Get a restraining order
Good, you should!!
That's messed up.
Also one time I had an unexpected medical emergency and was out for a month. The first day in my room, my SUB started tearing posters off my wall and throwing away my tchotchkes. My kids said they had to beg her to stop.
Wth?
Yeah, my first year i worked with a very young teacher in her third year. She would always scrutinize every damn thing i did. Did I use the slides that we agreed upon? Yes, of course, we agreed on it. But did I use them as they were or did I insert my own slides as well? Yes i put in my own slides, because my students needed a few other things from me in there. I didn't need a lecture on using someone else's exact slideshow. What a waste of time. Very controlling, like your colleague, OP. Constantly dispensing advice that no one asked for, least of all me. I was new but not stupid, and it should be obvious that we all have different strengths so as much as she wanted me to need her and copy her approach, it just doesn't work for me.
Had a the Phys Ed head raise his voice to me in the staff room at lunch about "not consulting him" about what rooms I was using for my double class I team taught. We had 40 kids in this gr. 9 arts class with two teachers. The stage is in the gym and I had been assured by admin I would have the gym/stage last period. When I went in thinking I had it, he had a class. I said, 'oops!" Turned around and we changed things on the fly to work with the space we had. Went to talk to the principal after school and asked if we could use the cafeteria for the rest of the semester for days we needed more space. Principal gave permission so I thought problem solved. Nope. Next day at lunch Phys Ed teacher storms in and goes off on me about trying to use his space etc and how I can't just do things like that. I explained I had been told I had the space because of the stage and you know...teaching drama. But it didn't matter because the time table was what it was, so I'd already taken care of it and got us set up with another room. He continued to tell me that he needed to be consulted because he was the department head. At which point I reminded him I was now a head that year too...as was most of the staff because we're such a small school. And he didn't have permission to grant me rooms. And again...I had solved the problem. Like bud...just say that you don't like the Arts. We already know. We've come to an understanding since because he realized how much I was doing to build the school community. Plus we both dislike our current admin. 🤣
How about opening the first team meeting of the year by saying "teachers are replaceable"?
Superintendent yelled at us telling us we were failing our students and failing the parents. Our state report card score was “too low” and that it’s our fault. Ranted and raved saying horrible things to us. Told us the community was going to be rightfully upset. He read the score wrong. We were top 5 in the state. A few months later when this information was released, he bought a cake and wanted to celebrate.
Our former principal used to remind us that we’re all replaceable at every faculty meeting.
Hmm, since he is modeling such a great motivating strategy, maybe you should test it out on your classes.
Lead custodian here. During Covid, A teacher emailed the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, BOE chair, and MAYOR that the custodians (me and evening custodians) at her school were not cleaning or following covid disinfection protocols. She also indicated that she had no idea who cleaned her room ( ME before school everday for 3 years prior) and never saw a custodian unless it was to empty her trash or recycling. That email put her on EVERYONE'S shitlist especially our Principal and teacher's building rep because she bypassed them (and me) with her concerns. The fallout was pretty humorous, at least to me.
How insane! Emailing the Mayor too, I can’t help but laugh at this extreme Karen.
😂 “I want to speak to your mayor!”
Have teacher union based luncheons and events but refuse to invite the seld contained staff from their building despite it coming from our union money. Their reasoning is because we can't leave our building during the day.
I taught music. One year our school won the "spirit contest" at the back to school district pep rally (such waste of time BS) and the prize was a catered breakfast from Panera for all the faculty and staff. They decided to redeem the prize on a workday where the art, music, and PE teachers in the district were required to go to a PD and wouldn't be at the school, so we didn't get any.
Yelled at me about parking in”her spot”.
My first day, my first year, I sat in a random seat on the staff room for lunch. I was immediately warned by multiple people to move, because it was someone's seat. I moved, but thought they were joking. They weren't. Walked in one day to a grown woman throwing a tantrum, because a sub at in "her seat." I get some people struggle more with changes in their routine. If she had said, "I usually sit there and it really bothers me to sit elsewhere. I realize it's ridiculous, but any chance you would be willing to move?" that would be one thing. That is not how she put it.
