Ask Fred > Career/Work > How should we handle the difficulties my wife is facing at school?
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Dear Fred
My wife is a high school math teacher in our local high school. She is loved by most of her students as evidenced by a large file we have of nearly 100 letters from current and past students who have written to express their appreciation for what she has done for them in the classroom and also as evidenced by the many friendly greetings and hugs I see her get when she sees students when shopping in the local stores. Unfortunately, a small handful of students and parents wrote letters to the school complaining about her teaching, probably because they were not getting the grade they wanted, and now the school administration has decided to terminate her. To do this, they come to her class every other week and then prepare very nasty reports about how poorly managed her class is when in fact, all of her previous administrators have spoken very highly about her class management skills. I want to respond to this as God would have me respond but I struggle trying to decide what is the right thing to do. Should we stand up for our rights and expose the intimidation tactics of the administration or should we just quietly leave the school and pray that God will in His own time teach our oppressors the folly of their ways? I really need help deciding what is the right thing to do.
Fred's Response
How can these parents, who have been complimentary, can stand by and see this injustice and hurtful action to their children? What if she asks for a meeting of parents to discuss this situation? Evidently someone in authority is envious of her. I don’t think she should suffer for their sinful attitude. Does she have any friends on the board? If she does why don’t they stand up for her? Would her standing up affect her future job possibilities? These are questions only you can decide if the risk is worth the effort. Otherwise just say to yourself they are wrong and move on. Don’t acquire any guilt from their mistakes.
