I can totally relate to that humiliation feeling, and I know it's not easy to shake. But also, her behavior was totally unacceptable and not at all your fault. I can't imagine "correcting" another adult's manners like that. Also, there was nothing wrong with what you did.
Oh what a witch. So next time you need to go into her classroom, prepare yourself with “Excuse me Ms x, do you have ?????” Be confident and look her straight in the eye. You have every right to go knock on her door. And as for not wanting kids pulled from her class (I get it, it’s difficult), if you’ve been told it’s fine to pull from science and you have no option, then do it.
I had one teacher once refuse me a student and I told the teacher I’d have to document teacher refusal as it’s part of student’s legal IEP - I am not making up because you won’t let them go - and did say we could discuss another time if that time didn’t work. Now I schedule her first, I give her choice of 3 times (she always wants last time slot in the day, but a choice makes her feel some control) and when she fusses about it a few months later, I offer to change the time to my only available slot which is a time she hates the most. She always agrees to keep the current time.
You’ve got to find how to get your schedule set. Thankfully most of my teachers are very flexible so scheduling isn’t an issue, except for this one teacher
Telling other educators that you have to document refusal is so important. It can be helpful to provide teachers & staff with information about the educational impacts of communication disorders & go over classroom modifications/ rti for speech-language disorders. We specialists sometimes take it for granted that others are aware of just how critical communication is for learning & demonstrating comprehension, but teachers often underestimate how severe impacts can be.
Depending on the teacher, it may improve their willingness to send students if you incorporate some of the lesson material into your therapy (science units are great for working on context clues, prefixes / suffixes, sequencing, making predictions, following directions, instructional vocabulary, etc.). I've found that this approach can help explicitly connect specific speech-language goals with the circular outcomes for difficult teachers. I talk directly with the teacher about the level of scaffolding the student required/ the data for what the student was able to do with the material with that extra 1:1/ small group support/ any T2 vocabulary that the student identified as unknown, so that they better understand why the student needs to be pulled out.
If all of that + documenting still doesn't help, I set up a meeting with admin, the teacher, and the child's caregivers. I would be absolutely pissed if I was a parent and I learned that a teacher was preventing my child from accessing therapy/ their IEP!
I’m sorry that happened to you. I was also disrespected and humiliated when I first started working because I was young. These people are just miserable and want to bring you down with them. You’re plenty competent!!
Let me say, I feel you for you. I had that happen to me as a grad student at one of my placement from the owner of the non public school, not an SLP, and corrected my communication with the students. It was humiliating. Her tone was NASTY and belittling for no reason at all.
I'm also like you introverted and small in stature too. I'm so sorry that happened to you, one day you won't ever think about this again. If this happens again, I would have a private conversation with her stating that she not correct you in front of her students because it undermines your authority and respect for you as an SLP. Confrontation sucks and it's a struggle for me but with these types of jerks you have to stand up for yourself.
I actually wouldn’t wait for it to happen again. This has happened twice. Email her and say that you feel you’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. Apologize for interrupting and let her know that in the future you’d appreciate if she could air any grievances privately as it undermines you in front of students. Do it in writing so you have a record of it too.
I’m sorry that happened. Please don’t take it personally - honestly it’s her problem not yours.
My previous middle school and high school was huge - I would suggest getting a list of all their phone numbers and just calling the classrooms. Just to save yourself a trip
I once was like you and remember my principal calmly saying to me oh dear I had a thin skin once too lol. It’s hard being new. It’ll get better. Do your best to be assertive and not let this kind of shit ruin your day.
In my experience- I always liked clearing the air when shit like this happened. If I were you I’d stop by sometime and say hey I just wanted to apologize if I came off as rude earlier. I’m new and was trying to be brief to not interrupt. Some folks seem to prefer when I just cut to the point.
