Grade level team drama. Advice?

[SS Rocks!]

I'm going to try and keep this as concise as possible.

I teach sixth grade and my team is made up of myself and three female teachers. All three of them complain...constantly. My team leader is the best of the three. The two of us get to school early each morning and get along fine. She's two years from retirement so I figure if anyone's complaining is justified, it's hers.

The other two have been teaching for 8-10 years. Our RLA teacher doesn't teach things in her curriculum which winds up affecting the students' writing skills in my class, too.

When the three ladies get together the complaining rages out of control. They complain about our new assistant principal because he's "too rigid". They complain about contacting parents, even via email, our students, other staff members, and more. Our team meetings get off topic constantly and turn into...you guessed it...complaining. They gossip about other staff members, and one another, around me. It's pretty uncomfortable.

I'm not complaining, just describing the situation. I'm looking for advice. Has anyone else been in a situation like this? Do you have any advice on how to decrease the complaining or bring it to their attention tactfully? :idontknow:

[seastarmath]

Try humor. Maybe something they say reminds you of a funny story. Or overdramatize something. Or start singing: I used to sing that song from Hee Haw: Gloom, despair, and agony on me! (You are probably too young to remember that. Only those of us with snow on our roofs recall that one, I imagine.)

Sounds like your teamies need to let off steam and are getting frustrated, as is easy to do in this profession. Plus, if they have been working together for a while, it could be they have just fallen into this "rut" and can't get out. But it is very stressful to work with negativity and I am so sorry you have to deal with it. I am sorry for them, too, as they can't be happy. Don't give in, though. Keep silent when the gossip starts, counteract the negative with a positive. Chance are, one of THEM will say something to you--probably negative--which will open the door for some air clearing.
Sometimes we need to visit the BMW club, ( B%$#@ Moan and Whine) but it is so unhealthy to live there!

[SS Rocks!]

I just checked out youtube for the Hee Haw song...that's a riot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK-QIDzTdso&feature=related

"I've got to learn them fellas the fine art of suffering in silence."


I typically do sit in silence when they are doing their gossiping. I hate listening to it. I'm only in my second year so I'm still getting to know people. Their gossip started to make me look at people I didn't know negatively last year. Fortunately I was able to get to know these people and found out rather quickly that my team's negativity was unfounded.

[MissTeach]

I understand what you're talking about. I stay out of the lounge and when we're on hall duty, I stand away from the negative teachers. I have been teaching a long time, and I know what you mean about the negative attitude rubbing off on you. I try to not fall into that again! Since this is your team, you don't have the option of avoiding them. Just try to stay positive in everything you say and do. If they get to gossiping or wasting time, ask very nicely if you can move on because you have a lot to do and you are sure they do also. I want to give you 'brownie points' for not letting their attitudes rub off on you this year! Great Job!!! Good luck with your team mates!

[christine]

One thing we've been encouraged to do in our meetings is to let each team member take a minute or two to vent. This gives everyone the option of clearing out their heads before getting the point of the meeting. The team I'm on rocks, so we don't have to time it because we never really get that off-track. There are some teams in the building, however, who do this. It keeps the Negative Nellies from really taking over a meeting.

There is a certain amount of griping involved in any job. But people who cannot or will not look past the bad things make everyone's life miserable.

[SS Rocks!]

Well, there seems to have been a bit of a change lately.

I was talking to my team leader this morning and she mentioned how the other two teachers noticed my frustration a couple days ago and have been talking about it.

I don't know if it was a productive conversation or gossipy, but since then they have decreased the amount of complaining they have been doing around me. As long as the complaining decreases, I'm happy. :)

[SiobhanMarie]

Oh, I was mislead. I took this as drama... as in theatre and acting; however this is another type of drama!