Quote From: vancelWatching Dr. Phil's show tonight made me want to get your opinions of this person I work with. I would like to know if you have any suggestions. I need to confront our dept. chair at my school. She is in her late 40's, a VERY organized person, worked in business for quite a while, and began teaching about 4 years ago.
My problem is that she is an annoying, aggressive, power hungry lady. She has taken it upon herself to order our classroom supplies for the following year without our imput, because she knows "more or less what we will need for the next year" (she said that to us and we could not believe that!) We (the other teachers in our dept. ) feel that we are responsible enough to order by ourselves what we need because she does not know exactly what we may need. Besides, it may change from year to year depending on what we will teach, what kind of projects we will do, etc.
She has also taken it upon herself to order anything else that SHE thinks we should have in our classroom that SHE thinks we need. Last year, she bought maps of all the continents....4 per teacher. Each map cost $55. WE never asked to get them. Before she was dept. chair, we had the opportunity to order whatever we would like to have to enhance our teaching. Besides the 8 of us already have maps (not the kind SHE wanted us to have). So, if you check out the total...$55 x 4 maps each = $2,200 x 8 teachers = around $17,600 !!!!!! WHAT!!?? She NEVER asked us about this. One day she just came to our rooms and just presented them to us. The money for these came from what we earned through fundraisers, not from taxpayers. All of us could NOT believe it when she brought them to us individually.
She is an exceptionally organized person and gets the job done for the administrators. She has become buddy buddy with the principals. She likes to tell us what we need to do according to the principals/ dept. chair meeting, give us her opinion on EVERYTHING that happens in school. She is in the room across the hall from me so I see her during the change of classes all day. She will come over to me and tell me how horrible her different classes are because they don't know much, or an individual student doesn't know ANYTHING etc. I don't really want to listen to THAT! I KNOW a lot of the students she teaches and they are not all as bad as she says. I feel that all students come from different environments and each one has a different story to tell and that is why I respect each one of them for what they are and still try to help them. SHE...on the other hand says that they are dumb, and puts them down etc.
Last year, I was teaching Sp. III, III honors, two classes of Spanish 4, and one AP 5 spanish class with a total number of 170 students. At the end of the year, she told us that starting THIS YEAR,we don't have the choice of which class we would like to teach (and we don't believe her). T
he last day of school in June, she gave us all our schedules. I was so surprised AND upset. My schedule said that I had 3 classes of level I, 2 classes of Sp. III, and my Spanish V AP. I "assumed" that I would be getting Level 4 to teach, but unfortunately, it wasn't on my schedule. I went to her room and asked her why that changed. She told me that a lot of MY level III students and HER level III students complained to her that they didn't want me to teach Sp. 4 the following year. WHY? She said that the students told her that they would learn nothing from me, that "I" am not a good teacher. I asked her why she hadn't told me this BEFORE so something could be rectified. She couldn't give me an answer. I also told her that I hear bad things about all teachers from kids, including HER and to take with a grain of salt what students say about other teachers.
I could go on and on and on. AND...SHE has NO idea that I was voted "Teacher of the Year" a few years ago. I would like to teach level 4 and 5 AP again, and also level 3's if at all possible. I heard from one of my comrads that she has had her sights on taking the upper level classes from me. I have taught for 26 years, (mostly Spanish I, II, and III) and I would LOVE to teach upper levels (Sp 4 and 5 AP) now since I have not had the opportunity to do so, in all these years. Remember she has only taught for 4 years. Her vocabulary is not extensive, her pronunciation is not good, and she makes many grammar mistakes when she talks. If I try to have a conversation with her totally in Spanish and no English, she will eventually speak in English since she doesn't know the vocabulary words she needs in order to express herself, nor does she know much of the grammar to speak correctly. When I go into her room, she has grammar mistakes written on the board in the directions she writes for the students. The Latino (Hispanic) students do not want to be in her class. The "Gringo" students don't want to be in her class because she speaks English most of the time and has a horrible pronunciation, but some have NO choice depending on how the cards lay.
This teacher BRAGS to the other teachers that she "teaches upper levels now" many more negative things to me, that I can't take it much longer. I'm afraid that she may be trying to ruin my reputation, but maybe I NEED to have a private conversation with her. Just what do I say to her in a professional manner. Right now, I keep hurting and hurting every time I hear what she says about me.
She brags about how much jewelry she gets on the cruises she goes on, at least 2x per year, about expensive diamond bracelets, earrings, her husband gave to her. She wears a different set each day. I would have NO problem with that, but it's just that she BRAGS. Can you believe this: She has told her classes that she is power hungry and that is why her first husband divorced her. Her husband of late, gives her everything she wants. That's all well and good, but DONT flaunt it to people who can't afford cruises and jewelry every 4 months!
This has turned into a tremendously long letter. I don't want to take YOUR time for too long. Please help me professionally talk to this woman. I don't want to be a crying baby since I'm so sensitive. You could say......???????????????
PLEASE give me a wise and professional path to follow in order to talk with her.
Gracias!! I hope I've told you so that it all makes sense.
I read your comments and realized I know someone just like you. She is my dearest friend. She is kind, generous, reliable, and a teacher. She tends to expect everyone she knows to operate their lives on her high standards. That is not always possible.
Secondly, what you are doing clearly isn't working. Also, check you math. $220 not $2200 equals $1760 not $17600. Perhaps since you just saved $15840 you still have some money to spend. If you do it first, there will be nothing left for her to fool with.
Some things you mention are work related, others are clearly personality characteristics that you can accept or reject.
Work problems should be addressed first with the offensive person, perhaps you might find out reasons for her actions that would give you pause. If you don't want what she ordered, thank her profusely and ask her to return it so you can get a credit for what your class needs. After a few times, she will get the message.
Always smile! and don't mix the personal with the work issues. It sounds like you have a little envy or jealousy in regards to her relations with authorities. You win more with honey instead of vinegar for bait. I wish you luck and think you should reread your own post. Finally, be assertive when you don't like what she says about other students give your input or say you have work to do and excuse yourself. Hope it works out for you.
Are you experiencing irritation overload with a friend or loved one? Does he or she cause scenes in public and make you the butt of bad jokes? If so, you’re not alone. Angie says her sister, Gwen, is the most annoying person on the planet! She rants, raves and flips the bird to total strangers. She even teaches Angie’s 2-year-old curse words. Gwen says her behavior is funny and thinks Angie needs to lighten up. Watch what happens when Dr. Phil plans an experiment and gives Gwen a taste of her own medicine! Then, remember the lovable loudmouth, Becky? Her daughter, Sara, said she swore like a drunken sailor, and could be heard from miles away. Becky said she was simply opinionated, honest and blunt. Has she been able to keep her big mouth shut since she was on the show? Plus, Taylor and Cassidy say their mom, Suzanne’s, obsession with watching Dr. Phil is driving them nuts! Share your thoughts, join the discussion.