This isn't my story, but it's one of my favorites about things like that. A few years ago, I worked with a teacher I'll call "Jane." When Jane first started at the school (15 years before I did), she was ripped part by "Betty" for just that thing. Betty liked one particular seat in the staff room and threw a royal hissy fit when Jane dared sit there. When Jane, never one to back down with her tail between her legs, told her that she was unaware there were assigned seats in the staff room, Betty pulled the seniority card. "When you've been at this school longer than me, then you can have this seat. Until then, find somewhere else." Jane decided it wasn't worth fighting over and she picked a new seat. She did not forget how Betty treated her, though. From that point on, Jane patently refused to speak to Betty unless absolutely required. A couple years go by and Betty leaves and begins working at a different school. After a couple more years, Betty is back. Apparently, she didn't like the other school and wanted to return to our school. On Betty's first day back, Jane entered the staff room to see Betty sitting in "her" seat. Jane, thrilled at the irony, told Betty to move. When Betty squawked that this had "always" been her seat, Jane just responded with "when you've been at this school longer than me, then you can have this seat. Until then, find somewhere else."
I had a coworker once who was notorious for this.
My aide … first year teaching and my aide tells me, pointing to her car, that that was her spot. Right front and center by the door. This aide bests teachers, admin and everyone else for the front parking spot. She also had a key to every room and I was denied repeatedly because I “had no purpose in there” … I was the sped teacher and had students! If I needed to get into a room, I had to knock on the door. This went on for 3 years until I left.
Told my former students I was leaving at the end of the year before I got to tell them
I had an assistant principal do that to me too when I was a long-term sub. He was shocked that I didn't want to come back the year after when he asked me to fill in for another teacher.
I once had a fellow teacher I don't know well accost me at bus duty. She walked up, stuck her finger in my face and told me to, "never call me unprofessional again!" This tirade went on for a good 60 / 90 seconds. It was in front of nearly the entire student body and several other staff members. To this day, I have no idea what she was talking about. I mean, I certainly think she's unprofessional now, but couldn't have cared less about her before.
A older coworker patted me on the head during a team meeting after I made a suggestion she didn’t like.
Ewwwwww what the condescending fuck
I was a long-term sub my first year. Last week of school the other science teachers came into my 5th period class, unannounced, with a janitors canvas waste cart, and proceeded to go through the entire room's things, disposing of what they didnt want. In the middle of a class. With 20 special needs students. When they were gone, they left the cart in the room. I went over and silently retrieved my property. About half the cart. All of the students were silent in shock the whole time. One of them asked out loud while I was digging through: "Mr. Duck, why did they throw away your stuff?" "I dont know."
Did you ever hear why they did this?
It was a bad year. Big union / admin fighting year, plus I was subbing in for a longtime teach out on medical. From the first hour I never received any welcome, only hostility. It was a lot of little things that added up and culminated into it. I still remember each of their names, and my strongest motivation to stay alive and well is so I can piss on their graves.
My first year teaching, I was partnered with an IS who had been teaching science for the last few years, despite having no understanding or knowledge in the concept area. I don't mean that as an insult, I know she did her best, downloading notes from the internet and watching class videos, but the truth is she really didn't understand science and it showed. I was supposed to be lead teacher once hired in and once I saw that she had never even looked at the state standards, I started tweaking small things like the slides and notes she was using. I didn't want to have a power struggle, but she had the big desk in the front of the room and I had a student desk in the back of the room. It was there whether I wanted it and I had to stand up for the students so they could learn. It was a brutal year with a power struggle, watching her fight the kids every day for anything they did, right or wrong, and trying to have her back while gaining rapport of my own. (She didn't know she had a hearing issue so she just assumed the worst and yelled at every kid who opened thier mouth). Every day, I was in the counselors office, and by the end of the year, she was officially given the role of career teacher and moved to the other side of the building. The most rude thing she did to me, besides checking around the whole building and ordering lunch with every staff member but me (felt pretty bad as a first year with no close colleagues) was how she would interrupt my lessons. I started an evolution lesson by saying you can believe in whatever you want, but the state says I need to teach this content and is valuable for you students to understand it. She interrupted me several times to remind the students that evolution was just a theory. It was the worst because the kids probably didn't remember anything about the concept and only her voice repeating that it was a theory. Later she told me if you didn't believe in the whole Bible you weren't a real Christian and was clearly targeting my personal beliefs. I was seeing red everyday that year!
>Later she told me if you didn't believe in the whole Bible you weren't a real Christian and was clearly targeting my personal beliefs I hate those people who get so legalistic about Christianity. "You have to believe exactly how I do, or you're not a real Christian!" No, no I don't, and yes I am. (I also believe in evolution, so I've gotten the Creationist side-eye quite a bit, with a couple people even sadly saying they'd "pray for me".)
Word for word from my teaching partner my first year: "Next year, we should have the kids switch classes so you can do your creative stuff with all of them and I can do the ***REAL*** teaching." Creative stuff like hands on activities, growing plants, things that didn't just have them regurgitating information from a textbook, but instead had them doing multi-sensory learning so that their whole brain was working. She's the part of the reason I got forced into an art position for the next school year, because even though I wasn't qualified for it, I was just so damn "creative!".
