Week+3+5344

Discussion:

As a new administrator, I would want to give a lot of thought to how to handle a situation just as this, especially if I am following in someone's footsteps who was EXTREMELY well-liked. I would definitely not want to put the teacher in question on the defensive AT ALL. I was considering the approach Rebecca took about not approaching the teacher at all initially and addressing it in the faculty meeting. I liked the idea initially, but then I started to think about it. Once I started talking about rumors and negative comments, there would be some of the teachers who would know who I was talking about, especially the teacher in question. In fact, I think that's probably what the desired outcome would be--to get the message across without having to actually confront an individual teacher. After reconsideration, I would probably not handle it this way. I would probably send the teacher an email asking her to come by my office during her conference period, making sure to give her a few days to determine which time is best for her. Let the teacher determine the time, so they don't feel like they need to "hurry and get back" because they have other things to do. When she came into my office, I would greet her warmly and ask her how the year was going so far--try to get a little rapport going so she knows I am not "out to get her". I may even mention the previous principal and how great a job he did. Maybe even mention what good things I had heard about her. Because the rumors are hearsay, I probably wouldn't even mention the rumors, but would probably ask her if she had any concerns she would like to share or ask me, or if she needed anything. By doing this, I am letting her know in not so many words that I am aware of what has been said and also giving her an opportunity to verbalize any questions or concerns she may have about me to me directly. I would end the meeting by saying my door was always open if she needed to talk about anything or had concerns at any time. She could also feel free to email me if she wasn't comfortable talking face to face about some things. I probably would not document the meeting past the date and time we met.. Hopefully, this will remedy the situation and begin to develop communication lines between the teachers and myself.

Assignment: