... decides he's had enough of being a captain of industry.
So he does something meaningful with his life. He becomes a NYC Teaching Fellow. That is the fastest way to get into the classroom with certification. And get part of your Masters paid for. He is assigned to a large high school where the notorious Mr. Ogre, renowned for his ability to humiliate and destroy teachers he doesn't care for, is principal. Does Mr. CEO know that going in? Even if he did, he probably thinks his background and credentials will do him good, even with Mr. Ogre. But MR. O is never happy with having another Alpha Male around, especially one with this high level background who will easily see through some of the games he likes to play.
About a month into the term, Mr. CEO is having the usual struggles new teachers have. Nothing catastrophic. With some experience and administrative support things will work out - eventually. But the word "eventually" doesn't exist in Mr. Ogre's vocabulary. He calls Mr. CEO in for a conference and reams him out with a withering attack that is totally humiliating. Mr. CEO emerges and says in all his years in industry he has never been subjected to or witnessed this type of behavior. He packs up and quits. After one month, saying that he has no interest in continuing to work in a system that will tolerate the Mr. Ogre's of this world.
The CEO vs. Ogre was moderately interesting.
ReplyDeleteI did like the natural, logical ending of the encounter.
It takes a certain disposition to fight the type of battle needed to defeat the petty Jack Walshes Bloom/Klein created. Someone said that the model for teachers to emulate is the cochroach. Since that creature has survived over 320 million years.
I like the story of the Ogre vs. the Mafia Don's Daughter better. In that tale I liked the drama. I found great significance in the fish being mysteriously placed on that Ogre's desk. That the Ogre grasped the subtle hints of the origins of the fish proved that the Ogre did possess some innate intelligence.
Boys and girls, there are many lessons to be learned in the Ogre series: fighting back with roaches and dead fish are but two effective methods.
As a student teacher and a career changer, my experience was eerily similar, but I stuck it out all year risking damaging to my health and to my family.
ReplyDeleteThe principal of the school where I was stationed routinely humiliated me, interrupted my lessons with ignorant questions and all but sneered at me every time she saw me. She was such a bully that the other teachers (who I assume were just glad that it wasn't one of them this year) gamely played along and were rude and dismissive instead of "cooperating." It was blatantly disgusting and it took an entire summer of recuperating before I finally got a clear picture of what was going on. This experience almost kept me out of the classroom forever.
This Mr./Ms. Ogre is a scary but true archetype.