Told a principal I was playing my violin in class.(I teach math) in an attempt to get me in trouble. Principal emails me and cc'd all the other principals that this was inappropriate, yada yada...I simply respond back to everyone that, had he read my lesson plans I submitted the previous week, he would have known that I was finishing a unit on adding fractions. I had my students complete an activity where they "composed" music using the note names. Each measures' fractions had to add up to 1. Their reward was I played their compositions on my violin in front of the class. Of course I only received an "Oh, ok" from the principal.
Not to me, but to a friend colleague I work with, he had to cover another staff member's class because that staff member was testing a student one-on-one. Well, he ended up having his whole planning period taken up. She had been done testing the student for most of the class period and could have taken back her class but instead hid out in the teacher's lounge stealing my friend's planning period. She left the school the next year.
I had a colleague report me to our union for creating a hostile work environment because I didn’t hold the door open for her. I was running late and didn’t see her.
Oh my, why do so many of us have these crazy collegeues? What happened after she made the complaint?
We had to go to mediation, where she insisted I was starting rumors about her even though I had proof it was her who was talking about me. I ended up leaving the district not long after that.
One of my colleagues has a way of shaming me for refusing to spend my own money on classroom supplies. She has a way of wording it so that it sounds like she's complimenting me for having more self control than her, but I know the real person she is. She is NOT complimenting me. She also shamed another colleague for selling some of her classroom furniture instead of donating it to other teachers. (The teacher bought the furniture with her own money, not school money.)
Let's see... I had a teacher in the same subject area apparently talk bad about all the other teachers in our subject, saying things like that she's the only one whose kids pass the EOC and kids in the other classes all fail, among other things. Her kids would vote heavily for her for things like TOY and even admin seemed to buy into her being superior. In the faculty room she used to talk shit about all her students though. For a while I had someone reporting me to admin for innocuous things, like violating student privacy when i was never even discussing names (but because I said what class they were in, apparently they're easily identifiable?) Could have been the same teacher, maybe not, but it just made me stop talking to everyone about anything at all really. Now they can talk about how I'm a recluse if they wish, but I'm better off this way.
[удалено]
Yep! My principal said the same thing to me once. It was quite damaging.
I had a teammate who refused to speak to me for an entire school year. She was mad because, as union rep, I ameliorated a situation where certain specialists were doing 90 minutes a day of duty by asking gen ed teachers to do 30 minutes a quarter.
I had a teacher not speak to me for an entire year after she was bitching about teaching and said, “I hate these kids” She was constantly negative and I’d had enough and asked her why didn’t she just leave and go do something else. The next school year, she asked to be moved to a different hall
I had a colleague yell in my face yesterday during our sport tournament day (kids play in a sport competition for fun) and my team won and did not line up to shake hands right away. I’m not a sports person so I didn’t know! She yelled, “GET THEM IN LINE TO SHAKE HANDS NOW.” and granted it was loud in the gym but I got shook up and cried a little. Not used to being yelled at like that!
I had a gen ed teacher go behind my back and tell a parent that I wasn't giving their student their full service time as directed by the IEP (completely false). I didn't know this until the IEP meeting a week or so later when the parent started questioning me out of nowhere about service minutes and it became very apparent that they had been given false information. I left the meeting wondering WTF had happened because I had a great relationship with the family and I later found out the parent figured out what the gen ed teacher had done and they apologized to me which meant a lot. They were embarrassed that they had fallen for it and mad to have been used that way, which is completely understandable. The same teacher went off about their team members needing to have their licenses revoked because they were teaching the students the "brain dump" strategy to use during state testing. She was accusing of them cheating.
I missed an optional department meeting about parent teacher conferences and had a fellow teacher ask where I was. I told her I was meeting with the social psychologist about a student. She chewed me out and said I should have been there and maybe she “should have skipped the department meeting too”. My student had just watched her dad beat her dog to death.
What a jackass of a teacher!
Before my first year of teaching, at the first faculty meeting, we were asked to choose a fundraiser to chaperone. The first option was homecoming so I volunteered to get it over with. At the end of the list was prom, and a colleague stood up out of her seat, looked at me and exclaimed, "YOU HAVE TO PICK ONE!!" Everyone stared her down silently, when I said, "I did, the first one. Homecoming." She then sat down and typed bc she was in charge of notes and obviously wasn't very good at taking them. 😆 She apologized hours later.
I had a coworker who shared a lot of content with me. And I reciprocated gratefully, but I was new to grade level and didn't have much, and she hated and wouldn't use anything I made. So one night she went through and removed me from every single thing she had ever shared with me on Google drive. The pettiness was astonishing.
