The elementary school which I work at has a wonderfully rich tradition that takes place the very last minute of the very last school day of the school year. Since next Tuesday is the 'Wave Day', I thought I would share!
The Wave is when every single staff member (and I mean every single one of them) gathers around the driveway of the bus circle. We wait until the buses start to pull away, and we wave to all the lovely little darlings that we won't see again until September.
Some years The Wave is full of laughter and joking and joshing and singing. For example, a few years back as the buses were pulling away from the school, the staff members all started singing that wonderul Banarama song "Na, na, na, na, hey, hey, goodbye." Remember that song! It stuck in my head for three whole days after the last day of school that year. We were all singing it 'round the clock with huge grins on our faces.
One year, as we were all waving goodbye, and the kids were all looking out the bus windows, and the bus drivers were honking their horns to beat the band; we all noticed that the kids were like dominoes dropping down into their seats and crying. Aaaah, that must have been a good year! None of them wanted to leave for the summer. I can tell ya, that year we didn't sing the Banarama song. We all went back into the building (because we still had another 1/2 day to work) and we were clearing our throats and wiping the tears from our eyes.
Last year, Kathy (my co-worker) started a chant of "Give me an S." Of course, we all echoed, "S." Then it was, "Give me a U, Give me an M, Give me another M, give me an E, give me an R. What's it spell? SUMMER!" Of course, you may think that it's odd for a grown woman to lead the superintendent, the principal, the teachers, and the rest of the elementary school staff in a cheer of "Summer, " but you must understand that Kathy is a retired cheerleading coach. I guess it just comes natural to her.
I eagerly await Tuesday. It's been a long, hard year. I can only wonder what this year will bring when we all line up to do The Wave!
Showing posts with label The zoo I call work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The zoo I call work. Show all posts
June 19, 2009
June 10, 2009
School's NOT Out Yet!
Can you believe it?
I've always known that our lovely state is the ONLY one that attends school during the month of June, but really! I'm starting to feel it this year. We will be attending school this particular year until June 23rd!
Whoa Nelly! I know! I know! Isn't that late?
Right now most of the kids have mentally checked out. The office (where I work) has a revolving door for the misbehaved. We have 5 little designated areas where we can 'hold' the bad behaviors. Recently, we've been finding that the 5 little designated areas aren't enough. We need an overflow room!
I think some of the teachers are ready to check out too. Students have been sent to the office for tiny infractions, but I assume the teachers are starting to feel the weariness of the school year, most especially when the temps are starting to get up near the 80's. The rooms feel like stuffy, little cubicles.
I remember while growing up and being in school during the month of June! It felt like you were breathing everyone else's air! Ugh! That's what this week has felt like!
Recently in the office, we've attended to a habitual screamer, a dirty talker, a toilet plugger, and two boys who are friends that were throwing food in the cafeteria at each other. Every single one of those students was a boy! Imagine that!
We have a boy who has a broken ankle. We have another boy who has a broken femur. Yikes! Boys and springtime/summertime! Now, I'm not bashing boys, I have one myself, thank you very much! They are just.....well.....more active, more troublesome, in some respects.
I really shouldn't complain! No, we could be dealing with drugs, knives, beatings, or other such things.
But all in all, June 23rd can't come quick enough. My solution would be to X out the whole month of June on the school calendar, but I guess the state doesn't see it that way! So, we have 10 days left and I'm most certainly counting!
I've always known that our lovely state is the ONLY one that attends school during the month of June, but really! I'm starting to feel it this year. We will be attending school this particular year until June 23rd!
Whoa Nelly! I know! I know! Isn't that late?
Right now most of the kids have mentally checked out. The office (where I work) has a revolving door for the misbehaved. We have 5 little designated areas where we can 'hold' the bad behaviors. Recently, we've been finding that the 5 little designated areas aren't enough. We need an overflow room!
I think some of the teachers are ready to check out too. Students have been sent to the office for tiny infractions, but I assume the teachers are starting to feel the weariness of the school year, most especially when the temps are starting to get up near the 80's. The rooms feel like stuffy, little cubicles.