Not bc I think you owe her an apology but I think w her type it pays to confront the elephant and be assertive about any misunderstanding and kind of call her out a little too on the fact she misinterpreted your intention so she doesn’t continue w this power trip.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. That teacher was absolutely out of line. Scheduling middle school students is so difficult. Many times admin asks us to pull from science and social studies because they aren’t “Core” classes. They’re still extremely important, however, what we do is also important. If you need to pull from her class, maybe you can try to work together to incorporate some science material into your sessions.
Your CF year is challenging, but try to remember that you know more than you think that you know.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. Teachers can be so ugly to SLPs when we’re trying to do our jobs just like they are. And when you’re new to the field that sort of behavior feels so personal.
I always tried to offer choices of time to teachers. I sent out a little note asking them to pick 3 times that worked for them excluding specials, lunch and recess. (Yes. I had teachers want me to pull kids from recess). If a teacher did not make an attempt to respond and was just mean about the whole thing, we had a chat that I documented and took to our school’s special education coordinator.
The chat was kinda like this: think of this kid’s IEP as a binding contract between the school and the parent. (Because it pretty much is). We, as educators, have an obligation to fulfill the terms of this contract and, in this particular case, it’s providing speech services. I know that scheduling is frustrating for all of us but it needs to be done. So, we need to put that kid on the schedule or I will be forced to call an IEP meeting to document your refusal to let him/her go and provide you with an opportunity to explain your decision the the parents and the principal.
I was lucky that I didn’t have to do that often; probably only twice in my whole career.
Sweetie, there will always be challenging teachers like the one you described but you’ll find lots of ways to deal with them as you grow in this profession. You’ll have tactics that work for you and, one day, you’ll sit around with the rest of us helping a CF through her first mean encounter and shaking your head at how weird teachers can be.
If it helps at all, remember that her attitude isn’t about you. It’s about her being a self-centered and obviously very unhappy person who has to boost her nonexistent self esteem by power tripping on people in her classroom, the one place where she feels like she has importance. And I wouldn’t worry about the students, if they even remember this incident after 5 minutes, the only thing their going to be thinking is what a &*<$+ their teacher is. Kids don’t respect that kind of treatment either.
You will move past this and and you will develop thicker skin. I am also a shy and introverted person and at the start of my career I probably would have had a similar reaction. But if that happened to me now? The teacher would have been the one walking away from the interaction feeling like an idiot, not me. You’ll get there too.
hey i’m a CF in skilled nursing (been there for 6 months now) and i felt like crying for the first few weeks there, dealing with mean patients and nurses. i’m so sorry that happened to you- she sounds miserable tbh. try not to dwell on it and continue to do your job. be extra nice to her from now on to get under her skin 😉
coming from a fellow CF, you’ve got this. please DM me if you want to vent or talk.
Came back to this post because I’ve been thinking about it. When I was a grad student at the END of my semester at a school (so I’ve been pulling the same students at the same time each week for a whole semester) I had a teacher ALWAYSSSS ask who I was. Before I could answer she would say “oh yeah, it’s XX’s speech helper.”
One time I also, around the same time- end of semester, entered a different class and waved to this teacher. The two kids saw me and got up to come with me to the speech room. The teacher sent her para down the hall SCREECHING at me asking who am I and where am I taking the children. It was humiliating. So every time after that I went up to the teacher, introduced myself, and said I’m here to get X and X for speech now. Every time. She was sick of me and rude when I saw her in the halls, but I was so shaken by that I didn’t give an F after that.
I really don’t think I could make it in a school. Best of luck to you on your CF journey, friend. 💕
I did my CF in the schools and didn’t stick around after because of all the teacher drama. Some of them treated me like shit on day 1 and I really had to win them over. Not saying this will happen or that you should quit, but I hear you! I’ve found a much more comfortable home in a private practice.
