2006-2007 The one where I talk to you about Teacher on Teacher bullying.

 2006-2007 THE ONE WHERE I TALK TO YOU ABOUT TEACHER ON TEACHER BULLYING

2006-2007 School Photos Fall and Spring

I really do not have much to say about the 2006-2007 school year except that these are my favorite photos of me out of the 37 years worth of school photos that I have. Not having much to say about the 2006-2007 school year, I would like to use this blog entry as an opportunity to talk to you about Teacher on Teacher bullying. In my 37 years in the profession I can tell you, it's happened to me on more than one occasion. This is a blog entry I have written and rewritten several times. What approach do I take? A factual approach where I name names, dates, schools and districts? A subtle approach where those of you that are my close friends know the people I am talking about? A journalistic approach where I share other websites and articles with you. 

 

I have been bullied during my career. Some situations were minor and some were intense. In a profession where one would expect to find loving and caring colleagues, it is shocking when you end up having to deal with bullies. They say that time heals your wounds but my being bullied as an Educator is something I will never forget. I had a few bullies in two of the five different school districts I worked for between 1986-2022. I will not call out my bullies by name. Some of my bullies were outside of my school and others were my peers within my building.. 


With a bully outside of my school, I did my best to ignore, never letting them know that their treatment of me did affect me. It made me feel helpless. I often wonder what would have happened if I would have addressed the issue? Bullies that are outside of your school and/or in positions of power often go unchecked. Years later with one particular bully, I found out that I was not alone as there were SEVERAL other people this bully treated poorly. If we would have all known about each of our situations collectively we might have been able to do something about how we were treated? I will never know. 


Sometimes staff is bullied in your school and you are not aware of it. When that happened in a building I worked at, I knew that something wasn’t right but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was shocking to find out that a person you admired/respected was actually horrible to so many people. 


Peer on peer bullying is tricky because it can occur sporadically or on a daily basis. When it happened to me, I eventually involved my Administrator. It was the right decision. It allowed for professional healing and to put our differences aside and ultimately do what was best for our students. 


I have long healed from my bullying but it still gives me anxiety to talk about it. How did I get through it? Many of my friends (my husband included) are Educators. It was great to vent and talk with them. They too saw incidents of bullying in their schools. I have heard that the number one reason that Teachers leave the profession is because of how other adults have treated them on the job. 


When I researched the topic of Teacher on Teacher Bullying I found the following great articles.


https://www.simplykinder.com/teachers-who-bully-other-teachers/

https://www.weareteachers.com/teacher-teacher-bullying/

https://www.graduateprogram.org/2021/05/how-to-handle-and-mitigate-teacher-bullying/

https://fuelgreatminds.com/school-culture-toxic-environments-and-teacher-bullies/


Have you been bullied? Feel free to reach out to me. I would love to hear your story.


Look for a special blog entry on 2/7/22. I will contain a tribute and an announcement.

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