A developing and insidious tactic by students is to use gaslighting strategies in an attempt to undermine teachers authority, confidence, and effectiveness in the classroom. I have heard of this tactic being targeting at relief teachers and increasingly permanent teachers. Typical tactics (some of which I have seen) include:
Denying Misbehavior: Students might collectively insist that certain incidents or behaviors never occurred, making a teacher question their observations or memory.
Misrepresenting Conversations or Instructions: Students might claim a teacher said something they did not or that instructions were different from what was communicated, leading to confusion and self-doubt in the teacher.
Questioning Competence: Students might challenge a teacher’s knowledge or authority in subtle ways, suggesting mistakes where none exist or exaggerating minor errors to undermine the teacher’s credibility.
Spreading Misinformation: Some students might spread false information about a teacher to peers or other faculty, which can isolate the teacher and create a hostile work environment.
Spreading Misinformation: Some students might spread false information about a teacher to peers or other faculty, which can isolate the teacher and create a hostile work environment.
It is quite challenging to manage this individual and collective behaviour, and little wonder that some relief teachers are refusing to take junior classes or worse removing themselves from the relief pool.
edwin bruce, teacher 