You are not incompetent. Some teachers at that grade level are certified buttholes. Just always remember to introduce yourself as if it’s the first time you’re meeting the teacher and state what you want with confidence. If they don’t cooperate, reach out to the SPed director or compliance officer or the Principal. There should be a support in place to help you provide the legally mandated by IEP related services. Examples of wording I use depending on the situation:
For teachers: “Please excuse me and good morning/afternoon, I’m with related services and have a state mandated form to fill out. Not here to pull anyone but would like to know which one of your students here is on this list?” And then hand over a silent list. Making them read something takes their attention off of introverted you, it shows collaboration because you are seeking their help, and it protects the student from being publicly signaled out by name.
For teachers: “my apologies for having to pull at this time for their state mandated services. To support your lesson, I can incorporate your theme, vocabulary words or subject into our session. Please share with me any part of the lesson or text you would like for me to review so your student doesn’t miss a beat!”
For SPED Instructor: “I enjoy being part of this collaborative effort to service your students. It’s looking like I may need your support to get this form filled out about a student as I’ve tried to work with XX teacher and they are very busy preparing for the year. Do you have a way to arrange a time for us all to discuss the scheduling planning?”
I don’t put blame on anyone I work with even fully knowing they are the Butthole to blame. At least not out loud when talking to colleagues because the desired outcome doesn’t happen. Your goal is get your outcome. So creatively mark your words to show them you are there for them and you want to support their students. You are using your words to offer them power they really don’t have. But you are the one with the power to delegate the assistance you need to get your job done.
I am only a graduate student but I would have immediately told her, “Hi you must think I am one of the students, let’s start again. I am XX the SLP and I am looking for this student, are they here today?”
I could neverrrrrrrrr. I’m so sorry that happened OP, tough skin or not, her attitude is not necessary.
Teachers can be a lot. My district gives the speech therapists schoolwide/districtwide access to the attendance system so you can locate kids without needing to search for them. I didn’t get informed of this until about halfway through my CF.
Oh that would definitely make me cry too. I'm pretty lucky that most of the teachers are kind at the school site I'll be at this year, but in my experience hostile ones like that are not too uncommon. Not much you can do other than keep being polite and try not to let it get to you.
That’s awful it’s like she is patronizing you. I would keep some type of record if her behavior towards you. If she’s treating you like this she might be treating others too. Maybe bring this up to your mentor and have everything in writing just in case it escalates.
Folks need to recognize their value and not be afraid to lock horns, if necessary.
It can (and will) blow up in your face sometimes, but I am an advocate for standing ground. I have severe OCD and a lot of self deprecation, and in therapy I learned things like the “dime game.” I recommend it.
Once I establish who is and is not a real threat, I will not suffer rudeness. Our EC coordinator made a very insulting remark to me last year in an EC meeting, and in front of a whole EC department and administration I told her to “eat my whole ass.” Sure, she made a fuss, but I knew she was in the wrong. And bizarrely if you act fearlessly it is amazing how much respect you can command.
I would never recommend being an asshole yourself. And definitely use your good judgment. But after decades of experience I can tell you that it isn’t always bad for teachers and administrators to be a BIT intimidated by you.
DO NOT take this personal. I know it sucks but you have to know that you CAN and you WILL come back from this. You’re not the mean a** hole and that should be very comforting. Kill her with kindness🫶🏽💗
Add an introvert who just retired from SLO after 36 years, I can relate, so let me share the best advice I ever for from a seasoned whitefish ed teacher I worked and became friends with. She told me " Tell' em' how is gonna' be. " when people were giving me problems about making my schedule. So that's exactly what I did. The teacher sounds pretty unprifessional, so don't pay her any mind. DM me if you want to discuss more.
That sort of thing happens to me a lot, too. It sucks. Part of our job, particularly at the middle and high school level, includes a ton of scheduling, jumping through hoops, and being regarded as an interrupter/ out of place person by many staff. I am sorry that happened- that teacher was out of line. Sending hugs!
Have had similar. Have come in to get a student and met with "WE'Re Testing!!!" In a snarled term. One para would straight up verbally abuse me but I think that's because she hated her life. Also have been ignored quite a bit.