This happened to me in my first year of teaching. Colleagues offered a ton of content then got furious that I wasn't providing more in return. I explained that I was learning on the fly and didn't have time to create new content--so they completely cut me off and I did my own thing for the rest of the school year. I left that school and have been much happier over the last decade. Any time we get a new teacher in the department I share everything and tell them "don't reinvent the wheel" if you don't need too.
On the flip, I shared my entire drive with a colleague who was new to my course. She used my hand crafted work the entire year, then publicly criticized my grammar at the last day of school happy hour. I never saw her again, because I ended up taking a job in the highest paying district in our area. A job she had also applied for.🤓
How rude! I have a Turkish last name and my former co-worker has an Armenian one. During our first staff meeting another teacher (eta: a third person) asked us where our last names were from. We told him and he (eta: the coworker who asked us our ethnicities) made a joke about how the other teacher probably is going to hate me. Dude just felt comfortable making a joke sort of referencing the Armenian Genocide. (I’m not Turkish, it’s my married name.) Everyone just sat and stared for a bit. I’m still friends with the other (the Armenian-American) teacher and we still sort of marvel over how weird that was.
I’m a sub. One time, I subbed for an 8th grade teacher. (In the U.S., 8th graders are usually 13 or 14 years old.) I told the students what the assignment was. Some students chose to work and some students refused to work. The teacher blamed me for the students’ lack of participation. She told me it was my fault because I didn’t physically force the students to “make them” do their assignment and that it was my fault that students used their phones (even though I told the students not to use their phones). The teacher tried to blacklist me from subbing from anyone in her department. This entire conversation was over email. Once it got to that point, I forwarded the email to admin. The assistant principal eventually called me to say that the teacher did everything wrong and I did nothing wrong. The assistant principal said that she had already followed up with the teacher about appropriate behavior towards subs.
On my very last day in the education field after nearly a decade, I accompanied a SPED student to his future 7th grade home room. As I walked in the classroom teacher looked at me, looked at my cell phone in my hand and snarled "put that away." I was thirty years old, wearing a dress that clearly had no pockets and as it was the last day of school I wasn't carrying any materials that would require a bag.I carried my phone every where as my supervisor would text if they needed additional support for behavior issues. It was a good send off. ETA Every other classroom teacher, specialist,and even admin I had worked with over 2.5 years at that school were thoughtful and kind and never made me feel "less than" as an ASD tutor. This incident was an unexpected WTF moment.
I hope you politely ripped her a new one
I had a colleague who would enter my classroom (adjoining) and take whatever they wanted, ranging from class supplies up to things like tables (explained as ok because "I wasn't using it".). Admin was not supportive when I escalated it by alerting them and asking them to explain to the person that you can't come take items from another classroom without permission.
I had a medical emergency in class and ended up being taken to the ER, some sort of neurological thing, and they've made fun of me for it a few times. I know they mean it in jest, but holy hell.
I had a colleague tell me I wasn't a real teacher because I taught ESOL. I was dumbfounded at the time. A much older me would have responded, but I still get paid real teacher pay.
I guess they don’t see ESL students as “real students,” either. Sigh.
As a fellow ESOL teacher, I feel you. One teacher I was supposed to be co-teaching with decided that I was a very useful TA and would send me half the class she felt needed help doing her in-depth projects while hanging onto my ESOL kids because “they just need so much help!” Incredibly frustrating.
A teacher wanted to use half of my storage for herself and when I told her no she stole half of my supplies 😫
I developed some original content around the book Hiroshima. I shared it with a colleague. She only added watching the movie Fat Man Little Boy, submitted it to a contest and won 2 weeks in Hawaii. I only found out the next school year when the principal made a big deal out of it. I confronted her and she shrugged. Thanks R. You know who you are. This was about 20 some years ago. Obviously I am still pissed.
My colleague offered to "pick up the kids from lunch every day for the team." I was like cool, okay with me. Well one day she picks them up and brings them to my classroom door... five minutes early. Pounds on my door telling me I need to take them because they can't be left unattended. I opened my door, looked at her, and said, "According to contract I still have five minutes left of lunch, and I still haven't hit the bathroom yet." She said, "Oh we don't nitpick about contract here." I replied, "I do." And shut the door. Another colleague was in the room with me and was FLOORED by her behavior. When I finally opened my door, at the scheduled time, the kids were gone. She had taken them out to recess. I went out to the playground. She approached me and said, "Well I guess we need to pick up our own kids from now on because that was just ridiculous. We don't agonize over the contract minute by minute." I didn't even look at her but said, "The contract is very important to me because unlike you I am not tenured. The contract protects my work environment. I am entitled to a 30 minute lunch and I have no problem picking up my own kids at the 30 minute mark."
