Unfortunately some Education Queensland administrators are "Bad Apples". A Bad Apple is a serial bully or a "socialised psychopath". Bad Apple Bully administrators tend to attack effective teachers because they make the Bad Apples feel inadequate. http://www.bullyonline.org/workbully/serial.htm Historical link preserved from the original page.
A teacher who tries to initiate change is particularly vulnerable. Saying something as simple as, "Can we have fewer interruptions to our lessons? " at a staff meeting could provoke a Bad Apple Bully-attack. The sad fact is that it is quicker and easier for a Bad Apple Bully administrator to pretend that YOU are the problem than for them to deal with the actual problem.
Suddenly the Bad Apple Bully has "concerns" about...well, just about anything that comes into their head really. And two days later you find yourself on "Diminished Workplace Performance"- a two year punishment program designed to send you demented and drive you into resignation.
Your fellow teachers protest. They know you are a good teacher.
But they are told that there are secret reasons why you have to be punished. And that they will get into VERY BIG trouble if they talk about it again.
So you are effectively isolated. You don't know the secret reason why you are being punished and so you can't defend yourself. Your friends are afraid to help you. They wonder if you might have been accused of child abuse. They don't believe that a teacher could be punished for no reason. There must be a secret reason that you are being punished, mustn't there?
Well, actually, no. No reason at all. It is just much quicker and easier for the Bad Apple Bully administrator to punish you for attempting to discuss a problem than it is for them to actually deal with the problem itself.
For example, let's say two classes of children have been regularly roaming freely about the school, disrupting other classes for the past two terms. The class teachers are all fed up with the continual disruptions to their lessons. One teacher raises the problem at a staff meeting and discusses it calmly and logically for two minutes. Unfortunately, it is much quicker and easier for a Bad Apple Bully administrator to put the teacher on Diminished Workplace Performance for discussing the situation than it is for the Bad Apple Bully to actually deal with the problem of the roaming children.
It also discourages the other class teachers from bothering the Bad Apple Bully.
The real behaviour management policy of Bad Apple Bully administrators is "do whatever is quickest and easiest". And often that is to blame the class teacher.
http://www.freedomtocare.org/page64.htm#shooting%20the%20messenger Historical link preserved from the original page.
This article, "How the messenger gets shot", was actually written about the UK health service. It is interesting because it demonstrates the common pattern of behaviour of the Bad Apple Bully Boss-
- You suggest change.
- The Bad Apple Bully Boss abuses disciplinary procedures to launch a pre-emptive strike.
- Your suggestion is not dealt with.