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On 6/08/13, anon wrote:
> I would like to get an administrator's perspective about
> our situation at work. We have two teachers at our school
> who are causing a lot of trouble but our principal won't
> get rid of them. They both gossip tremendously, complain
> about everything, and are causing a lot of division in our
> teams. They are also mediocre classroom teachers without
> classroom management and inability to collaborate with our
> special education department.
>
>
>
> The principal won't get rid of them because one teacher led
> a team of students to win first place in a regional science
> competition taking the students to the nationals. The other
> teacher has great connections with theater programs and
> puts together decent plays.
>
>
>
> Are these accomplishments worth putting up with these two
> teachers who cause so much problems? By the way, both are
> new teachers and can be fired without reason.

It sounds like they have some things they are doing well
(leading students to win first place in a science competition,
taking students to the nationals, good work with the theater
program) and other areas in which they need to improve
(classroom management, collaboration with special ed,
relationships with other staff members).
As a guess: it sounds as though they are more focused on
certain populations (ie, the type of students who tend to
participate in science competitions and theater) and less on
others (ie., special ed). I wonder whether this focus also is
the cause of some of the division among teachers?
This is certainly something that needs to be addressed. The
principal probably wants them to build on the their strengths
and improve their weaknesses; I would! It's very common for
new teachers to have difficulties with classroom management
and sometimes also special ed requirements. These things are
very important but it would be my hope that these teachers are
being provided with some support which, although with their
increasing experience, will allow them to improve in those
areas. Also, it may not be the end of their probationary
period? They may not stay if they do not improve, but
certainly if I were their principal I would be trying to lead
them toward the improvement I want to see.
Yes a new teacher can be "fired without reason" but this does
not mean they should be without first trying to support the
teacher in making improvements, just as should be done for a
veteran teacher who is struggling in some area before being
fired "for cause". A good principal will first make an attempt
to turn that new teacher into a better, more experienced
teacher who no longer struggles with the issues you've
described.

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