Re: Competitive Co-worker. Take a deep breath and carry on

More | Report Post

You sound like you're letting yourself get sucked into the votex of
your colleagues "charismatic" teacher syndrome. If your program is
sound and well balanced, don't allow yourself to become reactive by
this person. Your kids will see (and tell you later in the year)
that you were the better teacher, etc. Because all kids (no matter
how young) really do observe the differences between the classes and
can assess them better than you think. If you do agree to
participate in any of her 'projects' (curriculum worthy ones), make
sure that it is not be being dragged along frantically doting all
the i's and crossing all the t's that she's failed to do. INsist on
time and energy spent together planning and implementing. And don't
allow her to set you up as her 'assistant' side prop. She may be one
of those 'flash in the pan' folk who want the exposure, the
popularity mantra from the mouthy, whiny, lazy kids...squeaky wheel
gets the oil. But, you need to stick to what you are doing well and
make sure that your kids know what they are doing well and get
promoted for it....in other words, you must create a selective
number of promotional initiatives for your kids to shine at that
involve their talents...talents and skills that demonstrate depth
and proficiency. Absolutely never, ever discuss your doubts about
this person with any kid or parent. And be really careful about
doing it with other staff. I'm sure they note what you've been
observing. You can listen and raise your eyebrows, but I'd be
careful. Avoid any 'class' discussions with your kids on what this
other person is doing.

On 10/07/11, BTrack wrote:
> I had a colleague or two like this. I second Tammy's
> advice...don't waste too much thought on it. If it's a
> logistical nightmare to let the kids go, then reneg. You'll
> probably hear them grumble the rest of the year, but stick to
> your guns and let it serve as motivation not to get in this
> situation again.
>
> Some teachers take real pleasure in being the one that can
> "reach" the difficult kid, to the point of pandering to them
> with too-friendly behavior or (at my old school) taking a nice
> hourly pay tutoring the kids one-on-one. Gary Rubinstein
> describes this phenomenon very well in "Reluctant
> Disciplinarian"...which I highly recommend.
>
> On 9/30/11, Tammy wrote:
>> I say that you should not feel so threatened. I have been on
>> the receiving end of some vindictive coworkers, so I can say
>> that I understand. However, you should make it very clear to
>> your students that no one can "get you fired". I went through
>> this also. I simply told my students, with all confidence,
>> that they would not get me fired. That I would have to do
>> something I simply would not do in order to achieve that.
>> Good Luck to you on all counts!
>>
>> On 9/30/11, Getting paranoid wrote:
>>> I have a new co-worker this year, and I can't tell if she's
>>> being competitive with me for some reason, or if she's just
>>> a total diva. I had a little trouble with her, as she
>>> wanted all of the ancillary materials and teacher's
>>> editions for herself, but I thought we would work well
>>> together. Now I'm not so sure.
>>>
>>> She planned a field trip to a place that is much more
>>> suited for younger kids. All children love this place
>>> because it's mayhem--kids run around, break things, hang
>>> from things, etc. I used to work there, so I know it well.
>>> She did not tell me about this until after the fact--I was
>>> not let in on any planning, asked if it was a good idea,
>>> etc. The first I heard about it was when she asked me if I
>>> wanted to take my AP class. I said "Huh?" Anyway, it looked
>>> like the principal vetoed my going due to staffing issues,
>>> so the issue was dead.
>>>
>>> My students, of course, were mad, but I decided to plan a
>>> field trip for them to a place that's more controlled with
>>> less potential for trouble. Except now Ms. New Teacher is
>>> telling two of my kids (the two worst behaved and most
>>> likely to get in trouble) that they can come along with
>>> her--but it's up to me, of course. She "knows them well"
>>> because they say hello to her sometimes. (She didn't know
>>> what grade they were in). Then she asked me if we want to
>>> tag along with her-- everybody but the AP kids now. This
>>> trip is in a week, we have no permission slips, no idea how
>>> much money to collect, or if there's even enough room in
>>> the bus, or if they're taking a bus. When I told her how
>>> many students of mine would need to "tag along" on this
>>> trip, she was dumbfounded--and it's a small number compared
>>> to what you'd get in a public school.
>>>
>>> So now I'm screwed. If I don't let my kids go on this
>>> rather poorly- organized field trip, I will be the bad guy
>>> who ruined their fun. So what, you may ask? Well, in this
>>> school, kids pride themselves on getting teachers they
>>> don't like fired. Last year I made a mistake on the
>>> progress reports, and a girl whose grade was a couple of
>>> points lower on the corrected progress report led a revolt
>>> against me that nearly succeeded.
>>>
>>> Should I tag along on this trip and cancel my own? And do
>>> you think my co-worker is trying to make me look bad for
>>> some reason (for example, if there's a layoff and one of us
>>> has to go?) Or am I completely paranoid?

Posts on this thread, including this one