Job Discussion Forums

[grab-bag]

So things are getting worse at AUK. Since when does a director say to a teacher that he is "analretentive"?

This was a pretty good place to work until maggiebasher came into power.
People work hard, do their jobs and then this woman with her buttfixation
starts screeching at people and insulting them.

The teachers there are OK - one or two sad sacks like everywhere else but this person takes the cake, needs to learn a few management skills and how to behave with people. Rudeness doesn't get you anywhere - especially public rudeness. Too bad -now no-one respects her - they only fear her. A little more sensitivity and humility would be in order.

[grab-bag]

Disgusting behavior on the part of a director. She thought it was funny to insult her staff member in this way. The person was humiliated and went into a depression.

How do people get ahead in the workplace? One way seems to be by making their subordinates miserable - almost two-thirds of the 240 participants in an online survey said the local workplace tyrant was either never censured or was promoted for domineering ways.
"The fact that 64.2 percent of the respondents indicated that either nothing at all or something positive happened to the bad leader is rather remarkable -- remarkably disturbing," wrote the study's authors Despite their success in the office, spiteful supervisors can cause serious malaise for their subordinates, the study suggested, citing nightmares, insomnia, depression and exhaustion as symptoms of serving a brutal boss.
The authors advocated immediate intervention by industry chiefs to stop fledgling office authoritarians from rising up the ranks.
As with any sort of cancer, the best alternative to prevention is early detection.
They faulted senior managers for not recognizing the signs of workplace strife wrought by bad bosses. "The leaders above them who did nothing, who rewarded and promoted bad leaders ... represent an additional problem."

Like a bad cancer, a bad director needs to be zapped.

[potabavich]

LoL

[grab-bag]

Right on potabavich!!!

Bullying, belittling and humiliating seem to be par for the course with a lot of people in EFL management. I remember years ago when I used to work at QU one of my coordiators loved to get his rocks off by pushing teachers around, bullying, lurking, trying to catch them out. The big joke is that he got the shove from another place in the far east when someone had enough of him. and his bullying. Old maggiebasher is another bully. I don't understand these people. Why do they feel such a need to bully and belittle others? Something wrong with them - maybe they didn't get enough attention when they were small and use bullying to get attention now. Most of them could do with deep throat analysis.

People who bully are the real problem but sadly their victims are the ones who end up getting hurt. Bullies need to be given courses on anger and resentment management. Most workplace bullies have a deep need for payback but unfortunately they oftem chose victims who have done nothing. TheseEFL management bullies meed to check their rear-view mirrors! And keep them clean!

[15yearsinQ8]

if you were referring to former dean 'black', she was identified for what she is on her second day in kuwait.....just now you notice? (i'll stop there lest the moderators slam me for 'personal attacks')

if it's something that being in kuwait, in education (at 'real' american universities and indeed the whole spectrum of education NOT just tefl) and in careers outside of education has taught me is that the majority of academics and teflers in kuwait couldn't make it a 'real' universities -

indeed an entry level mangerial position requiring customer service and team leading would get most supervisors (or a Business PhD) i've worked with fired within a month....yet in kuwait, they think they're right up there with god and the prophets

next time they get uppety , just start thinking how much better the philipino shift leader at macdonalds would be as tefl supervisor or 'director'..... and when you get nerve enough, tell them that

[15yearsinQ8]

hey, i just realized you could have been referring to ANOTHER woman at UAK with a buttfixation

she sounds like she's from 'narobi' and her latest two jobs include
- GUST where she was fired for having been exposed for having a Masters from a diploma mill
- IPETQ where she was fired for 'helping' students on a test

moderators, don't slam me for 'personal attacks' it's not personal attacks when it's true...

I wonder if Dartmoth knows she's on staff at AUK....

[grab-bag]

Has the head apologized to the teacher she so crassly insulted? I hope she has learned to mind her manners. Nothing worse than a rude, inconsiderate boss who couldn't care less about staff. Morale is low - she can make it or break it. Let's hope she tries to fix her problem and learns how to communicate in a civilized way.

[veiledsentiments]

Are you people referring to the EFL department? The people that I have heard from are happy with the job and department.

It sounds like most departments, there are always some people who are never happy and try to create problems, and those who do their jobs and try to ignore them.

VS

[grab-bag]

ESL Dept is fine - most of the teachers are OK - a few nutter types but generally decent folk. The head has an anger management problem - if she has an issue with a member of staff, it would be far more civilized to speak to that teacher in private and not insult him in a public space.

People are afraid to say anything about the bad manners. She's a good administrator but really needs to learn how to respect teachers.

RESPECT is an important characteristic a good department head should have? Don't you agree, VS?

[veiledsentiments]

If she is a good administrator, and most of the teachers are happy - then why post messages like the above making it sound like it is awful place and to be avoided?

Every teacher and manager has personality quirks. We all have good and bad things about our own personalities. All of this just because she said that someone is 'anal retentive.'?

If my supervisor said that to me, I'd just laugh.

VS

[skeptic]

Always the voice of reason. I like the way you say what needs to be said, VS.

[grab-bag]

Like in a lot of other places, the teachers survive despite the administration. AUK has good teachers (but there are certainly one or two very strange types floating around...). The teachers are hard working and committed. In such a small place, incompetence shows up very easily.

The director has personal issues with herself and with her staff. She has yet to learn how to behave in a professional respectful manner. No-one faults her management skills but as a person she has some problems she needs to work through. If she can deal with these and learn some respect, she'll do fine. If your director treats you with respect and doesn't call you names, you can cope. If your director has a vicious tongue and lashes out at people in public, you have to wonder what the real problem is. AUK is a nice university and does not have the bigtime problems that GUST has.

[Anna Dubaya]

They have a big ad on The Chronicle right now. Any new feedback on the institution? Anything I should know as I am preparing my cover letter?

[pat blake]

[quote="grab-bag"]ESL Dept is fine - most of the teachers are OK - a few nutter types but generally decent folk.

How is it different saying someone is a nutter as opposed to saying someone is anal retentive?

[miski]

LOL

Is her name by any chance SUE C ?
If so, don't take any sh*t- she only got her PGCE last year.......lololol