Complaint against school principal

School teachers are fed up with Principal….

"I don't want employees to feel that the department is only one-sided in its
operations," he said. "The work is done by the employees and we know that happy
employees are productive employees."  

Koss says the teachers compiled a list of almost 100 concerns including principal
Larimer's competence, professionalism, and failure to follow the Guam Federation
of Teachers' contract. Koss met with Larimer today to address these concerns as
well as discuss ways to make the school a more harmonious environment for
faculty and staff.

Teachers are often completely frustrated with their administrators because the
teachers don’t feel like the administrators are paying the right kind of attention to
the teachers’ classroom or personal needs; or that the principal or anyone is
actually in their corner.

I don’t believe that you can “deal” with a principal anymore than you can “deal”
with anyone. Nor would it be appropriate or effective to approach an administrator
with such an attitude. I believe that most administrators do the best job they can
give the requirements of their position. Am I saying just get along and get over it?

No. Teachers have two choices. Either work with the current administration as best
as possible, or wait it out. The burnout rate for administrators is so high these days
that it won’t be long before another one comes along to govern the campus. Maybe
they’ll do a better job.

I have several issues with the head teacher at this school. A lot of parents are not
happy and the school is on the decline.. Loads of teachers have left and more are
planning to, and they just seem demoralised. Academically, there are new
initiatives which just don't make sense. Parents bypass the head and go to the
deputy with any problems as he just doesn't sort anything out.

Parents and students have alleged that principal passes offensive remarks on caste
and religion in classes and often slaps students. She has also been accused of
conducting five-mark exams and withholding the results till parents pay fees
She wanted to put me in trouble. Because the portion for Std V was not complete
and exams were round the corner, the principal shouted at two teachers. They were
so scared that they taught their two different subjects — Marathi and History — in
one period, squeezing 150 students in one classroom and sharing one blackboard.”

Recent apprehensions over the poor performance of secondary schools at

ordinary level in Tanzania have given rise to concerns over the quality of education
provided at this level. Addressing the issue of poor performance requires a
gargantuan understanding of the environment under which these schools operate.

As noted earlier, schools don’t just fail from one day to the next.  Every failing
school exhibits warning signs that require action on the part of educators and
community leaders. Individually these signs may not indicate impending failure;
collectively, however, they clearly show that the school is either on the verge of
failure or headed in that direction.

“We have countless examples of young people who have left school early,
suffered long-term psychological damage and even taken their own lives because of
school-related bullying and violence that have been overlooked or downplayed by
teachers or school leaders,” she said. “Some parents may be out for blood in the
initial complaint but coming in too hard too early can do more harm than good.”

“For these parents the fault is always external. This becomes really difficult when
dealing with complainants who have a disability. My advice in this area is to use a
person who understands the disability, such as autism, to help work with the
parents and child,” he said.

Lack of Classroom Management

A lack of classroom management is probably the single biggest downfall of a bad

teacher. This issue can be the demise of any teacher no matter their intentions. If
a teacher cannot control their students, they will not be able to teach them
effectively. Being a good classroom manager starts on day one by incorporating
simple procedures and expectations and then following through on
predetermined consequences when those procedures and expectations are
compromised. 

Lack of Content Knowledge

Most states require teachers to pass a comprehensive series of assessments to

obtain certification within a specific subject area. With this requirement, you
would think that all teachers would be proficient enough to teach the subject
area(s) they were hired to teach. Unfortunately, there are some teachers who do
not know the content knowledge well enough to teach it. This is an area that
could be overcome through preparation. All teachers should thoroughly prepare
for any lesson before they teach it to make sure they understand what they are
going to be teaching. Teachers will lose credibility with their students quickly if
they do not know what they are teaching, thus making them ineffective.
Lack of Organizational Skills

Effective teachers must be organized. Teachers who lack organizational skills will

be overwhelmed and, as a result, ineffective. Teachers who recognize a weakness
in organization should seek help in improving in that area. Organizational skills
can be improved with some good direction and advice.

Lack of Professionalism

Professionalism encompasses many different areas of teaching. A lack

of professionalism can quickly result in a teacher’s dismissal. Ineffective teachers
are often tardy or absent. They may fail to follow a district's dress code or use
inappropriate language in their classroom. 

Poor Judgment

Too many good teachers have lost their careers due to a moment of poor
judgment. Common sense goes a long way in protecting yourself from these sorts
of scenarios. A good teacher will think before acting, even in moments where
emotions or stressors are running high. 

Poor People Skills

Good communication is essential in the teaching profession. An ineffective

teacher communicates poorly, or not at all, with students, parents, other
teachers, staff members, and administrators. They leave parents out of the loop
about what is happening in the classroom. 

Lack of Commitment 

There are some teachers who simply lack motivation. They spend the
minimum amount of time necessary to do their job never arriving early or staying
late. They do not challenge their students, are often behind on grading, show
videos often, and give “free” days on a regular basis. There is no creativity in their
teaching, and they typically make no connections with other faculty or staff
members.

There is no such thing as a perfect teacher. It is in the nature of the profession to

continuously improve in all areas, including classroom management, teaching
style, communication, and subject area knowledge. What matters most is a
commitment to improvement. If a teacher lacks this commitment, they may not
be suited for the profession. 
Most of the time, we teachers live within the bubble of our individual classrooms.
Once we close the classroom door, we're in our own little worlds, rulers of our
domains, and completely in control of how our day progresses overall. Sure, we
have meetings and all-school directives and grade level coordinating and parent
conferences and errands to run around campus. But mostly, we're the only adult
around for five to six hours a day.

