I received a phone call this afternoon from a friend who is thinking of
leaving the teaching profession. They have been teaching for many years.
They mentioned that they enjoy being in the classroom yet there are times
when sharing spaces with others in their workplace drives them to
distraction and causes them to feel considerable anxiety. They feel that the
worldview of some of their colleagues seems to be narrow. That they are
missing the big picture. They also lamented that the backstabbing that
happens in their school was terrible. There was a distinct lack of
collegiality between the various faculties and within faculties. Sounds
terrible, doesn¹t it?
My friend mentioned that workplaces can be toxic at times. Some times it is
just specific sections of the workplace. Some areas can become too insular
and self-serving.
They also mentioned the "tall poppy" syndrome. Have you ever noticed the
³tall poppy² syndrome in your workplace? My friend relayed that it is alive
and well in some sections of their workplace. They said "Heaven help you if
you are undertaking a postgraduate degree or a certificate course to further
your qualifications or skill set. You will be criticised by some colleagues,
directly or indirectly". Isn¹t that a real shame?
They added that some sections of their workplace have an unwritten policy
that members of staff should not be nominated for excellence in teaching
awards as it is considered to be non-egalitarian. It is argued that is not
good to see staff rewarded when all the staff are working just as hard. The
opponents to the excellence in teaching awards argue why should individual
staff be singled out for mention? It is not fair to the others they state.
What do you think? I feel teachers that excel in their field should be
rewarded. They deserve it.
I know that some teachers feel concerned about these trends in the
workplace. My friend certainly does. But what can a teacher do about it?
They have to work with those same colleagues each day. They cannot complain
about it. Their life will become miserable. They may as well hand their
colleagues a big stick and say "Hit me".
Tall Poppy Syndrome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy
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