Minding your own business is a full time job. Stay employed. You don’t have the time to hang out in the teacher’s work room and learn who is going through a divorce, who has been flirting with the PE coach or how that teacher lost so much weight. Yes, gossip is alive in every workplace and a school is no exception.  Every year when it came time to vote for Teacher of the Year, I always struggled because the fact is, I don’t know anything about someone else’s practice. We all stay in our own rooms teaching all day so how am I really supposed to know who is implementing cutting edge technology or differentiating instruction? In the brief few minutes per day that we have to meet with our colleagues or at lunch, be very intentional about your conversation. Only say quotable things. Gossip, especially among colleagues who work together every day, is a dangerous and slippery slope. If you listen to it, or worse, repeat it, you can be sure that you are the subject of the gossip when you are not present. It is hard to criticize someone who can’t be quoted saying or doing something disreputable. Be very aware that people are quick to believe bad things they hear about good people, including you. Regardless, do you know who is silently struggling with something right now? Literally everybody. Don’t blow on that fire. 

One of the consequences of engaging in gossip is that it can very easily be about children; the same children who are likely to land on your roll one year. Remember how you are planning to give every child a new chance? It is hard to do when you are influenced by all the information you gained when he was in Mrs. Green’s class last year. You can’t unhear those appraisals. The same goes for parents. There are children who are perfectly delightful to have in your class but they can come attached to a parent who creates anxiety for the teacher. That is a parent you handle with care. Communicate. Be positive. Remain professional. If you do all that, it will make it easier for you to get through the year.

Yes, children come to school and tell you everything that is going on at home. Know the difference between gossipy information and something that needs reporting. If you suspect abuse, neglect, or endangerment, you are a mandated reporter. If you are uncomfortable making the report, a counselor or administrator can help you navigate that situation.

If a staff person shared something personal with me that was private, they knew I would not share it with anyone. My motto was…”Its; not mine to share.” I know this was frustrating on more than one occasion with others, but, they also knew they could count on me not to share whatever they chose to tell me.

Pamela Webster, M. Ed., SPED