But, still, it would be reckless to forget about the wider school power structure
and thus ignore the importance of a good relationship with an administrator.
Don't learn the hard way that tension with an administrator can spiral out of
control if you're not careful.

Stop Principal Problems Before They Start

Principals are people too, and they aren't perfect. But, they certainly are powerful
on an elementary school campus. So it's key to make sure your relationship is
solid, positive, constructive, and mutually respectful.

Whether all's well with your principal right now or things are tense, here are
some helpful tips from someone who's been in both a great and a poor
relationship with various principals:

1. If your relationship is going smoothly and you have a well-liked

administrator, then enjoy your job! Life is good and there's nothing better
than a supportive and kind principal which makes for a happy school full of
happy teachers. Join committees, take risks, ask for advice and support,
live it up!
2. If your relationship is going well but you've noticed that many
other teachershave problems with your administrator, consider yourself
lucky and take proactive steps to maintain a healthy relationship with your
principal. Don't be afraid to "kiss up" and do everything within your power
(and common morality) to stay in his good graces. Try to fly under the
radar and just make it through his tenure at your school. Nothing lasts
forever and your goal must be professional, sane, and calm.
3. If you sense mounting tension from a difficult principal, start documenting
every event that occurs between you and him. Keep a log of all
conversations, the subject matters, dates, times, and duration of his
classroom visits. Your sense of a looming problem may eventually prove to
be incorrect, but in the meantime, it can't hurt to protect yourself.

1. If your principal goes on the attack and you start to feel victimized, stay
calm, remain focused and polite, and work with him to create a plan to
solve any problems. Set goals, be straightforward, and try to give him what
he seeks. You'll sense it if and when he steps over the line. Until then, give
 him the benefit of the doubt and show due respect. If you do not yet have a
permanent or tenured position at this school or district, you must go above
and beyond the call of duty to solve this problem and make it right.
2. If it becomes clear that your principal is overstepping his bounds or
preventing you from properly performing your teaching duties, consider
talking to your union representative. Chances are, the union rep will
already have fielded other complaints about this administrator. As long as
you are a sane and goodhearted professional, it will rarely be you who
brings up the first complaint about a given individual. Learn about your
protected rights and make a plan with the union rep to clear the air and
come to a new understanding with the administrator.

1. If the problem does not improve over time with mediation and patience,
then you can always request a transfer to another campus. You may also
choose to eventually mentally relinquish the stress over this situation and
continue to focus your positive energies on the most important people in
the school: your young students who need you! Give them everything you
have and before you know it, your problem administrator will likely be
moving on to another assignment or the tensions will naturally dissipate as
he moves on to a new target.

As you can see, there are varying degrees of principal problems and it will require
your good judgment to decide on a course of action.

Gentleman

I am writing this letter to issue a complaint regarding recurring verbal

aggression on the part of the Junior Section Deputy Head, Mr.k. Many times,
we have seen his idiosyncratic behavior with little students.

Teachers are the builders of the future of the students. They should be mild
while dealing a student specially a junior one even if he has done any
mistake. You have to agree that we all have had at least one teacher in our
lives who was bad for our morale. Here at this institution, we have such
teacher like Mr. K with his lousy attitude.

Children of junior classes often remain capricious and tend to be

mischievous. Sometimes these playful students commit mistake out of their
childish innocence. Mr. K handles any such issue with his iron hand. Without
proper justification or giving any curative treatment, he often shouts at kids
and threatens them. Some of our children have alleged that he glares at
them and shows his anger to them. He is such a cheerless person who
hardly inspires tiny students to rectify their behavior. He never adores any
school children. The young learners always remain in panic when he is at
school. They consider him to be a source of fear and they use his name as a
threat to others. He is regarded as a tiger. He often gives priority to any
trivial issue or trifling matter. He also makes insensitive comment to
students for their any slip which he often reveals to others that any student
must suffer from depression. He humiliates students publically so much so
that some students hate him and will be thankful when he is finally
eliminated from this school. Sometimes he overreacts and does the wrong
things with detentions and threatening suspension and isolating students in
class as a form of punishment. In addition, he repeatedly removes recess
privileges of students as a punishment. He probably forgets that he is
dealing kinder garden students. His crude way of dealing with the minor
pupils is causing a negative impact on their tender minds. Thus, he is not
making the school atmosphere conducive to learning.

As a deputy head, he seems to be raw and less experienced in his capacity.

It also seems that he is not properly trained to handle the school children.
His dealing with the children also reflects his little understanding about the
children psychology. He must do justice to adoring children who have to stay
in the school for one third of the day without their parents. We are
flabbergasted at his unjust way of treating the tiny scholars. Our question
is; on what basis he has been employed in this sensitive position? He is
employed as he is a Turkish, isn’t he?
Finally, we ask you for immediate action since we are afraid of this situation
escalating into serious consequences. If you do not do anything, we may go
into legal action or may call for media attention. If need be, we may lodge a
complaint against him with the Turkish embassy. I hope you will take
immediate action, as the reputation of your school will be at stake. We have
remained anonymous or unnamed for the safety of our wards.

Hence, I hope you to take proper official measures regarding his behavior
with minor students and replace an appropriate person with a mild
deposition and genial temperament. We are quite optimistic that this letter
to you will meet its objective.