I remember while growing up and being in school during the month of June! It felt like you were breathing everyone else's air! Ugh! That's what this week has felt like!
Recently in the office, we've attended to a habitual screamer, a dirty talker, a toilet plugger, and two boys who are friends that were throwing food in the cafeteria at each other. Every single one of those students was a boy! Imagine that!
We have a boy who has a broken ankle. We have another boy who has a broken femur. Yikes! Boys and springtime/summertime! Now, I'm not bashing boys, I have one myself, thank you very much! They are just.....well.....more active, more troublesome, in some respects.
I really shouldn't complain! No, we could be dealing with drugs, knives, beatings, or other such things.
But all in all, June 23rd can't come quick enough. My solution would be to X out the whole month of June on the school calendar, but I guess the state doesn't see it that way! So, we have 10 days left and I'm most certainly counting!
March 11, 2009
You're Having Too Much Fun!
Work has been a bit of a downer recently. There has been constant talk of budget cuts and cutting of positions at school. Everyone is on pins and needles most of the time.
Well.....when things get like that Kathy (my co-worker) and I get really silly. Today was one of those days.
The elementary school is in the middle of their yearly March Reading Program. The school does all kinds of really neat things to get the kids enthused about reading.
We do DEAR (Drop Everything And Read). We had an assembly put on by our Remedial Reading team to kick off the month of reading. They put on a nice show. They get staff members to do silly things, but everything the school does in the next month concentrates on getting our primary grades interested and enthused about Reading.
The Kindergarten students planted seeds and passed them out to all the staff members this week. The slogan for this year is "Plant a Seed...Read." Kathy and I received our little, tiny seedlings that had popped up out of the soil in a dixie-type cup. I sit right next to the window, so I put mine on the window sill. Kathy put her seedling on her desk, which gets no natural sunlight.
The school psychologist (who can be a very funny man) looked at my seedling this morning and said, "What a nice little seedling. He seems to be doing very well. Am I to understand that this particular seedling belongs to you?" I told him that indeed it was mine. He asked me where Kathy's seedling was. I told him, "In the dark, over there on her desk."
The psychologist, with an exorbitant amount of flair, skipped over to Kathy's desk and squeaked, "What are you doing? Your little guy (which I assumed was his name for her seedling) is going to die! He's in the dark!"
Kathy replied, "I'm not very good with plants. They always die!"
He replied, "Kathy, stick him in the sun. STICK HIM IN THE SUN!"
Kathy laughed and said, "We'll see."
The psychologist went on his merry way, mumbling something about cruelty to plants.
Well, the really silly part came when we were nearing the end of the day. Everyone is watching the clock like a hawk waiting for those last few minutes to tick away. I'm busily trying to finish up some last minute paperwork at my desk when suddenly Kathy picks up her little guy (which, now, I'm calling her seedling), calmly with out a smirk or grin, walks over near my desk, stretches out her arm with the 'little guy' in her hand towards the window and says, "There you go!"
She promptly turns around with the 'little guy' in her hand, walks back and places him on her desk.
I'm still looking at her and wondering, What? When she turns around she says, "You can tell Mr. R (the psychologist) the next time you see him that my 'little guy' got some sun."
Okay, now I'm practically rolling on the floor. She's still got a perfectly straight face, no grin, smile, or smirk. My boss walks out and thinks I've totally lost it from all the stress. She's looking at me as if to say, "Are you okay?" I'm laughing so hard, I can barely speak.
So, Kathy pipes up with, "I gave my 'little guy' some sun." Now my boss really thinks we've both lost it. She said, "You guys are having too much fun!" Then she shrugs her shoulders and walks away.
Now you have to understand that Kathy has a nickname for everyone. Sometimes people are aware of Kathy's nicknames for them, sometimes they aren't. Our principal knows that Kathy calls him "Big Chief Rain Cloud." He's called Big Chief Rain Cloud, because with all the bad news regarding budget cuts and jobs being cut back, she said he's the bearer of all bad news, which makes him Big Chief Rain Cloud. He's always raining on everyone's parade, so to speak.