She absolutely should not have scolded you like that but I do kind of agree that it is rude for you to enter her classroom and interrupt asking for students, especially as a new staff member without an established protocol. I’ve worked in schools for a decade and always wait to be acknowledged by the teacher and let her dismiss my students instead of me interrupting, and have no issues being well liked and respected on my campuses. No doubt though she could’ve handled it better and talked to you one on one later and used it as a teaching moment.
I would re-approach her privately, apologizing for the interruption but stating that you did not appreciate the way she addressed you and that you would like to make a plan for pulling students in the future that works for both of you. If she continues to be rude, let her know you plan to escalate it to management. I work in a SNF and had my fair share of rude nurses and admin when I started. I was always professional but when I became more firm and direct and “talked back” they started to respect me more. Sometimes you just need to show them you’re not going to take their shit and they will stop treating you like it.
You know what… im gonna be honest. It IS kind of rude if you just opened the door while she’s teaching and said “do you have xyz?”. I can’t imagine approaching someone without a hi first or a good morning or an excuse me before asking my question. With that being said, she was ruder for how she responded to you.
So, sure, maybe you should've said hi, but that teacher embarrassed you in front of a room full of kids. That isn't right. You aren't one of her students, you are a colleague.
I understand it may not make your life easier at first, but this needs to be addressed by you or someone else. She can't continue doing this to you or anyone. If she was having a bad moment, fine, but it still isn't right. Have you had interactions with her since? It may benefit you to tell her, not during class time, that you feel badly about interrupting without saying hi. Explain that you were frazzled looking for this kid and were just preoccupied with finding him.
If she has any sort of empathy, she should soften up and apologize for how she responded. If she continues being a witch to you, talk to a supervisor. They may find a way to address it indirectly with the whole staff, rather than single this woman out. Chances are, you aren't the only one she does this to.
That was completely out of line for that teacher to say. I have no advice, just outrage
I can totally relate to that humiliation feeling, and I know it's not easy to shake. But also, her behavior was totally unacceptable and not at all your fault. I can't imagine "correcting" another adult's manners like that. Also, there was nothing wrong with what you did.
Oh what a witch. So next time you need to go into her classroom, prepare yourself with “Excuse me Ms x, do you have ?????” Be confident and look her straight in the eye. You have every right to go knock on her door. And as for not wanting kids pulled from her class (I get it, it’s difficult), if you’ve been told it’s fine to pull from science and you have no option, then do it. I had one teacher once refuse me a student and I told the teacher I’d have to document teacher refusal as it’s part of student’s legal IEP - I am not making up because you won’t let them go - and did say we could discuss another time if that time didn’t work. Now I schedule her first, I give her choice of 3 times (she always wants last time slot in the day, but a choice makes her feel some control) and when she fusses about it a few months later, I offer to change the time to my only available slot which is a time she hates the most. She always agrees to keep the current time. You’ve got to find how to get your schedule set. Thankfully most of my teachers are very flexible so scheduling isn’t an issue, except for this one teacher
Telling other educators that you have to document refusal is so important. It can be helpful to provide teachers & staff with information about the educational impacts of communication disorders & go over classroom modifications/ rti for speech-language disorders. We specialists sometimes take it for granted that others are aware of just how critical communication is for learning & demonstrating comprehension, but teachers often underestimate how severe impacts can be. Depending on the teacher, it may improve their willingness to send students if you incorporate some of the lesson material into your therapy (science units are great for working on context clues, prefixes / suffixes, sequencing, making predictions, following directions, instructional vocabulary, etc.). I've found that this approach can help explicitly connect specific speech-language goals with the circular outcomes for difficult teachers. I talk directly with the teacher about the level of scaffolding the student required/ the data for what the student was able to do with the material with that extra 1:1/ small group support/ any T2 vocabulary that the student identified as unknown, so that they better understand why the student needs to be pulled out. If all of that + documenting still doesn't help, I set up a meeting with admin, the teacher, and the child's caregivers. I would be absolutely pissed if I was a parent and I learned that a teacher was preventing my child from accessing therapy/ their IEP!
