regulation, the teacher would know that the matter could go to the district
office if not resolved at the school level and this would be an incentive
for her to do the right thing. In any district, if the student and parent are
satisfied with the resolution and the teacher apologizes for an uncharacter-
istic and thoughtless remark, a further investigation by a higher authority
would be avoided.
A typical school leader during his years as an assistant principal and
principal will complete many hundreds of formal observation reports. On
more than a few occasions, every school leader is tempted to do what Mr.
Gradgrind did in the third scenario, but restrains himself. Taking over the
class of a teacher, unless there is threat of physical harm to the teacher or
a student, undercuts a teacher’s authority with the students.
Therefore, when the principal meets with Ms. Newbody and the union
representative, she would first apologize that Ms. Newbody was made
to feel so upset. Instruction and the training of supervisory staff is her
responsibility and somewhere she failed. Having heard this, Ms. New-
body would be far more likely to accept the principal’s suggestion that all
involved seek resolution outside of the grievance process. The principal
would offer to meet with Ms. Newbody and Mr. Gradgrind so this mat-
ter could be resolved and future issues avoided. Such an offer is rarely
refused because it saves everyone the considerable time involved in after-
school meetings required by the grievance process.
Before they leave her office, the principal would ask Ms. Newbody
about the lesson and what was happening in the classroom. She would
also inquire if this was an isolated incident in her professional relationship
with her supervisor (for the purpose of this scenario, let us say it was; if
this were not the case, the matter would be far more serious and would
probably lead to grievance as an issue of harassment).
Before the scheduled meeting for resolution, the principal would speak
with Mr. Gradgrind and ask why he took over the class. While she would
sympathize with his reasons (excuses), she would make it clear that un-
less the class was so out of control that he felt that a student or the teacher
faced the possibility of injury, he should not have interfered with the
teacher’s instruction. Ms. Newbody was right. By taking over the class, he
had undercut her authority. Any problems she was having with discipline
would now only get worse.
48 Chapter 4