Her name for me is "Lightening", because my last name sounds a lot like "Lightening." Her name for herself is "Thunder", because while I may be Lightening, she's the noise maker, which is Thunder.
After my boss departed from the room, Kathy smiles, lovingly looks down at her 'little guy' and says, "Well, I got you a little sun today. Tomorrow I'll have Big Chief Rain Cloud stand over you and you'll get watered."
Well.....when things get like that Kathy (my co-worker) and I get really silly. Today was one of those days.
The elementary school is in the middle of their yearly March Reading Program. The school does all kinds of really neat things to get the kids enthused about reading.
We do DEAR (Drop Everything And Read). We had an assembly put on by our Remedial Reading team to kick off the month of reading. They put on a nice show. They get staff members to do silly things, but everything the school does in the next month concentrates on getting our primary grades interested and enthused about Reading.
The Kindergarten students planted seeds and passed them out to all the staff members this week. The slogan for this year is "Plant a Seed...Read." Kathy and I received our little, tiny seedlings that had popped up out of the soil in a dixie-type cup. I sit right next to the window, so I put mine on the window sill. Kathy put her seedling on her desk, which gets no natural sunlight.
The school psychologist (who can be a very funny man) looked at my seedling this morning and said, "What a nice little seedling. He seems to be doing very well. Am I to understand that this particular seedling belongs to you?" I told him that indeed it was mine. He asked me where Kathy's seedling was. I told him, "In the dark, over there on her desk."
The psychologist, with an exorbitant amount of flair, skipped over to Kathy's desk and squeaked, "What are you doing? Your little guy (which I assumed was his name for her seedling) is going to die! He's in the dark!"
Kathy replied, "I'm not very good with plants. They always die!"
He replied, "Kathy, stick him in the sun. STICK HIM IN THE SUN!"
Kathy laughed and said, "We'll see."
The psychologist went on his merry way, mumbling something about cruelty to plants.
Well, the really silly part came when we were nearing the end of the day. Everyone is watching the clock like a hawk waiting for those last few minutes to tick away. I'm busily trying to finish up some last minute paperwork at my desk when suddenly Kathy picks up her little guy (which, now, I'm calling her seedling), calmly with out a smirk or grin, walks over near my desk, stretches out her arm with the 'little guy' in her hand towards the window and says, "There you go!"
She promptly turns around with the 'little guy' in her hand, walks back and places him on her desk.
I'm still looking at her and wondering, What? When she turns around she says, "You can tell Mr. R (the psychologist) the next time you see him that my 'little guy' got some sun."
Okay, now I'm practically rolling on the floor. She's still got a perfectly straight face, no grin, smile, or smirk. My boss walks out and thinks I've totally lost it from all the stress. She's looking at me as if to say, "Are you okay?" I'm laughing so hard, I can barely speak.
So, Kathy pipes up with, "I gave my 'little guy' some sun." Now my boss really thinks we've both lost it. She said, "You guys are having too much fun!" Then she shrugs her shoulders and walks away.
Now you have to understand that Kathy has a nickname for everyone. Sometimes people are aware of Kathy's nicknames for them, sometimes they aren't. Our principal knows that Kathy calls him "Big Chief Rain Cloud." He's called Big Chief Rain Cloud, because with all the bad news regarding budget cuts and jobs being cut back, she said he's the bearer of all bad news, which makes him Big Chief Rain Cloud. He's always raining on everyone's parade, so to speak.
Her name for me is "Lightening", because my last name sounds a lot like "Lightening." Her name for herself is "Thunder", because while I may be Lightening, she's the noise maker, which is Thunder.
After my boss departed from the room, Kathy smiles, lovingly looks down at her 'little guy' and says, "Well, I got you a little sun today. Tomorrow I'll have Big Chief Rain Cloud stand over you and you'll get watered."
October 10, 2008
Work Can Be Fun!
You probably have experienced the feeling of getting up in the morning and just dreading the long day at work. Well, today was just one of those days.
Actually, it got better as the day wore on. My lovely co-worker was just in 'one of those moods.' She had me rolling on the floor by day's end. It was actually refreshing to be there. My co-worker's name is Kathy and she has what I call "Kathyisms." They are little expressions that she blurts out from time to time. Kathyisms keep the day interesting.
