Should teacher be honest with insensitive colleague?

Q: I have a colleague, let’s call her Jeannie, who manages to offend everyone. She has an opinion about everything regardless of whether she’s knowledgeable about the topic. That’s bad enough with less loaded topics, but right now she’s mouthing off about Israel and Gaza to colleagues who are anything but OK. These teachers are worried about friends and family in Israel and Gaza and don’t have extra reserves to deal with this insensitive lady’s ignorant comments.

Normally, we all ignore her, but emotions are running high right now and people are taking the bait. One colleague tried to reason with her calmly, but that didn’t go well and they ended up having an explosive argument. Afterward, Jeannie asked me directly what she did “wrong.” I feel like answering her truthfully (she did a LOT wrong), but I know it would be the conversational equivalent of stepping on a landmine. I also am thoroughly over her and while I’m willing to take one for the team, I probably will end up feeling as upset as my co-workers. What do you suggest I do?

A: While this might be obvious, you don’t have to engage with Jeannie simply because she’s asking for feedback. Given her track record, I’d consider the possibility that she hopes to goad you into an argument, too. And — as with any conversation — while you can control what you say, you can’t control what she hears or what she chooses to do with the information.