How to handle a new teacher who is trying to take over
Overzealous new colleagues often come in with unrealistic expectations and take every piece of feedback personally while disrupting established dynamics. Managing them without crushing their spirit is difficult because they do not yet know the students or school culture, leaving experienced teachers walking a fine line between establishing boundaries and acting like a tyrant.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1asking to change schoolsDid this help you?
- 2trying to use attention grabbers out loudDid this help you?
- 3considering quitting the jobDid this help you?
- 4Stopping answering calls during class and after work hoursDid this help you?
- 5Telling the colleague you have too much work to get done during prep timeDid this help you?
- 6Setting office phones to voicemail during teaching hoursDid this help you?
- 7Setting strict time limits for conversations and physically walking the colleague to the doorDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“She comes into my room uninvited every day during my prep and will talk my ear off, causing me to essentially lose my prep time, she sends emails on my behalf without mentioning it to me first”source ↗
“calls me over school phone in the middle of class for non emergencies, calls my PERSONAL phone at 9pm (also for non emergencies, not that it matters), and is just overall very, idk, condescending? Patronizing?”source ↗
“A few weeks ago, she called me over school phone in the middle of one of my classes to ask what I had ordered for my classroom”source ↗
“Every single male teacher in my department and even THE HALL MONITOR has tried to act like they are my boss/ undermine my leadership of the classroom/ bitched me in front of my students”source ↗
“How do you deal with new teachers coming in and trying to “takeover” without just being the asshole shutting them down every step of the way?”source ↗
“You don’t want to break their spirits but they also 1. Don’t know the students 2. Have these grandiose expectations of how your school is supposed to be 3. Takes every criticism via student or other member of their year level as an affront to them having a job next year.”source ↗
“I been working at a after program with school it’s my first week there and I hate the staff”source ↗
“I also feel intimidated by one of them every time she talks to me I feel like it’s with attitude and she looks at me weird up and down I don’t feel safe idk sometime wrong what do I do help or should I quit the job”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4Employee onboarding workflow for small teams
- 46How to deal with uncooperative coworkers who don't do their work
- 2Why is my new team so cold and ignoring me?
- 2How to handle an overinvolved co-teacher who crosses boundaries
- 2Why is my entire day eaten up by meetings and micromanagement?
- 6Why do I have to train my new manager?