One Month in......

Well tomorrow will end the 4th week of school. It has been a struggle for everyone - parents, kids, staff, me.

Last night we had our first parent's meeting. (up here in the Great White North every school has a committee made up of 7 staff members and 7 parents....... this committee makes 99% of the decisions for the school. ) i was leery of this meeting..they were instrumental in tossing the old Responsable out and bringing me in. i felt i had a lot to answer to....

Honestly i don't how it happens.. i don't know what i do.. but i seem to have a way with words ............. in my last school i could get things passed by that Governing Board that no one thought would pass... sweet tongued devil that's me. BUT i was facing a new Board with a lot of issues. i think i tend to swamp them with words......... coming fast and furious.. touching on each topic and just keep going...barreling my way through........ whatever it is.. by the time i had finished my "report" and surveyed the table.. almost everyone was grinning at me.. They decided to drop the watch dog committee (for now) and let me go it. i guess it was a triumph moment.

The parents are slowly accepting my tight security measures and my no nonsense schedules and my open door policy. They might not like the new procedures but they are sticking to them

The staff .. well i have 3 permanent staff members and 2 substituting staff members (until the Board gets around to hiring 2 new educators - they promise by Thanksgiving - our thanksgiving which means first weekend in October) Of the 3 permanent staff only 1 is willing to work with me. One has been to work 5 days over the last month ........ 5 days !! and she almost never calls to tell me she isn't showing up........ what a headache !! i mean MY GOD !! she has 20 children waiting for her.. not a bloody computer !! so i am left to run around and try and find someone to slot into her class.. or do it myself when all else fails.

The other educator hates me.. oh she smiles at me and says all the right things... i thought i was making progress... but others warned me.. when she smiles at you watch out !!! It is NOT a good sign !! Well between the practical jokes in my first two weeks - which weren't funny one little bit - to now she is just not showing up to work either............. i am ready to scream... Actually i did scream yesterday in an email to Human Resources .. to the Union.. and to the principal.

The other teaching staff keep checking up on me and encouraging me .. they are my cheering section.


BUT

the kids... the whole reason i do what i do........



The trust is building.. most of them are listening to me... some are even trying to use the tactics i am showing them to deal with problems... they are a tough bunch of kids... with more baggage than should be legally allowed for a child to carry !!

But one day last week i had my first spontaneous hug........ and it felt so damn good !!!

Yesterday ....... my "new" Christopher Robin was brought to me.. his face was so red i thought he was gonna explode. He took one look at me and his eyes started to fill up with tears.. he slunk down onto the chair and buried his face in his hands. No hug allowed... i wasn't even allowed to touch him. i sat beside him with chaos reigning all around and listened... just listened to his broken sobbing breaths......... and when it sounded as though he was pulling it together, i asked him quietly "what happened"

He looked up at me.. red faced.. fists balled.. and he exclaimed 'I AM SO F*&%KING MAD I COULD PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE". and we talked .. and talked and talked.. and i kept telling him how proud i was of him.. because THIS time he didn't punch the kid in the face... he had held it together. Finally i got a hug......... and he went back to playing...

And i knew......... i am home .. i am where i need to be...... this is what i do best!! Oh tomorrow or the day after Christopher will punch some kid in the face... and we will start all over.. but for yesterday.. for one short period of time .. he didn't punch............ and that is how i spell S U C C E S S !