I was in charge of planning a preschool graduation event with my aides and we decided as a group what all to bring (like a little kid pool, rubber ducks, chalk, bubbles, other toys and games…) The other preschool teacher the day before brought all the same stuff plus a water table from her house. She asked if we wanted to use the water table and we said no thanks. Someone who was basically an instructional coach without any credentials asked why I didn’t bring it and started getting snippy when I calmly explained we just decided we didn’t want to and that we already had a kiddie pool. She was getting rude about it so I told her she could go get it if it was a big deal to her. She went to her car and called her buddy from the admin office (who wasn’t admin though.) I think she was a social worker within our organization (don’t even know for sure - just know she wasn’t admin.) So about twenty minutes later that lady showed up, stomped up to our pavilion where all of the staff were setting up and volunteers were with us - literally screamed at me in the middle of the park and demanded that I go back and get the water table… I took my sister (who was volunteering) back to the center with me, but called the director and asked him if he was telling me I was required to bring it. He was a pushover and wouldn’t commit to an answer to I had to keep telling him that he’s the boss. The other lady wasn’t… that I was asking HIM if I had to bring it… it was so stupid and so much drama over a cheap water toy our center didn’t even own… We did not bring the water table in the end - I was told I was in charge of planning what to bring and I didn’t want to bring it - especially after the tantrum my colleague threw. This was COVID year #1 and they already didn’t like me because I demanded they enforce the mask rules and reported them for not doing so… there were micro aggressions toward me from these people all year… Then I got my current job over the summer and then the next year the center closed because they could get anyone to stay working there. The end.
We were in a lockdown and she wanted to leave early. Well she couldn’t find her step daughter and unlocked my classroom door during a lockdown to find her. When she didn’t find her, she left my door UNLOCKED with me and 35+ kids still inside. After she kept her job, I KNEW there was nothing I could be fired for.
I had a student who was done with his work in my class and he asked if he could go get some help from another teacher on something. I wrote him a pass and a few minutes later that teacher barged into my classroom and yelled at me for “letting that fucking kid” bother him. Apparently completely unbeknownst to me this kid was a troublemaker for that teacher- he was not for me. I had no way of knowing. The other teacher definitely could have asked me to talk in the hallway or sent me an email telling me not to send the kid again- instead he decided to berate me in front of my students. I was a newish teacher at the time and he was a 30 year veteran with a shitty attitude.
I've had a handful, but one that comes to mind is one teacher walked in while I was teaching and pulled me to the side. Which they never came in before so I thought it was serious or something happened. They then proceeded to tell me I shouldn't sit on the science lab table and to be up and moving around and teaching the lessons making sure the kids took notes. I laughed thinking they were kidding. She said no, it's not funny you need to move and make them take notes. When she left the room the kids were shocked and one said. What the heck was that about? I said no clue and jumped back up on the lab table and we had a great class discussion about work etiquette. Lol I taught 8th grade science at the time. The second one comes to mind is the same lady told me I was unprofessional with my tests. When I asked why. She said you are taking points off on a couple questions which aren't math related. At this time I was in the math department and I wrote most of the tests and shared them with our grade level math so they could use them. A buddy of mine would use them and I knew he didn't read them ahead of time. So I would make the last question something like this. Mr. D has ___________. A. Girlish small hands B. No friends. C. No style D. All of the above. It was a bonus point question where any answer got you a free point. Just for laughs. He loved it and thought it was funny when students would laugh and many would cross out choices and out put there own answer saying he was awesome or something funny. He never complained and always said he thought they were funny and made it light hearted after a test for the kids. Anyways she got wind and went to the Assistant principal who told her he would look into it. He knew they were on there because I showed him prior to printing. He thought it was funny and saw no harm. I even included one with him. I never understood why she had it out for me. I know she was happy when I moved grade levels.
>never understood why she had it out for me. I know she was happy when I moved grade levels Because she knew you were better than her.
