This is Jennifer Gonzalez welcoming you to episode 97 of the Cult of Pedagogy

podcast. In this episode I am going to tell you a story from my own personal

teaching years. I call it the Principles Pet, a cautionary tale.

One of the most painful experiences of my teaching career had nothing to do with

difficult students. It didn't involve being challenged by an angry parent or

getting negative feedback on an observation. In fact my actual teaching skills and

my relationships with students and parents were all good during this time. But

every morning as I entered the school building I still got a wrenching feeling in

the pit of my stomach. Through a series of incidents I had come to realize that

some of my colleagues didn't much care for me. I don't know the exact number nor

do I know the full extent of their dislike. But it was becoming clear to me that in

the minds of my fellow teachers I had become one of the chosen ones, the

Principles Pet. Once that was decided school became a chilly place for me. In this

episode I'm going to share that story. Before I get started I would like to thank

you for the reviews you've left for the podcast on iTunes. It's when I share

stories like the one I'm about to tell today that these reviews really hit home

for me because every now and then I put something out there that's really like

a chunk of my soul and to know that it means something to you, to know that

you're listening and that it's keeping you company as you do this incredible

complicated important work that is really humbling for me. And I feel really

privileged to be with you in this way. If you've been listening and you've never

left a review but you think other people would like the show take a few

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