Monday, March 3, 2008

Misbehavior of an administrator

I work at an inner-city elementary charter school. There have been multiple accounts of repeated sexual harassment from one of our administrators. This individual has made inappropriate comments to my and my co-workers, including calling my voice "seductive" when I had lost my voice, and also warning another staff member that she might get a "chest cold" walking outside without her jacket (and wearing a lower cut, but not revealing, top).

The real problem is when two teachers quit due to his repeated advances towards them. He emailed them, called them, and asked them to go out to dinner with him in a non-professional setting. They refused, and he kept calling them and making them quite uncomfortable. He is married and has children. He talked to other staff members about how he wanted to have sexual relations with these (and other) staff members. Another teacher confided in me that she was also harassed in a similar manner the year before. He would call and text her all hours of the night and ask to get together.

We work at a low-performing elementary school where our focus is supposed to be on trying to help these kids get up to grade level. It is very disturbing that some people view this as a dating service.

--Anonymous submission

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Worried about a friend

My friend works at a law firm and I get upset when I hear her talk about how her bosses harass her at work. She laughs it off and genuinely doesn't seem bothered by it but it makes me uncomfortable when she talks about how they treat her at work.

They speak to her condescendingly a lot of the time and belittle her with smart-ass comments. She's also told me on more than one occasion how they talk to her about how good her breasts look when she wears tight clothing and one of the lawyers actually spanked her once. I feel bad because I don't want to push the conversation, especially if she doesn't see it as an issue, but I find it hard to hear her say these things and not react because I love her and she doesn't deserve that disrespect. No one deserves that.

--Submitted by: V