A close-up look at NYC education policy, politics,and the people who have been, are now, or will be affected by these actions and programs. ATR CONNECT assists individuals who suddenly find themselves in the ATR ("Absent Teacher Reserve") pool and are the "new" rubber roomers, people who have been re-assigned from their life and career. A "Rubber Room" is not a place, but a process.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
NAPTA: The Many Stages of Teacher Abuse
NAPTA stands for the "National Association for Prevention of Teacher Abuse, and founder Karen Horwitz is a good friend.
She knows the process that destroys teachers lives, not only in New York City, but throughout the United States, and has made a list of the stages of abuse that the destroyers use:
STAGES of ABUSE
General Goal: Maintain an organization whereby the hierarchy has absolute power and neither the teachers nor the parents can interfere, thus hiding incompetence, maintaining lucrative positions, and control over the budget.
Methods/Goals-in order of intensity (Most teachers not aware it is intentional bullying until level 8.)
1. Avoid hiring older experienced teachers who are thinkers./Keep a staff of young revolving door teachers so roots and opinions won't establish.
2. Praise conformity./Staff of Stepford teachers who won't question anything.
3. Give perks to a small group of teachers that form first line of defense against other teachers./Create a barrier clique between administration and teachers by rewarding a few good soldiers who will serve as positive voice pieces for the administration.
4. Overload with work./Create inability to complain about issues - keep too busy.
5. Limit assistance with difficult children or purposely load certain teacher with difficult children./Create inability to complain about issues keep too busy to speak out.
6. Limit support with difficult parents and create barrier between teachers and parents./Attack self-esteem so won't feel empowered and won't trust their own thinking while eliminating parent allies from forming.
7. Place children of high profile parents with teachers who conform./Avoid having parents form allies with strong teachers.
8. Write up false reports./Flex muscles so teacher will know they are being controlled and will become confused.
9. Create files with false and negative reports; create separate file in case contract requires teacher is to be informed, and keep documents out of teacher's view./Build a case against teacher.
10.Threaten- directly or through rumors or innuendo by designated staff messengers./Create wall of fear to silence teacher.
11.Threaten others in presence./Set example; increase fear to point where teacher will report other.
12.Humiliate./Keep divergent thinker as dysfunctional as possible; weaken self esteem.
13.Torment./Affect psychological health so easier to control and teacher will quit.
14.Demonstrate clear demarcations between favored and unfavored staff;lower evaluations of teachers who befriend administration's target teachers./Encourage teachers to choose party line so undesirable teachers will quit.
15.Let union people know they must support administration./Avoid records that can be used against administration in case there is tenure hearing.
16.Ostracize - divide and conquer./Create system of quislings to force unwanted teacher out.
17.Suggest resigning to avoid termination./Hide bullying pattern from Board, save money on hearing, frighten teacher into last chance for any reference or future teaching jobs.
18.Banish with leave or ordered doctor visit, especially using testimony for fee psychiatrist./Use fear of psychological report to encourage resignation.
19.Terminate and settle with a gag order not to talk against district./Don't pay teacher so desperate teacher will give in.
20.Promise good reference; destroy reputation so they will never be in a position to bad mouth former district./Secretly inform other districts so teacher won't be hired elsewhere in area or even same city.
21.Politically control tenure hearing; submit altered documents; arrange for colleagues to give false testimony for status; call witnesses and directly and indirectly warn them; drive teacher to despair so she will give up./Good Ol Boy Network protects each other knowing the system depends on silencing - witness tampering and altered documents won't be noticed.
22.Politically control tenure decision. /stall/War of attrition: hope for natural death.
23.Threaten or entice union into selling out teacher./Guaranteed absolute power so no teacher will speak out.
24.Your guess is as good as mine.
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