Find out how teacher fellow Kristy Turner survived bullying in her early career, and how she credits networking for keeping her in the classroom
Back in the mid-2000s I was a new teacher, in a fairly ordinary Northern comprehensive school. I was young, enthusiastic and full of energy. I was also probably a bit annoying.
Little did I know when I started at the school that a member of the department had already made up their mind about me. According to them I was ‘too clever’ and wouldn’t understand the kids. Despite my hard work, this particular niggle continued for that member of staff and turned into a bullying situation. Unfortunately, the individual in question wasn’t just another teacher. They were the second in department and so they had considerable influence on my working life.
Networking with other chemistry teachers helped prop up my self-esteem when things were tough
There were multiple little jabs, some where I thought maybe it was just me misinterpreting it, others which were definitely a conscious choice by them to make my teaching life worse. When I got my first promotion I received sneering emails about my job title, minimising my TLR (teaching and learning responsibility) role. I was left out of key communications. On one occasion this meant I taught entirely the wrong topics to a group of students preparing for a module exam and then had to teach the correct ones in a horrible rush. When sets were rearranged, strong students were taken from my set and placed into theirs, while lower achievers and new students who had been excluded from other schools ended up in my class. Over the early years of my career, it got incrementally worse.
There were multiple little jabs, some where I thought maybe it was just me misinterpreting it, others which were definitely a conscious choice by them to make my teaching life worse. When I got my first promotion I received sneering emails about my job title, minimising my TLR (teaching and learning responsibility) role. I was left out of key communications. When sets were rearranged, strong students were taken from my set and placed into theirs, while lower achievers and new students who had been excluded from other schools ended up in my class. Over the early years of my career, it got incrementally worse.
I was lucky. My head of department noticed. He was a very nice man but ultimately didn’t know how to deal with the situation. In one conversation I remember, he suggested he would help to get me out of the school, to find another job locally. But I loved the school, and I knew I was good at what I did. My response was that I could cope because when I was in my classroom, I was autonomous, I could forget all the snide comments and get on with my job.
Networking and support
External perspectives also helped. I had become involved with RSC education projects in my NQT year and this networking with other chemistry teachers helped prop up my self-esteem when things were tough. But the bullying took its toll and there were times I considered giving up teaching altogether.
My avenues for dealing with the situation felt limited. The bully was unfortunately also my union rep. Still, I kept a log of incidents, switched unions and together with my head of department I spoke to the deputy head. Within weeks the bully was spoken to. Initially things didn’t improve and the deputy head had to intervene a second time. But from then on, we coexisted in the department without much issue.
Workplace bullying can happen to anyone
About 18 months later the head of department retired and was replaced by a new one whose management style had elements of bullying. Their bullying wasn’t specifically directed at me, but towards the whole department. They changed the specification from one we had taught very successfully for years to one they had used at their previous school, before even meeting the department, leaving us all floundering to understand the intricacies of coursework and modules. They also took credit for my work with some important data analysis.
About 18 months later the head of department retired and was replaced by a new one whose management style had elements of bullying. Their bullying wasn’t specifically directed at me, but towards the whole department.
Standing up for yourself and others
This time was different. I had other things going on and decided to leave rather than put up with it. However, between handing in my notice and leaving, I made sure my opinions were well known. Another young teacher said to me: ‘why are you sticking your head above the parapet? You’re leaving, this doesn’t affect you.’ All I could say was that my previous experience had left me with a strong sense of justice and if I let things go, then the situation would be a little bit worse for those who remained.
Those who have met me know that I am strong-minded, and yet I was a victim of workplace bullying. It can happen to anyone. I have remained a teacher and am now more than 15 years into my career. But I certainly don’t think I would still be here were it not for the support of colleagues, my union and contacts in the RSC. If there is a single takeaway from this story, it would be bullies thrive on silence. If you are experiencing a similar situation, confide in others and find out how your school deals with bullying.
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