We have a little joke going on in the office this year concerning Tigger and Eeyore. As you may be familiar with Winnie the Pooh, it might be redundant to give a description of Tigger and Eeyore, but I'll try to be brief. Tigger is a fun-loving, hopping all over the place kind of tiger. He's always seeing things for the 'good' in them. Eeyore on the other hand is a down in the mouth, complaining, 'nothing can go right in my life' kind of donkey.
At the beginning of the school year, we started this little joke about 'don't be an Eeyore, be a Tigger!' It basically means to look at the bright side of things, try not to be a pessimist and that kind of thing.
Today, my co-worker told me that she was having a hard time being a Tigger. I have days like that myself, so I totally understand. She told me Tigger and Eeyore were having a boxing match in her head and Eeyore had won Round 1 and Round 2 of that particular boxing match. I know, I know, we do get silly! I laughed and told her I wasn't exactly having a Tigger kind of day either. So, we left it at that. Although, I did feel it was more of an Eeyore kind of day, I knew things were going to get interesting. See, when Kathy is having an Eeyore kind of day, she starts mumbling under her breath. Most of the time people can't hear her, but usually I catch a phrase or two here and there.
Later someone came up to Kathy and told her they hoped she had a better attitude than she did earlier this morning. Yeah, I know, teachers have a tendency to treat 'everyone' like they're little children in the classroom. I thought I heard Kathy say something to this person, but then again I thought, "Na, she couldn't have said what I thought she did." I must have misunderstood her.
Apparently not! She came over to my desk and whispered to me, "I can't believe I just said that!" I stared at her and said, "I thought I heard what you said, but I really thought I MUST have misheard you." The great Kathyism that came out of her mouth when told by this particular person that they hoped she had a better attitude was: "Well, I have another attitude for ya and you're not gonna like that one either."
Later, a little boy came in and was very soft spoken. When a soft spoken child enters the office, I usually go and 'help' Kathy hear what they are saying. She is legally deaf, but wears some very high powered digital hearing aids. Even with those high powered hearing aids, she still has to resort to lip reading from time to time. She has told me that lip reading is very difficult in children, because they don't open their mouths and enunciate as well as adults. (Side note: I love it when there are people in the office and they have their backs to us, because I can silently mouth an expression and Kathy can read my lips; therefore the person with their back turned to us has no idea we are having a conversation.) Back to the soft spoken boy.....Kathy kept leaning closer and closer to the little guy and he kept leaning closer and closer to her. Pretty soon their noses were about 1/4 inch from each other, so I got up and 'helped' Kathy to hear. When the little fellow had his dilemma solved, he left and Kathy mumbled, "If I had been a dog, I would have bit his nose off..." Of course, by this time, I was rolling on the floor. She just spits these things out when I least expect them.
So, the day is progressing into being a real doozy of a day.....We have no administrator in the building (they are all in a meeting at the high school), we have no nurse in the building (she has gone to a nurses' meeting the last 20 minutes of the day), but hey, what can happen in 20 minutes. Lots!
Not having a nurse on duty for the last 20 minutes of the school day may not sound like a trying thing, but on beautiful sunny days teachers take their kids to the playground during the last 30 minutes of school. Why? I'm not sure! But usually several incidents occur within the last 1/2 hour of school hours due to children bumping heads on the playground or someone falling off a piece of playground equipment. With the way the world is today, if a child comes to a teacher and says they have a 'boo boo', it's off to the nurse with them. Well, this particular day was no different than any other. We had two bee stings and one child who had been hit by her older sibling on the playground. The two bee stings were easy to take care of. We asked them if they were allergic to bee stings, then after finding out that they weren't we applied ice to the sting and sent them back to class to get ready to go to the buses.
The child who had been hit on the playground by her older sibling was a totally different story and all along I was thinking the bee stinging incidents could have been disastrous. The child decided to sit herself down on the ground and howl for all she was worth. The teacher tried to convince her that she needed to get up, come back into the school, see the nurse (who was MIA), then catch the bus home. Nope, this girl just kept howling louder. She said her hip hurt and she wasn't going anywhere until she could see her mother. Oh boy!
