ERIC Number: EJ1095250
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0145-9635
EISSN: N/A
Parents Who Bully the School
Evans, Robert; Thompson, Michael G.
Independent School, v75 n3 Spr 2016
Over the last 30 years, Robert Evans and Michael Thompson have been called to consult with more than 2,000 schools independent and public, in the United States and internationally. These school visits have given them a deep appreciation for the range and complexity of challenges schools face and for their capacity to master evolving problems. With one glaring exception: For the past 20 years, each of them has encountered a relentless increase in educators' frustrations in dealing with difficult parents. Every school they visit--every single one--reports more frequent and more severe problems with parents. In this article, Evans and Thompson offer some thoughts about the roots and context of the general trend, but their focus is on coping with the small minority of the most difficult: those who bully the school. These parents are habitually rude or demanding or disrespectful, engaging in personal attacks on teachers and administrators, demeaning and threatening them. They repeatedly violate the school's policies, values, and norms of conduct. This article discusses three types of bully parents, three factors that contribute to the rise in bullying among parents, special vulnerabilities of educators, and bully management basics.
Descriptors: Bullying, Parent Attitudes, Parent Influence, Parent School Relationship, Parents, Coping, Personality Traits, Individualized Instruction, Cognitive Mapping, Etiology, Behavior Problems, School Administration
National Association of Independent Schools. 1620 L Street NW Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-793-6701; Tel: 202-973-9700; Fax: 202-973-9790; Web site: http://www.nais.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A