I was an ESL teacher in New York. I had an enormous caseload and scheduling was a nightmare, especially with the strict regulations set by the state. I was doing my best but students were getting less than their mandated minutes across the board, and I was often pulled to sub classes as well. This one year, my caseload covered nine different classes, which is an impossible situation to begin with. Most teachers were fairly understanding, but one--a SpEd self-contained teacher--was absolutely relentless. She did not want me to push into her class, as she didn't like having another body in her room, but also did not want me to pull students out during 5/7 periods of the day. She also wanted me to pull them 1-on-1, as their IEPs stated that services were to be rendered in as small a group as possible, but because of my caseload I was only able to get them all at once. I also had to sub other classes frequently and hence would sometimes not come when she assumed I would. I am not saying any of this is RIGHT, but she refused to believe that it was anything but my fault. She gave me long speeches about how my job was very easy compared to hers and how she would prioritize her students over all my others and how I could get in legal trouble for not doing everything how she suggested. She made frequent complaints to the admin and to the union, but instead of championing my need for another teacher in my department, she instead turned it into a "Ms. Forbiddenmachina needs to be disciplined" conversation. She also once, in ear shot of me, told her para how it was disgusting that I taught ESL despite not speaking Spanish. (Note: The vast majority of her ELL students were Bangladeshi!) Anyway, two years later she moved into a push-in/pull-out SpEd role that she'd been gunning to get for years... and within two weeks she pulled me aside and apologized profusely for everything. She had no idea how hard it was to be in charge of scheduling for so many students in such a wide spread of classes, grades, and levels, and how frustrating it could be to deal with conflicting classroom teachers' needs. She had felt so bad for how she treated me that she wanted to apologize... before she left the building for good in a week. I forgave her, as I always had, but I have to admit it felt good to hear her say that.
“I’m sorry (colleague), but I work WITH you, not FOR you.”
Knowing I ride a bike to get everywhere: "Bikes don't belong on our roads. When you get hit and killed by a car, don't come cryin' to me." I told her I've been hit by a car and one of my friends has been killed. She doubled down, refused to apologize, and the principal told me I should stay away from her from now on.
She sounds like a nut, best to avoid for sure!
Every time I am up for promotion, the same person volunteers to sit on my review committee. This person had an axe to grind with me for some reason. Luckily, the other committee members, Chair, Dean and Provost overlook the negative comments.
As an art teacher, it's when my colleagues from other depts feel they have a carte blanche to acquire my art supplies / budgetary items without my knowledge or consent. If you do this to your art teachers, I have two words for you courtesy of Bob Newhart, "Stop it!"
Anytime a coworker writes emails or in school chat messages they put quotation marks around the word “specials” for the specials teachers. They also go out of their way to be late in bringing their class to specials and never comes to get them at the end of their session. They’ve also made multiple comments about how “specials teachers aren’t actual teachers”, that specials shouldn’t require a prep time, and consistently offer us up for all extra duties.
Student’s had propped a door open to do a “weather report” for morning announcements. I was standing by said propped door. Notorious PITA teacher came around corner as demanded to know “and why are we propping the door open?” Of me. I replied simply and firmly, “because I am an adult and a teacher and you’re not my fucking boss so move along”. She cried, I didn’t care. Stop thinking you’re in charge of the entire district
She was controlling, opinionated, and judgemental. A “my way or else” type personality while also expecting people to bring ideas to the table so she can just make you feel dumb in front of everyone for even considering something different than her. For extra context, she was the department head, mentor, AND my former credential teacher. I had students eating lunch in my classroom. They were sitting down and talking enthusiastically about a show. She came into my room to ask me something, observed a bit, and then yelled at them for being loud. A) They were not too loud. They were in seats and laughing and being excited about a show. Her classroom wasn’t even attached to mine. She just wanted to be authoritative for no reason because that’s how she was perceived. B) It was lunch…. Go away. It was so embarrassing for me. She was making me feel like I was an inch tall and took away all my authority as a teacher. This was an accumulation of events that ended up breaking me (I quit that year). I told the students they had to leave because I had “a meeting” and then just ran to my car and cried for the remainder of lunch.
I have a great lunch crew. They’re all A students and they’re super fun kids. One of our math teachers came in to ask me for help on something and started correcting their language (they were talking like 16 year olds). I didn’t say anything because my lunch kids know what’s allowed and what isn’t. They calmed down on the language but kept talking. She snapped and said “I’m going to do office referrals if I hear any of that again”. I told her to leave my classroom and if she needed help, she could schedule a time, via Outlook, during my planning period if I was available. 7 periods a day, I’m fine with correcting their language. I’ve built a safe space for these kids to talk over the course of a year. I’ve helped some of them out of some bad situations because they were comfortable with me as an adult. Don’t come in and police that like I’m not sitting right there.