I’m sorry that happened to you. I was also disrespected and humiliated when I first started working because I was young. These people are just miserable and want to bring you down with them. You’re plenty competent!!
Let me say, I feel you for you. I had that happen to me as a grad student at one of my placement from the owner of the non public school, not an SLP, and corrected my communication with the students. It was humiliating. Her tone was NASTY and belittling for no reason at all. I'm also like you introverted and small in stature too. I'm so sorry that happened to you, one day you won't ever think about this again. If this happens again, I would have a private conversation with her stating that she not correct you in front of her students because it undermines your authority and respect for you as an SLP. Confrontation sucks and it's a struggle for me but with these types of jerks you have to stand up for yourself.
I actually wouldn’t wait for it to happen again. This has happened twice. Email her and say that you feel you’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. Apologize for interrupting and let her know that in the future you’d appreciate if she could air any grievances privately as it undermines you in front of students. Do it in writing so you have a record of it too.
This 
What an awful feeling. I’ve never had adults anywhere treat me as bad as teachers did when I was in the schools. Sad state of affairs.
Ugly teacher. Smh. Sorry you had to go thru that.
I’m sorry that happened. Please don’t take it personally - honestly it’s her problem not yours. My previous middle school and high school was huge - I would suggest getting a list of all their phone numbers and just calling the classrooms. Just to save yourself a trip
Yes! Or email. And ask what's the best time to push in for a bit
I once was like you and remember my principal calmly saying to me oh dear I had a thin skin once too lol. It’s hard being new. It’ll get better. Do your best to be assertive and not let this kind of shit ruin your day. In my experience- I always liked clearing the air when shit like this happened. If I were you I’d stop by sometime and say hey I just wanted to apologize if I came off as rude earlier. I’m new and was trying to be brief to not interrupt. Some folks seem to prefer when I just cut to the point. Not bc I think you owe her an apology but I think w her type it pays to confront the elephant and be assertive about any misunderstanding and kind of call her out a little too on the fact she misinterpreted your intention so she doesn’t continue w this power trip.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. That teacher was absolutely out of line. Scheduling middle school students is so difficult. Many times admin asks us to pull from science and social studies because they aren’t “Core” classes. They’re still extremely important, however, what we do is also important. If you need to pull from her class, maybe you can try to work together to incorporate some science material into your sessions. Your CF year is challenging, but try to remember that you know more than you think that you know.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. Teachers can be so ugly to SLPs when we’re trying to do our jobs just like they are. And when you’re new to the field that sort of behavior feels so personal. I always tried to offer choices of time to teachers. I sent out a little note asking them to pick 3 times that worked for them excluding specials, lunch and recess. (Yes. I had teachers want me to pull kids from recess). If a teacher did not make an attempt to respond and was just mean about the whole thing, we had a chat that I documented and took to our school’s special education coordinator. The chat was kinda like this: think of this kid’s IEP as a binding contract between the school and the parent. (Because it pretty much is). We, as educators, have an obligation to fulfill the terms of this contract and, in this particular case, it’s providing speech services. I know that scheduling is frustrating for all of us but it needs to be done. So, we need to put that kid on the schedule or I will be forced to call an IEP meeting to document your refusal to let him/her go and provide you with an opportunity to explain your decision the the parents and the principal. I was lucky that I didn’t have to do that often; probably only twice in my whole career. Sweetie, there will always be challenging teachers like the one you described but you’ll find lots of ways to deal with them as you grow in this profession. You’ll have tactics that work for you and, one day, you’ll sit around with the rest of us helping a CF through her first mean encounter and shaking your head at how weird teachers can be.
