I almost feel sorry for Ebony Parker, the former assistant principal who is being sued for a pile of money by the teacher who was shot by a sixth grader.
Parker is in court again because she was told multiple times that the child had a gun in his backpack, and she didn’t do anything about it. Parker has already been indicted by a grand jury for criminal charges of neglect and abuse regarding the incidents.
Teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot; the bullet passed through her hand and into her chest. Doctors determined that it would be safer to leave the bullet in place, so Zwerner gets to carry that little memento around for the rest of her days.
But I really do feel almost sorry for Parker, because administrators do this kind of shit all the time. All. The. Time. Parker just happened to lose the lottery.
Ask any teacher. It’s likely they can tell the story of some administrator minimizing a concern or dodging a student issue.
This child was talking about suicide. “Well, just keep an eye on him all the time.”
This child keeps bullying Janie on the bus. “Well, you know, boys will be boys.”
This child screams and acts out every day in class. “Have you tried moving her seat?”
This child keeps calling the LGBTQ student in class names. “Maybe you should call home.”
I just this student to the office five minutes ago for disrupting class by throwing their desk at other students. Why is he back in my classroom? “Well, we had a little chat and I think he’ll be good now.”
This child threw a book at me and hit me in the face with it. “Well, you look okay now. Maybe you should call home.”
This child threatened to shoot me and other students in class. “”He was probably just worked up. Keep an eye on it, won’t you?”
A good administrator is like a solid roof-- they keep the rain and snow and sleet off the teacher’s head so that she can do her job. That includes helping students manage problems that go beyond the teacher’s classroom duties.
I am not arguing that every disruptive or troublesome student needs punishment. But they do need some combination of consequences and support, and when administration tries to slough off those needs, when administration just kicks the can down the road, there can be really ugly outcomes.
I’ve worked for several administrators whose problem-solving technique was Make Some Ineffective Noises and Hope The Trouble Passes. That’s simply not okay. It doesn’t provide safety and support for teachers to do their jobs. It also doesn’t serve the interests of the students-- not the ones with the problem and not the ones who are in that same class.
I don’t wish a life-derailing lawsuit on anyone, but I do wish that lawsuits like this one would scare some administrators into getting out of their cushy office chair and doing their damned job. That includes taking seriously teacher warnings about a threat to the education or safety of students. If you can’t do it because it’s the right thing to do, do it at the very least because when the worst happens, someone is going to hold you accountable.
"I don’t wish a life-derailing lawsuit on anyone, but I do wish that lawsuits like this one would scare some administrators into getting out of their cushy office chair and doing their damned job."
I had dinner last night with a friend who's still on the job, and this has been a constant source of frustration and aggravation for him. I continue to believe that principals and vices are driven primarily by two things: avoiding friction with their bosses and interaction with parents.
That’s not fair. Administrators come into your class for five minutes and then give you a report a week later explaining why your teaching isn’t up to snuff because you didn’t have both the lesson objective and the standards alignment code written on the board. Where would we be without their… support.