Q: I’m a special educator in an elementary school and am paired in the classroom with an extremely cranky general education teacher. This is my first year at this school (I moved here from out of state), but when it comes to co-teaching, this isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve co-taught for the past 11 years with teachers who possess many different temperaments and skill sets. But never before have I worked with a co-teacher who so blatantly bullies students. My new co-teacher is rude, impatient, and punitive. She shames students for everything under the sun: Taking too long at the water fountain. Not knowing how to tie their shoes. Taking too long to line up to go to a special or complete a worksheet. Talking too quietly. Talking too loudly. Not participating. Participating too much. She will even loudly make fun of kids for misspelling a word or wearing an “ugly” shirt.
She’s equal-opportunity abusive and abrasive, meaning she’s not specifically targeting students with IEPs. But if a student — any student — tries to get away from her when she goes off on one of her tirades, she will grab their arm hard or pull on their shirt or backpack strap to prevent them from escaping her wrath. And this goes on all.day.long.
I’ve mentioned my concerns in passing to my principal, but he seems pretty resigned to her behavior. Apparently she’s been this way for years, and talking to her doesn’t make a dent. In fact, I think that’s why I got this job. A colleague told me that no one else is willing to work with her. Talk about a red flag! I want to protect my students but feel kind of stuck. I don’t have tenure yet, and no one knows me well enough to trust my instincts. Plus, I know several colleagues have complained to the principal in the past to no avail. What can I do without ticking off my co-teacher so much that I create a hostile and unproductive work environment for myself?
A: I commend you for recognizing the problem and wanting to take steps to address it. That’s important because your students may not realize they’re being abused, but research shows that verbal and/or physical abuse puts them at risk of developing emotional and behavioral problems. The mistreatment also may reduce their self-worth and confidence. Before I get into the weeds of your question, however, I want to point out that you’re a mandatory reporter. Regardless of your fears about creating a hostile work environment, you must report suspected abuse or neglect to child protective services in the jurisdiction where it occurred.
What else can you do? Start documenting the behavior. Log specific incidents, along with the time and date when they occurred. Rather than mentioning the issue to the principal in passing, request a meeting and share details with him in person. You also can ask him to visit the classroom unannounced to observe the dynamics. Let him know that you’ll continue to document incidents. Point out that you’re concerned about the school’s liability, too. As the organization Learning for Justice states, specific schools have been named in lawsuits because “they enabled abusive conduct through indifference to persistent complaints.” There are federal and state laws that forbid teachers from verbally or physically abusing students, whether or not the student has a formal special education plan, and your principal can take steps to prevent that from happening, including by ensuring that the school’s policies and code of ethics explicitly address teachers’ conduct toward students.
As for managing your relationship with your co-teacher, you’re already navigating a hostile work environment. Saying nothing isn’t going to shield you from discomfort. That said, you can be upfront, share your concerns, and tell her how you plan to deal with the situation. If she’s forewarned, she may tone down her behavior, which would make things better for everyone, including you. In the meantime, beyond fulfilling your legal obligations as a mandatory reporter, stick up for your students in real time and circle back to check on them afterward. Make sure they understand that they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and won’t be in trouble if they tell their parents, an administrator, or another trusted adult that they’re being mistreated. Here’s some good news. Research suggests that getting social support from someone at school (e.g. you) can be protective. So, in the best-case scenario, you not only may move your school from inertia to action, but also bolster your students’ resilience.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Phyllis L. Fagell
Phyllis L. Fagell is the school counselor at Landon School in Washington, D.C., a therapist at the Chrysalis Group in Bethesda, Md., and the author of the Career Confidential blog. She is also the author of Middle School Matters and Middle School Superpowers, available at https://amzn.to/3Pw0pcu.