The teacher phoned the office on her cell phone (thankfully, most teachers take their cell phone to the playground, because it's a little bit of a hike to the building). She told us the situation. A custodian said he would go out and carry the girl into the school. "No, no, no," Kathy said, "if there really is something wrong with her hip you could do more damage by moving her." Good point!
So, we called the principal from the high school to ask what he would like us to do. Like any good principal, he came back over to our school to deal with the child. Her mother had been called and we left a message on her cell phone to call us. The child continued to scream that she wasn't going anywhere until her mother showed up. We had over 300 children on the buses waiting in the parking circle in the hopes that the little girl would find her senses and get on the bus and go home. No way!
As soon as the principal made the decision to wave the buses on to leave the school, the little gal jumped up like a shot and said, "They can't leave without me!" The principal informed her that they could and they would, because he wanted her mamma to come get her now, so he could explain to her all the turmoil she had caused.
By the time Kathy and I had been informed of all the happenings outside, I was about ready to leave for the day. But, before I got to the door, I heard one more Kathyism for the day....it was, "I think I'll take up drinking and it won't be kool-aid."
Actually, it got better as the day wore on. My lovely co-worker was just in 'one of those moods.' She had me rolling on the floor by day's end. It was actually refreshing to be there. My co-worker's name is Kathy and she has what I call "Kathyisms." They are little expressions that she blurts out from time to time. Kathyisms keep the day interesting.
We have a little joke going on in the office this year concerning Tigger and Eeyore. As you may be familiar with Winnie the Pooh, it might be redundant to give a description of Tigger and Eeyore, but I'll try to be brief. Tigger is a fun-loving, hopping all over the place kind of tiger. He's always seeing things for the 'good' in them. Eeyore on the other hand is a down in the mouth, complaining, 'nothing can go right in my life' kind of donkey.
At the beginning of the school year, we started this little joke about 'don't be an Eeyore, be a Tigger!' It basically means to look at the bright side of things, try not to be a pessimist and that kind of thing.
Today, my co-worker told me that she was having a hard time being a Tigger. I have days like that myself, so I totally understand. She told me Tigger and Eeyore were having a boxing match in her head and Eeyore had won Round 1 and Round 2 of that particular boxing match. I know, I know, we do get silly! I laughed and told her I wasn't exactly having a Tigger kind of day either. So, we left it at that. Although, I did feel it was more of an Eeyore kind of day, I knew things were going to get interesting. See, when Kathy is having an Eeyore kind of day, she starts mumbling under her breath. Most of the time people can't hear her, but usually I catch a phrase or two here and there.
Later someone came up to Kathy and told her they hoped she had a better attitude than she did earlier this morning. Yeah, I know, teachers have a tendency to treat 'everyone' like they're little children in the classroom. I thought I heard Kathy say something to this person, but then again I thought, "Na, she couldn't have said what I thought she did." I must have misunderstood her.
Apparently not! She came over to my desk and whispered to me, "I can't believe I just said that!" I stared at her and said, "I thought I heard what you said, but I really thought I MUST have misheard you." The great Kathyism that came out of her mouth when told by this particular person that they hoped she had a better attitude was: "Well, I have another attitude for ya and you're not gonna like that one either."
Later, a little boy came in and was very soft spoken. When a soft spoken child enters the office, I usually go and 'help' Kathy hear what they are saying. She is legally deaf, but wears some very high powered digital hearing aids. Even with those high powered hearing aids, she still has to resort to lip reading from time to time. She has told me that lip reading is very difficult in children, because they don't open their mouths and enunciate as well as adults. (Side note: I love it when there are people in the office and they have their backs to us, because I can silently mouth an expression and Kathy can read my lips; therefore the person with their back turned to us has no idea we are having a conversation.) Back to the soft spoken boy.....Kathy kept leaning closer and closer to the little guy and he kept leaning closer and closer to her. Pretty soon their noses were about 1/4 inch from each other, so I got up and 'helped' Kathy to hear. When the little fellow had his dilemma solved, he left and Kathy mumbled, "If I had been a dog, I would have bit his nose off..." Of course, by this time, I was rolling on the floor. She just spits these things out when I least expect them.
