7 Signs Your Child Has a Toxic Teacher

7 Signs Your Child Has a Toxic Teacher School culture consists of an underlying norm of values and beliefs regarding teaching and learning that, in theory, teachers and administrators all hold. That said, a school might have a positive or negative culture, the latter of which can breed toxic teachers. Or, of course, there might just be a badeanstalt apple of a teacher among an otherwise positive school culture.In a school with a positive culture,professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madisons Department of Educational Administration, co-author ofShaping School Culture The Heart of Leadershipand researcher behind the 2002 study published in theJournal of Staff Development,Positive or Negative, Dr. Kent D. Peterson told Education World, Theres an informal network of heroes and heroines and an informal grapevine that passes along information about whats going on in the school ... A set of values that supports professional development of teachers, a sense of responsibility for student learning, and a positive, caring atmosphere..In a toxic school environment, however, teacher relations are often conflictual, the staff doesnt believe in the ability of the students to succeed, and a generally negative attitude pervades the school halls, Dr. Peterson explained.According to Dr. Peterson, schools with a toxic culture lack a clear sense of purpose, have norms that reinforce inertia, blame students for lack of progress, discourage collaboration and often have actively hostile relations among staff.Of course, sometimes a teacher just doesnt quite fit the mold, and their actions alone arent in line with the schools overall mission or the needs of its students. While their negativity isnt necessarily a direct reflection of the schools toxic culture, they may just be a lone toxic teacher.But how do you identify a toxic teacher? Theyre notlage always outright bad teachers. In fact, they may even be popular among some students and even other parents and the education board. H ere are eight ways to spot whether or not your kid has a toxic teacher.1. Theyre DisillusionedDisillusionment is defined as a feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be. If a teacher feels disillusioned with regards to their students, that could mean that they dont believe in the ability of their students. And, of course, if they dont believe in their students, they may manifest a reality in which their students dont succeed.2. They GossipA teacher who spends their time gossiping is probably a teacher who doesnt spend enough time focused on the good of their students things like lesson planning and meeting with parents after school. The gossiper may spread rumors and talk that makes them look better, likely because theyre not doing enough professionally to make themselves look good.3. They Display an Attitude of DissentA toxic teacher might bring great ideas to the table when talking with parents or colleagues,but t hey dont necessarily welcome other great ideas. While they claim to be participatory, their input is almost always negative and ensures that next to nothing gets accomplished. Then they may blame students for the lack of progress.4. They Only Do the Bare MinimumMaybe a teacher is effective in the classroom and their students perform well and get good grades. On the surface, this teacher looks great. But this teacher does the bare minimum to challenge their students thats largely because, if their students perform poorly, they dont want it to be a reflection on them. So they do the bare minimum to skate by.5. They Dont Try to Do Better ThemselvesA good teacher knows that, just as much as theyre in school to teach, theyre in school to learn. Effective teachers not only teach their students, but they also learn from them they discover what teaching methods work well and what doesnt, as well as their own personal strengths and weaknesses. And when they discover methods that dont work or weaknesses that could use improvement, they strive to come up with new ideas and develop their teaching skills. They take constructive feedback well and they implement action plans. A toxic teacher, however, doesnt try to do better even though they expect their students to do just that.6. They Degrade or Publicly Humiliate Some StudentsA toxic teacher may be notorious for degrading or publicly humiliating students. They may make some students feel that theyre not good enough by doing things like shaming them during a presentation or calling them out for their grades in the middle of class. They might also, consciously or subconsciously, encourage or even allow other students to exclude or make fun of certain students.7. They Reject Some StudentsWhen a teacher refuses to acknowledge a students presence, value or efforts by verbally communicating (or by communicating with young students with affirmative gestures like giving them star stickers), they may be a toxic teacher. A wealth of research suggests that pumping up students when they perform well can encourage them to keep doing well, but a student who strives for attention and any kind of acknowledgement of their hard work (particularly a young student) might feel like their efforts are pointless.--AnnaMarie Houlis is a multimedia journalist and an adventure aficionado with a keen cultural curiosity and an affinity for solo travel. Shes an editor by day and a travel blogger at HerReport.org by night.