Sunday, October 25, 2015

When it rains, it pours

*Image of recent flooding in Texas


I knew when I got up 1 hour later than I had intended, it was going to be a challenging day because: 1) I NEVER wake up late and 2) I HATE being late to work! So I called the school I signed up to work at to let them know I would be very late. The time was 7:05AM which was the time I should have been heading out of the door especially because people in Texas don't know how to drive in the rain when flooding conditions are present.

So as I'm dropping my daughter off, I'm telling her than since I'm so late, I should just call in. Plus I had a bad feeling that I couldn't shake to which she responded, "Mom maybe you should just go back home" which she almost never ever says to me. But I said, no I'm going to show up because it's unprofessional not to, especially at the last minute after I've already told then I'm coming.

Seeing a police car in front of a school isn't unusual for the kinds of schools where I choose to work. Seeing 2 as I was parking my car only raised an eyebrow. But when I saw the third police car, I should have turned my a$$ around, called in to say I couldn't' show up, then went back home and got back into my bed!!!

But no, I decided to "do the right thing" and report to work anyway. BIG MISTAKE!!! Though I'd called in to let them know I would be very late, the secretary got a serious 'tude with me when I went to clock in. So between the perimenopausal PMS I was dealing with, getting soaked coming into the building, and the "police officer reunion" being held at this elementary school, I responded in a pretty curt way. Harumph, LOL!!

Now I'm heading out to the cubical (disguised as my classroom) when I see the a$$ drawz of whom I would later learn is one of the reading teachers, but whom I assumed was a parent by the tossled dirty blond hair, large "tramp stamp" CLEARLY showing, the off the shoulder top showing a bra strap, and flip flops that were better suited for a pool party than teaching reading to a class of children.

So my day goes as normal until after lunch, when as my class is walking up to the classroom, "tramp stamp" let out a scream so loud, I can still hear her ringing in my hears. Apparently her class decided to as a group, run over to the nearby play ground instead of returning to their room with her. And as I looked at her as my (quiet class) walked by, I'm certain I gave her the death stare of the century since these were the exact same kids that an hour earlier were working quietly at their desks in MY room. In fact, I didn't have to reprimand these kids AT ALL during our science lessons.

What happened next....well...... "tramp stamp" decided to come to my classroom and in front of the entire class, call me out in the most unprofessional of ways, for the death stare I gave her for screaming at the kids. So between the perimenopausal PMS I was dealing with, getting soaked coming into the building, and the "police officer reunion" being held at this elementary school, I was compelled to respond as follows:

" I don't know why your here, I suspect you need a paycheck. But I'm here to show these kids that despite their upbringing, environments, and poor teachers, they can aspire to be more than cashiers and professional athletes when they grow up. Now all morning long, I've heard nothing but screaming from you and disruption from your kids ALL MORNING LONG. So instead of asking me why I gave you the look I did when you screamed at those kids something you would never have done if they looked like YOU, perhaps YOU need to check yourself for the kind of personal and professional  example you're setting for these kids. Because from my perspective, I don't see where you're doing either. Now if you don't mind, I have a class of well-behaved students with bright futures to teach. Have a good rest of your afternoon".

About 10 minutes after my "chat", the vice principle comes in and asks me if there's a problem. And I say: "Yes, there's a big problem. The problem is that you have a teacher here that think it's appropriate to scream at the top of her lungs at children and to allow them to run around uncontrollably. And based on the written answers these kids have turned in for their science lesson, she isn't doing a good job of teaching these kids anything either. I work at schools like this all the time, and I have never seen anything like this at any other school. And it's a shame."

Needless to say what was supposed to be a two day assignment (that I was going to change to one day when I got home for the evening), became one when the Principle a Hispanic woman, informed me that my services would not be needed the following day. And this was her very unprofessionally written response to my email to her of what happened with "tramp stamp" earlier in the day.

I've documented my experiences working in disadvantaged schools pretty often on my blog over the past years, and with this one exception, my experiences have all been wonderful. Challenging but wonderful, and I've been offered numerous opportunities by the Principles I've worked with to make this my full-time gig. But as I learned 20 years ago as a chemistry teacher at an inner city high school, the "system" isn't set up to truly help these kids succeed and this bothers me GREATLY. The fact that other minorities are often complicit in this failure of a system (like this Cuban principle) really  REALLY angers me. Still, I hope that in the short time I spend with these kids reminding them of how smart they are and of how much they can achieve if they work hard and stay out of trouble, that something will stick with at least ONE of them. Because as my daughter said when I picked her up and told her about my day, try as I might, I simply can't "save" every kid that needs it. And it was that realization that made me cry after I sent the principle the email essentially chastising her for not doing more for the children who need the help the most.



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