So, the day is progressing into being a real doozy of a day.....We have no administrator in the building (they are all in a meeting at the high school), we have no nurse in the building (she has gone to a nurses' meeting the last 20 minutes of the day), but hey, what can happen in 20 minutes. Lots!
Not having a nurse on duty for the last 20 minutes of the school day may not sound like a trying thing, but on beautiful sunny days teachers take their kids to the playground during the last 30 minutes of school. Why? I'm not sure! But usually several incidents occur within the last 1/2 hour of school hours due to children bumping heads on the playground or someone falling off a piece of playground equipment. With the way the world is today, if a child comes to a teacher and says they have a 'boo boo', it's off to the nurse with them. Well, this particular day was no different than any other. We had two bee stings and one child who had been hit by her older sibling on the playground. The two bee stings were easy to take care of. We asked them if they were allergic to bee stings, then after finding out that they weren't we applied ice to the sting and sent them back to class to get ready to go to the buses.
The child who had been hit on the playground by her older sibling was a totally different story and all along I was thinking the bee stinging incidents could have been disastrous. The child decided to sit herself down on the ground and howl for all she was worth. The teacher tried to convince her that she needed to get up, come back into the school, see the nurse (who was MIA), then catch the bus home. Nope, this girl just kept howling louder. She said her hip hurt and she wasn't going anywhere until she could see her mother. Oh boy!
The teacher phoned the office on her cell phone (thankfully, most teachers take their cell phone to the playground, because it's a little bit of a hike to the building). She told us the situation. A custodian said he would go out and carry the girl into the school. "No, no, no," Kathy said, "if there really is something wrong with her hip you could do more damage by moving her." Good point!
So, we called the principal from the high school to ask what he would like us to do. Like any good principal, he came back over to our school to deal with the child. Her mother had been called and we left a message on her cell phone to call us. The child continued to scream that she wasn't going anywhere until her mother showed up. We had over 300 children on the buses waiting in the parking circle in the hopes that the little girl would find her senses and get on the bus and go home. No way!
As soon as the principal made the decision to wave the buses on to leave the school, the little gal jumped up like a shot and said, "They can't leave without me!" The principal informed her that they could and they would, because he wanted her mamma to come get her now, so he could explain to her all the turmoil she had caused.
By the time Kathy and I had been informed of all the happenings outside, I was about ready to leave for the day. But, before I got to the door, I heard one more Kathyism for the day....it was, "I think I'll take up drinking and it won't be kool-aid."
September 16, 2008
Blood, Sweat and Tears
In case you're familiar with the rock, bluesy, jazz group, Blood, Sweat and Tears, I just want to let you know, that this post isn't about them.
In case you're familiar with Teddy Roosevelt, you might know that he coined the expression "Blood, toil, tears and sweat." Well, this post isn't about Teddy Roosevelt, either.
In case you're familiar with Winston Churchill and his famous speech given to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the U.K. on May 13, 1940, which was the speech he gave right before his famous speech of "We shall fight on the beaches", well, sorry to disappoint you. This post isn't about that either!
It's about two women who work in an Elementary school office to do their best to support and encourage each other throughout the long, trying days of primary school.
My co-worker, who is exactly 10 years my senior is a lovely lady, who is compassionate, caring, and loving in everything she does. She loves the little darlin's that come into our office just as much as I do. In fact, she has two grandboys who are Elementary school age, so she gets lots of practice lavishing love on these l'il ones.
I love little children. I think they make the world go round sometimes. They can be funny, serious, crying and happy all at the same time. Some of the cutest things I've ever heard said come from 5 year olds.
Well, one thing that my co-worker and I got straight right from the beginning of our working tenure together was that there are certain things that my co-worker just doesn't do.
