I So Need A Vacation - Part 1

I'm in one of those moods lately. I think it started at our weekly Tuesday meeting with the grade level. I sent out an email to the team asking if anyone wanted to go in with me to get Christmas presents for our principal, intervention specialist (that's what they're calling Vice Principals these days) and the three secretaries. I figured that we could go in on something nice and not break us all. I only had three replies (there are ten of us in first grade) and that was fine with me. I wasn't going to bring it up again, just reply to those who gave me a positive feed back.

Well, it got brought up in the meeting, and there is only lady on our team who is just... well, difficult I guess could be a good term. If it isn't thought of by her, or approved by her, it's met with frosty disdain. Well, her response was that you only gave down (ie the secretaries), not up (ie our principal and intervention specialist) and that was the way it was done in the business world.

Then another one piped up that she wasn't going to do it because they had enough and she can get more presents for her own kids instead of spending on the secretaries. A sentiment that I don't agree with but can respect.

The thing that bothered me the most though, was the tone in which all of this was said. Kind of like I was twelve and they were trying to explain to a moron what was going on. And I'm not good at comebacks. I lived in a household where you NEVER talked back, no matter what. In fact, you still don't to this day. So I'm not good at that. Or at defending myself. And I don't like conflict, so most times I'll just keep my mouth shut. As I did this time.

I was appalled at some of the attitudes displayed by my colleagues. Especially as they are educators. We're supposed to be teaching our kids to be kind and have respect. Yet here they were voicing some rather nasty opinions. Prior to teaching I worked in the business world. I spent three years in a Corporate setting. And we ALWAYS passed the hat for our boss' birthday, boss' day and Christmas (and in the case of one boss, who didn't celebrate Christmas because she was Hindi, we just made it a 'Holiday' gift). To me it's just crap to say that you don't 'give up'.

Also, my Bachelor's Degree in in Hotel Management and I spent about a year in a Vegas Hotel, first in Housekeeping then as a secretary in several different departments. Secretaries and maintenance/housekeeping run things. You're in deep doo doo without them. No matter what industry. It upset me to hear our secretaries being talked about like that. Our secretaries work their butts off. None of the first grade teachers speak Spanish, and I would say that we only have about 4 students (in each class) whose parents speak English. I rely heavily on our secretaries, who are bilingual, to communicate for me. Plus, being new, I am always going to them for something or another. Plus it's just common courtesy.

Needless to say, as I was walking back to my classroom, I was fuming. The teacher in the room next to me said that after the 'that's the way it's done in the business world' she expected me to get upset and say something. Well, I got upset, but I didn't say anything. I did talk to the four teachers who said that they'd go in with me, told them that I didn't realize it would be such a to-do, and if they didn't want to go in, that would be ok with me. But they all said they were as shocked and disappointed as I was at the attitude shown that day and they were still in on the presents. OK, we'll keep on trucking. Next year I won't ask anyone else, just those who I want to. My neighboring teacher told me not to get too discouraged, I'm doing the right thing and I have good intentions. So I try to keep that in mind.