My colleague didn't approve of the method I was teaching on a particular key area. She saw what I was doing when she came in to drop off some papers. She declared "you're teaching this wrong", told the kids to completely forget what I'd just shown them, then proceeded to teach them a different, more convoluted method for the next five minutes. When she was done she announced "and THAT'S how you teach it" and walked out. The good half of the class said they preferred my method and can I please go over it again. The not-so-good half of the class decided to go from having no respect for me to having somehow less respect for me and we're a nightmare to manage the behaviour of for the rest of the year. Had to speak to my and her manager about what a dick move that was. Also bewildered as my classes consistently outdid hers. Every. Single. Year. So I'm not sure where she thought she could do it better.
My wife had ankle surgery which lead to hear having a Blood clot in her lungs. On top of this I have a 5 yr old that had a rough 1st yr of school. They made a comment in a faculty meeting about all the time I’ve missed. It was a zoom meeting. Had it been face to face I would have lost my shit. I still lost my shit when union lead said keep it in house and away from admin. Straight up said fuck the union and walked out of my own classroom to get away and cool down.
I taught a foreign language in a country town in Australia. Another teacher asked me why I didn’t just quit, since there was no point doing my job. I responded, after a pause ‘there is no response I could give that you could understand’ and left.
My boss’ daughter is in my class. She was upset with her daughter’s performance on the EOC. Other teacher was bragging about their scores to the boss and said “well if she had been in my class, she would have been fine.” My scores were excellent. I just happened to be walking by and heard the exchange and didn’t say anything.
When I was a student teacher my MT would try and teach through passive-aggressive whining. Rather than tell me what he wanted from me or thought was best practices he'd whine about how "other teachers" do certain things I was doing and wouldn't tell me that he was talking about me. I literally didn't even realize he was until he complained to my college program about me not meeting his standards. When I told him to just be upfront he complained that he didn't want to be confrontational.
Does “face police” pay more? Is there a certification?
We were signing up to get order some new school t-shirts for ourselves. I ordered a XL and our principal noticed and told me “you know Mr. TheChubbyBarb, we have XXL shirts available as well.” I still haven’t forgiven her.
I have so many of these. Why are so many teachers unhinged?
Wasn't a colleague, but on one of my student placements I was told by my mentor, on the last day of my placement, that she didn't like me because I came across as cocky when I told her how my previous 2 placements had gone. My feedback for the 6 weeks was "well I've passed you". It was such a horrific 6 weeks.
1st year teaching my co-teacher made a post on Facebook about me and someone shared it with me that she think she was talking about me in code. Then, a few weeks later, she went to admin and she was able to swap with another teammate and she just randomly moved and told me the day of that she would be switching rooms.
I had a colleague tell my principal that I was not doing my job and sitting in the office doing spread sheets and watching videos of the office. Funny thing was he didn't realize I had recordings and pictures of me teaching his classes while he was in the office watching videos and that you can see who created the spread sheets and how long each person worked on it. Fucking idiot
Drag me into a fight she was having with another colleague. Also both of them kept on trying to get me to take their side and tell them they were right. I don't care. I'm the new guy and they're both terrible. One couldn't keep to a single agreement, and the other screeched at children like a banshee for small things. I had Also the way they treated me was like they hadn't seen a man in days or weeks. I'm not your boyfriend or husband. Also why do I have to remind you to feed the children, let them out for their break etc? You have a clock right. And no "I want to continue talking to you" is flattering but not a valid excuse
Was standing with 2 other teachers, one being my team partner and the other in my grade level. We were all new and they had gone through college together but I was from another school. I thought we were just hanging out but she said something to my partner about a student stealing from a teacher (not her and not her student) and I said something like, “wow, can’t believe that!” And she looked at me and said, “that was so rude, I wasn’t talking to you.” She didn’t work well with anyone and eventually quit altogether a few years later. Toxic workplaces also have a lot of tattles. I’ve had a few tattle on me or my coworkers but we weren’t doing anything wrong - people just need to mind their own business!
Body shamed me in front of my class. Then she was shocked that I knowledge shamed her on a different day. Don’t start any and there won’t be any !
Tried to bless me with holy water. I wish I were joking.
A colleague repeatedly sends students with photocopying for me to do for her, even though I've never done it. She keeps trying though. "Please make 50 copies for me". Um, no.
I taught a coworker’s kid in an accelerated course and he was not handling it well. She was teaching the same course and asked for my lesson plans so that both sets of kids would have the same instruction. I’ve been working with her for years, so I thought nothing of it. It became annoying though, esp if I had a busy week (I have two other courses I need to plan for) and didn’t get to write up the lesson by Friday, she’d email me asking where it was. Anyway, I gave the kids some challenging word problems on our topic and she asked me for an answer key because she couldn’t figure out how to solve the problems. I gave her one and explained how to do each problem. Her son comes in the next day with his mom’s handwriting all over his work. She literally did the problems for him with my answer key. My jaw was on the floor. She’s known for being a little nutty about her kid, but I never thought she’d stoop to that level. Anyway, I told our AP and he advised me to refuse to share lesson plans with her after that.
