Queen of Hearts, Act 2
Bad bosses like the Queen of Hearts are so noteworthy in their delicious wickedness that their memory leaves an ongoing echo of ripples in the pond of memory.
Curtain up on this tragedy.
Is the negative energy dredged up by analyzing past admins /principals worth it? Real Job Stories has a project going to review all of the admins / principals in the 30-year teaching career of the author. Many of these bosses have been horrible.
An individual teacher confronting the legacy of abuse so prevalent might wonder, “Was it me?” Trust yourself fellow educators, it almost never is.
During a recent bull session with colleagues, we were recalling the Queen of Hearts and her malicious drama. “Ninety five percent of the problems teachers have at school are because of bad admins, their stupid decisions and poor leadership. A large part of that is also bad state departments of education policy,” observed the indignant instructor.
Every time RJS has broached the subject of bad admins / principals with other teachers there is an outpouring of horror stories about shitty bosses.
New teachers should have as part of their training, an opportunity to review the ethical questions they will be faced with in their school buildings. This is largely because bad admins present teachers with bewildering scenarios around questions of right and wrong.
Another colleague related an experience with the Queen of Hearts.
“We were in a disciplinary meeting with a student and her guardian. The student had been a bad actor and we were trying to figure out a plan. There were several adults in the room and the kid was feeling browbeaten and outnumbered. The Queen of Hearts was shaking her head and heaving deep sighs. We were wrapping up when the Queen pronounced, “See (name of student) this is why no one loves you!”
What? The child was crushed and burst out in tears. Yeah, the student needed to acknowledge her behavior, but the goal of a school discipline policy should be redemption and restorative justice not emotional destruction. Human beings are not disposable.
The teacher was shocked and unsure how to respond to this cruelty from her boss. She was fairly new and the Queen of Hearts was the first admin / principal she had worked under. This is the kind of moral dilemma that educators are often faced with that teaching licensure programs do not prepare them for.
Ethical quandaries the Queen imposed on staff included the following.
On a Sunday afternoon, no one around, the Queen rearranged a counselor’s shared office, moving personal items around and putting up a divider. Another teacher who became her nasty sidekick (every bully has a subordinate) helped her rearrange the office. On Monday morning the Queen shifted the blame to the other counselor (who was not involved) pitting the colleagues against each other.
Without asking, the Monarch moved a couple difficult students out of the syphocant’s class and into another teacher’s room. Evidently the Vice-President (as office staff began calling the associate) wasn’t up to the task of challenging students.
The Queen seized responsibility for managing a group of paraprofessionals in a program to earn teacher licensure. She got control of their class logins, went into the virtual course and completed homework for them. During the zoom class she argued with the professors and declared the class “too hard” for “these people.” These people referring to the indigenous students hoping to become teachers.
In meetings the Queen repeatedly praised the work of her lackey while saying the rest of us “weren’t quite there yet.“ That included a teacher (yours truly) she previously described in a formal observation as a master teacher.
According to a special education teacher, the Queen was reimbursed to the tune of thousands of dollars by the state for conducting evaluations that never happened. “Grifter, fraudster and thief” is how the teacher referred to the Queen. Later, we learned that she had emptied out her retirement for legal fees stemming from previous job disciplinary actions.
The Queen held meetings where teachers ranked students by writing their names on post-its and placing them on a publicly displayed chart as advanced, at grade level or (you can’t make this up) as “falling stars.”
Students were showing up early before the building opened and had to wait outside for a few minutes. The Queen declared that we all had to come in early to supervise. This raised all kinds contractual and policy questions and the Queen became quite irate at those who dared raise issue.
During covid, oh yeah add covid to the stress of teaching under the Queen, there was a social distance, district policy of am and pm schedules to reduce class numbers. The Queen strongly urged teachers to ignore the policy and allow students to attend all day. This meant all day students basically repeated the am lesson. Woe to those who questioned the Queen.
One passive-aggressive way the Queen showed displeasure was to make morning rounds and enthusiastically greet those on her good list. In her booming voice so everyone could hear, “You’re AMAZING! Have a wonderful day!” She’d clomp on by, you could hear her heavy steps, pausing outside of the rooms those of us in disfavor without even a good morning.
The Queen used the email of a staff member to sign her up for a conference she did not want to go to and never consented to participate in.
In attempt to curry favor, the Queen issued us “free passes” for a day off, never mind the contractual terms for taking personal and sick days.
She told several young teachers, new to teaching, that they were in the “wrong profession” quote unquote, reducing some to tears.
A diminutive secretary was physically threatened by the large and florid Queen. Picture the Queen sporting a horned helmet, long blonde braids and brandishing a bloodstained axe, bellowing like a battling banshee, lopping off heads right and left. That was kind of her vibe.
The above is a short list of the Queen’s exploits. It became clear that her behavior was unsustainable. Fortunately our incredible union, NEA-Alaska had our back. NEA-Alaska helped with a non-district google doc where we could record in detail, (who, when, where) the Queen’s comportment. We began daily documentation. This led to private sessions with school board members, relating our experiences. The odor became palpable, smell test failed and light of day revealed a record of verified behaviors and atrocious actions. Even her supporters on the school board couldn’t countenance the drama that had nothing to do with student achievement.
The superintendent called us in for a meeting to let us know that the Queen would be “working from home” for the remainder of the school year. We felt for the guy because he was not the superintendent who originally hired her.
In the spring of her third year the Queen was literally exiled from the SE Alaska island native nation. Threatening the secretary whose husband was on the tribal council may have been the last straw. We think she was “blue ticketed” meaning she will never be allowed to return. She left with a load of purloined school district property in a U-Haul trailer. Last we heard she was posted in the loneliest, miserable, coldest place in the Northwest, Nome, Alaska. Nome alone Queenie!
Curtain down on this tragedy, no curtain call. I’ve never seen an education professional, let alone a person, be so thoroughly and publicly disgraced.
Fin