Discipline

[Lizmo]

I am a teacher and my principal does not like confrontation at all!  If there is a problem with one or two people, instead of pulling them aside and talking to them about it, she will address us as a group or send out an email to everyone. 

Then there is a coworker of mine who will have a problem with one or two people and will bring it up at faculty meetings in kind of a rude way.  My principal tries to be kind, but this lady gets upset and gets LOUD. 

Now, I'm not a fan of confrontation, but my issue is this.  If this is a well known problem with one or two people, is addressing the whole group appropriate?  I always thought it singled people out.  For example, there are a couple people who are late everyday.  The people who arrive on time are obviously aware of who is late.  Instead of pulling the late ones aside and talking to them about it, it's brought up at a faculty meeting in front of everyone.  It's only happened to me once or twice, but it hurt and I was embarrassed when it did.

  I'm curious what everyone thinks.  Is this appropriate? 

[Ko-Ko]

I think it depends on the situation. Regarding the teachers who are late, I think they should be talked to in private. Calling everyone's attention to it won't solve the problem. However, if it is something serious, like something to do with student problems, it might be better to bring it up in a meeting. Overall, I agree with you. 

Ko-Ko

[oogyda]

I so agree with you!  The irony is that the ones who aren't guilty of the action always take it to heart and think that somehow they are talking about you, too since they included you in the "discussion" and the ones who truly are guilty are the ones who think "Oh, well they're not talking about me."

This was explained to me by the VP of a company that did that.  They address it to everyone to avoid singling people out and thus avoiding lawsuits or labor complaints.  At this company, if they singled you out, they had to "write you up".  Sometimes, such as with tardiness, they can't write someone up unless it's happened X number of times and they have documentation.  Sometimes the infractions are worthy of a write up but need to be addressed.

[T'Mar of Vulcan]

I am a teacher and my principal does not like confrontation at all!  If there is a problem with one or two people, instead of pulling them aside and talking to them about it, she will address us as a group or send out an email to everyone. 

Wow, if you hadn't said "she" I would have thought you were talking about my principal from 10 years ago. That is exactly what he did - even if only one or two people were guilty, he'd address the staff as though everyone was doing it. Some teachers used to get freaked out and rush up to him after these meetings and say, "Were you talking about me? Did I do it?" And he'd say smugly, "If the shoe fits, wear it."

Well, phooey on that. People would ask me why I never rushed up to him or looked guilty. I would just say, "It wasn't me." I just always acted like it wasn't me, because I never had anything to feel guilty about.

But I'd take him over our current principal, who IS a woman. She is so intent on micro-managing everyone that she makes our lives a misery. Part of the problem is she has a memory like a sieve. So today she'll tell you to do something one way, and in a week she'll yell at you for doing it like that! It drives the staff insane. I've learned to use this to my advantage, though, and, knowing she can't remember anyway, choosing to interpret what she says however I like, then telling her, "But you said so." Because she has no idea whether she did or not! And I can look so darn sweet and earnest. Evil? Yes. E-h3ll-worthy? Probably. Do I care? No.

[cheyne]

It sounds like your principal has confrontation issues.  I have also worked for bosses who could not talk to someone about bad behavior in private, so they brought it up at a staff meeting.  If you are not late, you have nothing to worry about.  It's too bad your principal doesn't have more professional supervisory skills (and a backbone).

[Lexophile]

The problem with confronting a whole group of people is that the trouble-makers usually DON'T think you are talking about them. It's easier for them to stay in denial that they are doing anything wrong. Where I work, noncompliance with the QA/QC program gets handled this way ALL THE TIME. It goes right over the heads of the worst offenders because they think they don't need help with their quality control. They think they can do it all themselves.


And someone in the position of being a school principal has the responsibility to deal with these issues whether they like it or not. That's why they are there.

[ChristiKayAnn]

The problem with confronting a whole group of people is that the trouble-makers usually DON'T think you are talking about them.

Or they don't care.

We had one of these meetings at my denominations pastors retreat a few months ago. The leadership for the four state area where my church is located called us all together at one of the meetings to talk about appropriate dress for the office and the pulpit (we have a very clear dress code, so this should have been unnecessary). Most of the other pastors do dress appropriately, as do I. But, later, about 5 of them were bragging about the fact that they sometimes wear jeans on Sunday morning and they don't care what anyone else thinks about it.

[hkkatie]

I think in a case like this, it would be good to do both. The few people who are having the problem need to be addressed individually, however I also think it's good to have the occasional "reminder" for the general population about the rules/guidelines whatever.

[Sharnita]

As a fellow teacher, I think making a general statement AND approaching individuals is the best approach. As a teacher who is always one of the first at school and frequently watching the kids of teachers who arrive late I would want to hear the P reminding staff that they must be on time. I might or might not ever hear about any private action/discussion involving individual offenders.

[Balletmom]

Oh yessss....I've experienced it in faculty meetings! Our administrator started doing that much more after a lawsuit by an ex-employee. The standard line is apparently, "others were doing it and you weren't writing them up."

So we all had to hear negative comments (sometimes quite negative, as it's easier to be that way when you are addressing a group instead of a one-on-one private talk) which were so stressful.

And yes, all of us with sensitive consciences would start wondering if we were the targets.

I know why it's done but I hate it, and while it may be a defense against lawsuits, I think it a poor idea to do something that *might* help with a lawsuit defense later, but is certainly stressing out and upsetting valued employees in the meantime. Not a good decision.

[Bob Ducca]

As a fellow teacher, I think making a general statement AND approaching individuals is the best approach. As a teacher who is always one of the first at school and frequently watching the kids of teachers who arrive late I would want to hear the P reminding staff that they must be on time. I might or might not ever hear about any private action/discussion involving individual offenders...

Oh yessss....I've experienced it in faculty meetings! Our administrator started doing that much more after a lawsuit by an ex-employee. The standard line is apparently, "others were doing it and you weren't writing them up."

I have to agree with these points.  Gossip and backbiting are big problems among the faculty where I teach, and the principal brings things up at faculty meetings so it won't get distorted in the retelling.  And it is frustrating for someone who is doing things right to never see people who break the rules get punished; however, it isn't our "right" to do so.  I think the appropriate thing is to mention it to the staff at the faculty meeting, but then privately address the people who were actually committing the offenses.  And, if it is done well, those of us who didn't do anything wrong would never know any specific disciplinary measures had been taken.  Whether a verbal or written reprimand, that sort of thing should stay private.