dealing with my boss

Started by jgiedd, June 06, 2015, 01:34:55 AM

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jgiedd

I teach in a small rural school in Wisconsin. I am extremely successful as my readers improved an average of two years growth and my math students gained an average of a year and a half. I have been under attack as a teacher for the last five years. My PTSD is Complex PTSD as I suffered through six years of childhood sexual trauma. I did not handle our legislature's attack on teachers very well.

I have a new principal who is a former guidance counselor. I went to him before school and told him I had PTSD. I went to him again two weeks after school started and told him again. I went to him a third time with a printout of PTSD information from the Job Accommodations Network after he had me in tears and hyperventilating in front of my students. He looked at the print out, in which I had highlighted items that directly dealt with my triggers, symptoms and job accommodations, and tossed it back to me.

Now there is a formal document in my file, complete with a signed diagnosis from my psychiatrist, and a three page plan of action. However, today, he basically told me I had to "get a better grip on my PTSD." I was crying in his office because he didn't comprehend why I couldn't instantly come to him when I felt threatened by him. "You need to just get over it," was his advice. When I told him that PTSD doesn't work that day and that I couldn't even go near the office for a week after a February confrontation, he had no empathy and said he couldn't help me if he didn't know about my issues with him. I went on to tell him that PTSD is okay if you're a soldier, but otherwise you're not truly recognized as a person in need.

I am a strong union member. I just don't know how to handle this fellow. His wife is a childhood trauma expert, yet he can't treat me with compassion for my six years of sexual trauma as a child. He gave the excuse that he's a man and he just doesn't "see" those things.

Am I wrong to think he's just WRONG?  How can I deal with this?