Ask Marje

Real Questions to Marje

My 15-year-old son was recently diagnosed with Anxiety and has difficulty making it through the school day. He begs me not to tell anyone. What can I do to help him?

For the past few years, Anxiety has been the most common mental health disorder among young people. If you haven't already sought out help from a physician or mental health clinician, that is a good start. Despite your son's pleas, I would contact the school and ask to speak confidentially. Start with the School Counselor or your son's advisor to see how the school might offer support to your son. Keep in mind that getting support and help for your son is more important than his wish to keep it confidential. Good Luck!

As a Division Head in a Middle School, I am struggling with a newly hired teacher who is used to a high school setting and can be belittling or even mean with his 6th graders. Any advice?

Teaching in today's world demands more than being an expert in a subject area. Teachers must understand the importance of the whole child and respond to a variety of needs. A few quick suggestions: Assign the new teacher a mentor from the faculty who is especially adept at student management. Require the teacher to observe his or her classroom. Sit down with the new teacher yourself to discuss his strengths and how he might now work on social/emotional connections and student management to fully expand his skill base. At the same time, be clear about what is and isn't acceptable in the classroom. For example, it is never acceptable to belittle or shame students, even when they are out of line.

Hi Marje, During a recent fund raising trip (I work in Development for a not for profit) an older male donor handed me a check in front of my supervisor and then kissed me on the mouth. He hugged me tight and whispered he found me sexy. He is a big donor and I am afraid to tell anyone how upset I was. What can I do?

Thanks for the question. This is actually very common, but few people report this type of behavior due to fears of being ignored or told to just let it go due to the potential money involved. However, you should talk about it, and you have the right to feel safe in the workplace. If you are uncomfortable talking to your supervisor, you might consider Human Relations. If the HR department isn’t sure how to handle this, you might need to educate others in your organization about Donor Code of conduct and the importance of coming up with organizational guidelines for this exact type of behavior. I will send you some information to help you and your organization understand this important issue better.

Send Me Your Questions

"*" indicates required fields