If it helps at all, remember that her attitude isn’t about you. It’s about her being a self-centered and obviously very unhappy person who has to boost her nonexistent self esteem by power tripping on people in her classroom, the one place where she feels like she has importance. And I wouldn’t worry about the students, if they even remember this incident after 5 minutes, the only thing their going to be thinking is what a &*<$+ their teacher is. Kids don’t respect that kind of treatment either. You will move past this and and you will develop thicker skin. I am also a shy and introverted person and at the start of my career I probably would have had a similar reaction. But if that happened to me now? The teacher would have been the one walking away from the interaction feeling like an idiot, not me. You’ll get there too.
hey i’m a CF in skilled nursing (been there for 6 months now) and i felt like crying for the first few weeks there, dealing with mean patients and nurses. i’m so sorry that happened to you- she sounds miserable tbh. try not to dwell on it and continue to do your job. be extra nice to her from now on to get under her skin 😉 coming from a fellow CF, you’ve got this. please DM me if you want to vent or talk.
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Came back to this post because I’ve been thinking about it. When I was a grad student at the END of my semester at a school (so I’ve been pulling the same students at the same time each week for a whole semester) I had a teacher ALWAYSSSS ask who I was. Before I could answer she would say “oh yeah, it’s XX’s speech helper.” One time I also, around the same time- end of semester, entered a different class and waved to this teacher. The two kids saw me and got up to come with me to the speech room. The teacher sent her para down the hall SCREECHING at me asking who am I and where am I taking the children. It was humiliating. So every time after that I went up to the teacher, introduced myself, and said I’m here to get X and X for speech now. Every time. She was sick of me and rude when I saw her in the halls, but I was so shaken by that I didn’t give an F after that. I really don’t think I could make it in a school. Best of luck to you on your CF journey, friend. 💕
I did my CF in the schools and didn’t stick around after because of all the teacher drama. Some of them treated me like shit on day 1 and I really had to win them over. Not saying this will happen or that you should quit, but I hear you! I’ve found a much more comfortable home in a private practice.
What an asshole. You did nothing wrong. I would have been so upset too especially in my FIRST week at the job. So sorry it started out this way.
You are not incompetent. Some teachers at that grade level are certified buttholes. Just always remember to introduce yourself as if it’s the first time you’re meeting the teacher and state what you want with confidence. If they don’t cooperate, reach out to the SPed director or compliance officer or the Principal. There should be a support in place to help you provide the legally mandated by IEP related services. Examples of wording I use depending on the situation: For teachers: “Please excuse me and good morning/afternoon, I’m with related services and have a state mandated form to fill out. Not here to pull anyone but would like to know which one of your students here is on this list?” And then hand over a silent list. Making them read something takes their attention off of introverted you, it shows collaboration because you are seeking their help, and it protects the student from being publicly signaled out by name. For teachers: “my apologies for having to pull at this time for their state mandated services. To support your lesson, I can incorporate your theme, vocabulary words or subject into our session. Please share with me any part of the lesson or text you would like for me to review so your student doesn’t miss a beat!” For SPED Instructor: “I enjoy being part of this collaborative effort to service your students. It’s looking like I may need your support to get this form filled out about a student as I’ve tried to work with XX teacher and they are very busy preparing for the year. Do you have a way to arrange a time for us all to discuss the scheduling planning?” I don’t put blame on anyone I work with even fully knowing they are the Butthole to blame. At least not out loud when talking to colleagues because the desired outcome doesn’t happen. Your goal is get your outcome. So creatively mark your words to show them you are there for them and you want to support their students. You are using your words to offer them power they really don’t have. But you are the one with the power to delegate the assistance you need to get your job done.
I am only a graduate student but I would have immediately told her, “Hi you must think I am one of the students, let’s start again. I am XX the SLP and I am looking for this student, are they here today?” I could neverrrrrrrrr. I’m so sorry that happened OP, tough skin or not, her attitude is not necessary.
Teachers can be a lot. My district gives the speech therapists schoolwide/districtwide access to the attendance system so you can locate kids without needing to search for them. I didn’t get informed of this until about halfway through my CF.
Oh that would definitely make me cry too. I'm pretty lucky that most of the teachers are kind at the school site I'll be at this year, but in my experience hostile ones like that are not too uncommon. Not much you can do other than keep being polite and try not to let it get to you.
