Saturday 5 November 2011

Derezzed

It's a song from Tron, and it's not an actual word if I'm correct. But I'm giving it the definition of how I feel at the moment.

The dirty, ugly side of work is coming to light. You learn that kids say things even if they don't know what they're saying. They don't understand the consequences, and you can't really be angry at them. They're kids after all. I remember being little and making excuses even if they were made up. They made sense in my head and seemed like it wouldn't harm anyone. It's only natural. Being on the opposite of the spectrum, I get why it can be so frustrating for adults. I just don't remember ever having made excuses by making false examples of an older person in my life. Example. Several weeks ago, one kindergarten kid told his mom we didn't read out of a text book, which was obviously not true. One of the Korean staff ladies got yelled at by his mom, and she then confronted us asking if we ever read out of the book. We naturally said we did, but what good is our word against a mother's own child? The staff lady called over the other kids and asked them if they remembered reading the book, and they all said yes. She rolled her eyes in frustration at the child's tendencies to tell his mother false things. I don't blame her; she gets yelled at for it.

This Friday, we were told of complaints... these ones were pretty crazy. A different kid told her mom something and made an excuse about us for her actions. I can't really go into details here, but suffice it to say, it has left me beyond frustrated at how things are run here. No supervisers and extra work, a soon quitting staff member and secretary that now knows our hard working ethics to back us up should other problems like this arise... I've got a feeling things are going to be hairy. The crazy thing is, we aren't even looking for this kind of ridiculous drama. We were thrown into work on day one with no real instruction, no expectations expected of us. All we have ever done was try to fill in the shoes of a missing secretary and to teach to the best of our abilities.

One of the other complaints was that we were not like the previous teachers. I.e., we don't talk to the mothers when they come to pick up their children. First of all, I am very irked by this because we have been compared to these previous teachers since day 1. We are compared to these teachers right in front of our faces almost on a weekly basis, and I find it pretty hurtful. We are not them and we do our darn best. Secondly, I say hello and bow to the mothers. I smile. I would talk to them if I knew that was what they wanted. Also, I would talk to them if we had a supervisor. Unfortunately, there are other kids after these kindergarteners who require equal attention as they are actually in school so preparing for them in 15 minutes is highly justified. I know it may not work the same way here, but I feel they should set up meetings with parents where we can attend so we can update them on progress and listen to what they expect of us directly. Just my opinion-- I really don't know anything.

Another thing a kid said was that we are late to class. We had to laugh at this. We get there by 8:50 am... exactly one hour before class ever starts. We get there before the secretary even opens the door to school.

As if that didn't bother me enough, we found out some pretty disturbing things that, again, I can't really talk about. If you ever ask me or I normally talk to you, you will find out. This stuff that I can't talk about is the most unsettling of this entire post. So, although Friday being the end of the week would normally make me feel like everything is okay, it doesn't.

Do adults really stay immature and create drama this much? I feel this is so unnecessary...

I guess on the upside, it's only two parents from the morning. I've never had any complaints from any of my other kids' parents. Here's hoping things go better on Monday. *Crossing fingers*

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