The power of the tongue...

[primsong]

Gossip is destroying our school - I am watching it happen right before my eyes as a small number of people who never stop to find out the facts but just flap their tongues with anything negative they can find. They're pouring their poison into the grapevine...whispering in the halls, calling other parents on the phone... It's so terribly sad. I'm trying to set it right anywhere I can, but it looks like at this rate we may lose several families for no real reason at all except the poison of those who are so quick to believe the worst and then gossip about it...

There's (another) meeting tonight - I'm going and hoping, but it's just so sad. :-( We have an interim principal now, as sweet a lady as you could ask for but I feel sorry for her entering into such a mess.

I set up my weekly book display in the library with books about the evils of gossiping. Gah!

Comments

[estellye.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Ever since the president and two vice presidents of my company all left or were asked to leave or whatever, going to work has been increasingly challenging. In the vacuum, all sorts of nonsense has been going on. They took too long hiring the new president, but since he has been on board, things have improved slowly as people adjust. It sounds like your interim principal may be able to fill that power void and hopefully the other stuff will die down. Meanwhile your good example is probably doing much more good than you even realize. You always manage to remind me of how I know I should behave when things get rough! (((Prim)))

[primsong.livejournal.com]

A power vaccuum - well said...and then when it is filled by someone new that they don't know yet, there's that distrustful phase that has to be gotten through next. Sigh...

Thank you for your encouragement - I do think it will be okay, in time. I just keep trying to reassure, to keep healthy communication going. Nothing kills a rumor faster than a gentle application of the truth.