She doesn't do blood. The sight of blood makes her head reel, her eyes glaze over and she usually turns a shade of green that's hard to describe. If a student happens into the office with any oozing blood, she usually closes her eyes, grasps the side of her desk and yells out in a high pitched screech, "Laurie.....oh Laurie, come quick." When I hear that tone in her voice, I know that she's spied some blood dripping somewhere out of some child and I come running. Really, I don't want her passing out in the office and scaring all the lovely little children!
Another thing my lovely co-worker cannot fathom dealing with is sweat! Children go out on the playground, run around and work up a horrendous sweat this time of year. When one of those of the sweaty specimen enter the office, she's suddenly talking on the phone, has her hearing aides turned off or pretends she doesn't see that particular specimen taking up space at her desk. Usually, I get the hint and take care of the sweaty child as quickly as I can, then move them along out of the office
The last thing that my co-worker absolutely refuses to deal with is little boys' tears. Now, today, I saw her help a little girl who was crying and she was very tender, loving and encouraging to the tear producer. But, oh man oh man, when a little boy comes in and cries, I usually see her hightailing it right by my desk muttering, "Laurie, we have a crier." Bingo! I'm up like a shot out of my seat, because I automatically know that it's a boy! Nope, girl tears don't bother her a bit, but a boy crying has her sitting down next to him looking like she's ready to join him in his wailing!
So, the good news is that my co-worker only has 3 things that she won't deal with in the office. I know what those three things are and I have no problem dealing with them. She can easily handle a screaming parent (which bothers me a lot); she can describe gross and uncommon happenings in the bathroom to the custodial staff, so they can go clean up a specific mess and she can deal with teachers who may be practicing for a show called, "I have 1,000 questions today." But she most definitely cannot deal with Blood, Sweat and Tears.
In case you're familiar with Teddy Roosevelt, you might know that he coined the expression "Blood, toil, tears and sweat." Well, this post isn't about Teddy Roosevelt, either.
In case you're familiar with Winston Churchill and his famous speech given to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the U.K. on May 13, 1940, which was the speech he gave right before his famous speech of "We shall fight on the beaches", well, sorry to disappoint you. This post isn't about that either!
It's about two women who work in an Elementary school office to do their best to support and encourage each other throughout the long, trying days of primary school.
My co-worker, who is exactly 10 years my senior is a lovely lady, who is compassionate, caring, and loving in everything she does. She loves the little darlin's that come into our office just as much as I do. In fact, she has two grandboys who are Elementary school age, so she gets lots of practice lavishing love on these l'il ones.
I love little children. I think they make the world go round sometimes. They can be funny, serious, crying and happy all at the same time. Some of the cutest things I've ever heard said come from 5 year olds.
Well, one thing that my co-worker and I got straight right from the beginning of our working tenure together was that there are certain things that my co-worker just doesn't do.
She doesn't do blood. The sight of blood makes her head reel, her eyes glaze over and she usually turns a shade of green that's hard to describe. If a student happens into the office with any oozing blood, she usually closes her eyes, grasps the side of her desk and yells out in a high pitched screech, "Laurie.....oh Laurie, come quick." When I hear that tone in her voice, I know that she's spied some blood dripping somewhere out of some child and I come running. Really, I don't want her passing out in the office and scaring all the lovely little children!
Another thing my lovely co-worker cannot fathom dealing with is sweat! Children go out on the playground, run around and work up a horrendous sweat this time of year. When one of those of the sweaty specimen enter the office, she's suddenly talking on the phone, has her hearing aides turned off or pretends she doesn't see that particular specimen taking up space at her desk. Usually, I get the hint and take care of the sweaty child as quickly as I can, then move them along out of the office
The last thing that my co-worker absolutely refuses to deal with is little boys' tears. Now, today, I saw her help a little girl who was crying and she was very tender, loving and encouraging to the tear producer. But, oh man oh man, when a little boy comes in and cries, I usually see her hightailing it right by my desk muttering, "Laurie, we have a crier." Bingo! I'm up like a shot out of my seat, because I automatically know that it's a boy! Nope, girl tears don't bother her a bit, but a boy crying has her sitting down next to him looking like she's ready to join him in his wailing!