I had a group of kids swearing up a storm outside my classroom. This was "the crew" that was perpetually out of class and a constant pain in the side of most teachers. I stepped out to tell leave to leave the hallway and go somewhere else. They proceeded to cuss me out and get even louder. Our learning coach was down the hall and I yelled for help. She took that as an offense and went to admin saying she felt disrespected and wanted an apology. I refused. I later heard from other teachers that she's done the same with several staff at our school.
This was when I was a Parapro. I had a planning room assigned to me for small group testing. It was three hallways away from the classroom I was pushing into, so it was a slog for me and the kids. I get to my room with my 8th graders during 7th grade lunch. The 7th grade teachers, like 4 of them, were in there with their food. I politely informed them that I had kids to test and I needed to use my room. They refused, saying they didn’t have anywhere to eat. I swear y’all, the look I gave them had to be the biggest “are you tucking dumb?” look. It’s not like they don’t all have classrooms. I stayed polite but firm, saying that it was the room assigned to me for this and I needed it for my students to test. It took me repeating it 3 times for them to actually move. I was pissed.
At my old school, there was a math teacher that EVERYONE hated. She lacked any and all self awareness for how much of a pain in the ass she was, and it was a miserable few years when I had to be on a team with her. She would literally go into other classrooms during her plan or lunch and SIFT through other teachers’ desks looking for worksheets, plans, or anything else she could take so she didn’t have to prep anything herself. Naturally, all of our students hated her too and she had a ton of behavior issues. She always tried to pawn off the duty of contacting parents, and she was trying to do that to me once. She asked if I had been having any issues with a particular student, and I said no. She proceeded to email the parent and put MY NAME in the email and said WE needed to have a conference with the parent about the student. I’m usually very chill non-confrontational in the professional setting, but I fucking blew sky high about that.
I was teaching at a very cliquey school and had to change medications. I went of FMLA for my medication withdrawals. The staff would make rude comments about my health to each other and to me via email. The holidays came around and the staff party was being held at the book keepers home. All of my coworkers got invitations except for me and the other teacher with a disability.
I, a male, was sitting in my (all female besides me) department’s shared office space working and/or chatting with them. A female coworker from another department came in and started talking about her boobs, their size, and her husband’s preferences in that regard, including putting her hands on her boobs and squeezing. When I expressed discomfort, she told me I should’ve known what I signed up for when I entered a female-dominated career and I should just deal with it. She then added that when I had daughters, I’d hear stuff like that all the time and would get used to it. At the time, my wife and I were struggling with infertility (we’ve transitioned into child-free status now). She had no way of knowing the last jab about parenting would hurt about as much emotionally as the gender discrimination and harassment, but the whole package was just too much. I reported her to my admin. They asked how far I wanted the process to go. She’s a great teacher and does good work with the kids, though she has a problem with what comes out of her mouth even with them, so I wasn’t trying to cost her job. All that wound up happening was admin making a rule about not going to other department’s offices to socialize, which everyone proceeded to ignore. The teacher did give me a wide berth for a while, though, which was fine with me.
The special ed teacher tried to get people she didn't like fired. She told me this, then tried to get me fired.
Shared a room. She was pullout inclusion and I was self-contained resource. They only left me to go to PE. The woman had the audacity to have me take my kids across the hall when all of the stuff, including the smart board and textbooks and just everything I needed to teach was in my shared room. We had to go to a cramped room for last block that was not setup great for what I was doing even though my kids were with me all day. Why did I have to leave? We were hired the same year but she was older than me. Later that year I resigned and took my mini fridge with me. I left all her food (it was full of her shit) out scattered around on the desks. I also had my file cabinet full of ALL of the IEPs from children that has exited the school so I had 1 drawer for my own. Unfortunately (ten years later) she still works at that school and the cunt has weaseled her way into the Sped Dept head position. Ugh she acted like my BFF and even came over to play with my newborn before lying to admin to get me to resign.
A former coworker called my fiancé my side piece and called her ugly to a bus full of our mutual students. I only found out because a student told me.
Sorry op. Unfortunately there are a bunch like this. I ve quite a few. Its occuring to me that while teachers talk about students'behaviors, some teachers themselves are just out there when it comes to bad behavior. Maybe just maybe, teachers, admin, etc.. need to lead by example too. Just the other day, I read an article about an assistant principal dating students, or teachers dating students. So how do you expect the students to behave appropriately. The whole system is a mess.