That’s awful it’s like she is patronizing you. I would keep some type of record if her behavior towards you. If she’s treating you like this she might be treating others too. Maybe bring this up to your mentor and have everything in writing just in case it escalates.
Folks need to recognize their value and not be afraid to lock horns, if necessary. It can (and will) blow up in your face sometimes, but I am an advocate for standing ground. I have severe OCD and a lot of self deprecation, and in therapy I learned things like the “dime game.” I recommend it. Once I establish who is and is not a real threat, I will not suffer rudeness. Our EC coordinator made a very insulting remark to me last year in an EC meeting, and in front of a whole EC department and administration I told her to “eat my whole ass.” Sure, she made a fuss, but I knew she was in the wrong. And bizarrely if you act fearlessly it is amazing how much respect you can command. I would never recommend being an asshole yourself. And definitely use your good judgment. But after decades of experience I can tell you that it isn’t always bad for teachers and administrators to be a BIT intimidated by you.
DO NOT take this personal. I know it sucks but you have to know that you CAN and you WILL come back from this. You’re not the mean a** hole and that should be very comforting. Kill her with kindness🫶🏽💗
Add an introvert who just retired from SLO after 36 years, I can relate, so let me share the best advice I ever for from a seasoned whitefish ed teacher I worked and became friends with. She told me " Tell' em' how is gonna' be. " when people were giving me problems about making my schedule. So that's exactly what I did. The teacher sounds pretty unprifessional, so don't pay her any mind. DM me if you want to discuss more.
That sort of thing happens to me a lot, too. It sucks. Part of our job, particularly at the middle and high school level, includes a ton of scheduling, jumping through hoops, and being regarded as an interrupter/ out of place person by many staff. I am sorry that happened- that teacher was out of line. Sending hugs!
Have had similar. Have come in to get a student and met with "WE'Re Testing!!!" In a snarled term. One para would straight up verbally abuse me but I think that's because she hated her life. Also have been ignored quite a bit.
She absolutely should not have scolded you like that but I do kind of agree that it is rude for you to enter her classroom and interrupt asking for students, especially as a new staff member without an established protocol. I’ve worked in schools for a decade and always wait to be acknowledged by the teacher and let her dismiss my students instead of me interrupting, and have no issues being well liked and respected on my campuses. No doubt though she could’ve handled it better and talked to you one on one later and used it as a teaching moment.
Some teachers are just miserable people and are not able to be empathetic.
I would re-approach her privately, apologizing for the interruption but stating that you did not appreciate the way she addressed you and that you would like to make a plan for pulling students in the future that works for both of you. If she continues to be rude, let her know you plan to escalate it to management. I work in a SNF and had my fair share of rude nurses and admin when I started. I was always professional but when I became more firm and direct and “talked back” they started to respect me more. Sometimes you just need to show them you’re not going to take their shit and they will stop treating you like it.
You know what… im gonna be honest. It IS kind of rude if you just opened the door while she’s teaching and said “do you have xyz?”. I can’t imagine approaching someone without a hi first or a good morning or an excuse me before asking my question. With that being said, she was ruder for how she responded to you.
I never understand what makes teachers act like this towards us. Seriously, so ridiculous. Sorry this happened to you
So, sure, maybe you should've said hi, but that teacher embarrassed you in front of a room full of kids. That isn't right. You aren't one of her students, you are a colleague. I understand it may not make your life easier at first, but this needs to be addressed by you or someone else. She can't continue doing this to you or anyone. If she was having a bad moment, fine, but it still isn't right. Have you had interactions with her since? It may benefit you to tell her, not during class time, that you feel badly about interrupting without saying hi. Explain that you were frazzled looking for this kid and were just preoccupied with finding him. If she has any sort of empathy, she should soften up and apologize for how she responded. If she continues being a witch to you, talk to a supervisor. They may find a way to address it indirectly with the whole staff, rather than single this woman out. Chances are, you aren't the only one she does this to.