So, the good news is that my co-worker only has 3 things that she won't deal with in the office. I know what those three things are and I have no problem dealing with them. She can easily handle a screaming parent (which bothers me a lot); she can describe gross and uncommon happenings in the bathroom to the custodial staff, so they can go clean up a specific mess and she can deal with teachers who may be practicing for a show called, "I have 1,000 questions today." But she most definitely cannot deal with Blood, Sweat and Tears.
August 27, 2008
It's That Time of Year
School is about to begin and something has been crossing my mind a lot lately. Pleeeeez, don't let that first day of school come OR hurry up and get here already.
I really dislike this time of year. I work in an elementary school office and we have only 2 secretaries for the entire building. Unfortunately, my title is Special Education Secretary, but most days I don't get a whole lot of time to spend on Special Ed stuff. I mostly am running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I usually find myself trudging through the office grabbing this or that for teachers OR helping a parent on the phone with a lot of questions that we sent out 15 notices explaining already OR waiting on a parent in the office who last minute wants to hand in some paperwork that we asked for 2 months ago OR babysitting the students whose parent has come in for a meeting, but doesn't want their little darlin' presence at the meeting. So, you can understand the frustration, maybe?
The worst part is that the special education staff keep asking me, "Why haven't you gotten this done for me yet....I mean you had all summer and there was NOTHING going on." Yeah, right, NOTHING! The other day I had someone somewhat accuse me of being lazy! You know it took all I had to hold myself back. How can people call me that when they have no idea that I generate at least 17,605 letters and notices all in a few months time? I schedule over 300 meetings to coordinate with the schedules of 3 different administrators, parents, service providers, county workers, teachers, aides, etc. all in 45 school days. I answer the phone, wait on teachers, other staff members, and parents. I make copies for people who swear they have no time to make them, but then go out into the hallway and have a 20 minute conversation with a fellow teacher. I cover for my boss who has to lock herself into her office and chill, because she can't deal with all the chaos. How come I can't go do that? I wonder what I'm supposed to do when I'm on the phone and two different people are trying to have a conversation with me near my desk at the same time as someone is talking into my ear on the phone. I usually try to whisper, "I'll be with you in a minute." Which usually gets the response of "I only need this one little, tiny thing." While the person in the phone is saying, "What? What did you just say?"
NO, I don't do much, do I?
Oh, well, sorry for the vent, but I do feel much, much better.
I really dislike this time of year. I work in an elementary school office and we have only 2 secretaries for the entire building. Unfortunately, my title is Special Education Secretary, but most days I don't get a whole lot of time to spend on Special Ed stuff. I mostly am running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I usually find myself trudging through the office grabbing this or that for teachers OR helping a parent on the phone with a lot of questions that we sent out 15 notices explaining already OR waiting on a parent in the office who last minute wants to hand in some paperwork that we asked for 2 months ago OR babysitting the students whose parent has come in for a meeting, but doesn't want their little darlin' presence at the meeting. So, you can understand the frustration, maybe?
The worst part is that the special education staff keep asking me, "Why haven't you gotten this done for me yet....I mean you had all summer and there was NOTHING going on." Yeah, right, NOTHING! The other day I had someone somewhat accuse me of being lazy! You know it took all I had to hold myself back. How can people call me that when they have no idea that I generate at least 17,605 letters and notices all in a few months time? I schedule over 300 meetings to coordinate with the schedules of 3 different administrators, parents, service providers, county workers, teachers, aides, etc. all in 45 school days. I answer the phone, wait on teachers, other staff members, and parents. I make copies for people who swear they have no time to make them, but then go out into the hallway and have a 20 minute conversation with a fellow teacher. I cover for my boss who has to lock herself into her office and chill, because she can't deal with all the chaos. How come I can't go do that? I wonder what I'm supposed to do when I'm on the phone and two different people are trying to have a conversation with me near my desk at the same time as someone is talking into my ear on the phone. I usually try to whisper, "I'll be with you in a minute." Which usually gets the response of "I only need this one little, tiny thing." While the person in the phone is saying, "What? What did you just say?"
NO, I don't do much, do I?
Oh, well, sorry for the vent, but I do feel much, much better.
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