Teachers' Perspectives on Principal Mistreatment

In my teaching, I was hesitant to try anything new. I didnít do anything different that would draw attention to me, especially anything that might not work the first time. . . . I have passed kids who failed just to avoid conflict with the principal. . . . In a strange way, I almost started treating children like he was treating me. I never berated them, but, when I would give directions, if a kid would ask about it, I would say, ëYou know what I just said!í I had no patience. I felt like I had to control the environment because, if I didnít, he would get me. I had kids with bracelets on their ankles, kids out of mental institutions and jails. They needed special service referrals. But I knew I couldnít do anything to set the students up for a referral, because the principal looked at that very negatively. Everything had to look good.

Special education teachers subjected to mistreatment discussed similar as well as unique problems.

I have abandoned my students completely. I am on the front lines. I am fighting for my livelihood. There will be no further teaching, advocatingó nothing. The kids will just have to fend for themselves. I hate that. This principal said he would like it just fine if all the teachers put in their eight hours and left. He doesnít want teachers doing anything innovative. There is no way to fight City Hall. No matter what I do, it is wrong; it could have been done sooner, it could have been done faster, it shouldnít been done at all, it could have been done in a better way. I have lost interest in what I am doing. . . . I have become very strict with kids and much less tolerant because if they did something wrong, I would get the heat.

She said, ìThis is not a life skill,Î and, ìYou are not supposed to be doing that kind of thing!Î She just didnít understand the program. But, in my program, my students jumped two or three grade levels in their academic subjects. She wanted to keep the worst-behaved students in the world buried somewhere out of her hair.

She said that she saw an alarming trend of special education students being dismissed or having their time decreased. I said, ìI thought that was my job.Î She told me that my role was to teach kids coping strategies, and that she felt that if the kids were once identified as LD, they were probably always LD. She said, ìWe arenít in the business of curing kids at this school.Î She controlled all student placement meetings. I was not sleeping well, and I was generally on edge. It affected my energy for teaching, my ability to concentrate, and my planning. I did a lot less preparation.

Of the 50 teachers we interviewed, only one reported no direct adverse effects on his/her classroom.

Surprisingly, he didnít seem to have a great impact on my teaching; I would just block it out. I treated my children with kindness and caring. It wasnít kick-the-dog syndrome. I didnít have any displaced anger, but I never invited him to observe or participate with my class. I donít want him near me. I donít talk to him unnecessarily, and I donít share positive or negative things that occur in my classroom. I basically Xíd him out of my school day.