Page 86 - She's One Crazy Lady!

was incredibly hard, knowing my every action was being scrutinised and recorded, and added to my file.
I was able to engage the support from the Teacher’s Union, of which I was a member. Together, they helped me prepare my case notes in readiness for the hearing – notes that I was never had the opportunity to read out or discuss face-to-face with anyone in authority.
With the date for the hearing set, the atmosphere, suspicion, tension and fear in the school was very, very tense. Word had obviously got out and a state of shock prevailed – by some – not all. This was their Deputy Head – on trial! On trial for what? For me, as hard as it was, it was a case of keeping my head down and trying to carry on as normal, although I could still not get my head around what was happening and why. The show must go on – as I didn’t want to put myself in a position that would give the Head more ammunition to throw at me, for by now, I had realised there were others ‘anti’ me. ‘Others’ being what I considered to be friends and colleagues within the school, ‘others’ who had provided him with ‘requested’ written statements supporting his accusations or had been interviewed by him. I knew this to be true when one of the ‘letter writers’ saw me in town. I cheerfully greeted her in the way I would greet a friend and colleague. She started crying.
“What have I done?” she cried.
“What do you mean – what have you done?” I asked.
“He made me do it. He made me write about you. I was in fear of my job. My husband would kill me if he knew what I’d done. Can we still be friends?”
“I don’t think so.”
Oh, how I wished I’d had a recording of that conversation.
He was utterly wrong, and I was absolutely determined to see this
He made me do“
it. communication that my actual teaching was in question. As worried
through and clear my name, especially as he was now questioning my teaching and had asked other teachers to observe many of my lessons and feed back to him, as well as me having to go into their classrooms to observe their lessons. There had been no previous indication or
He made me write about you. I was in fear of my job. My husband would kill me if he knew what I’d done. Can we still
as I was, the bit was between my teeth. Meetings were held with representatives of my Union and the day of the hearing arrived. I will always remember walking across the old Victorian School Hall, at the end of a busy day, flanked by two Union Reps, both well over six feet tall – me a mere five feet and one inch. Unbeknown to me, all my ‘genuine friends’ of Victoria had assembled in a classroom and were standing by the window. As I started the walk of doom, Liz, the Secretary, appeared with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Attached to the flowers was a card that read: “Whatever the outcome, we’re behind you all the way.”
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be friend”
Tears stung my eyes as, in unison, they all gave me the thumbs up sign. What would be the verdict? Would I be allowed to get my side of the story across?
In a word. No. I was never given that opportunity. The Head, accompanied by the Chair of Governors, who just months ago, was
s?