I can’t believe it’s the beginning of October already! The past month has sped by. Janie and I have fallen into a rhythm in our 3s class. As I suspected, we do work well together. Sometimes she totally cracks me up. When things get really crazy with our little students, she starts making jokes “over their heads” that I get, but they don’t. Just when I need a laugh most, she says a little zinger and keeps me going. I’m starting to look forward to my classes with her and time out of the office.
I’ve learned a lot from Crystal, too. Now I know where the “secret book” is kept that tells the curriculum and projects for each day. In fact, apparently I’ve caught on so well to the “Pemberton way” that I’m going to be “allowed” to lead the class this month. (Why do I feel like a victim of Tom Sawyer?) Samples of the art projects are displayed handsomely on a Pottery Barn hutch in the hallway for the parents’ benefit, but they’re never shown to the children, because we don’t want to influence the students and stifle their creativity.
However, Beverly and Cate don’t actually value the children’s creativity, because most of the time, the artwork displayed around the school is the work of the teachers. When you drive up to a Pemberton school, any Pemberton school, you see these adorable little construction paper figures hanging in every single window, and they change with the seasons. I used to think that was cute until I found out the art enrichment teacher made them, not the children.
As we were getting ready for Grandparents’ Day in less than a week, we were holding back and displaying some of the children’s artwork on the walls in our classrooms. During one of their late night “raids,” either Cate or Beverly dropped by after everyone was gone for the night and saw what we’d done. We were told by the main office the next day to take it all down because it looked “messy and cluttered.” So much for appreciating the children’s creativity….
I keep fantasizing about Beverly checking in on me to see how my training is going after a month of working for her. I say fantasizing, because she would never care enough to check on me. That has become obvious very quickly. If she did, though, I could tell her I’ve learned a lot, not only from Janie and Crystal, but from Linda as well.
I’ve learned how to make do with broken equipment (the fax machine and copier never work for more than a few minutes at a time), outdated technology (the main office insists on having reports faxed to them multiple times a day rather than simply e-mailing the reports), and a lack of staff (heaven forbid we should keep a staff member one second past a child clocking out that would drop us below the state-required ratio of teachers to students). We must send someone from the staff home immediately, even if they’ve been promised more work hours than they are receiving. I’ve been shown how to change time sheets and cheat teachers out of their hard-earned paycheck, like not paying Janie for the hours she spent in preparation for the beginning of school. I’ve learned how to do the job of four people simultaneously, to drive myself to the point of exhaustion and ill health, and to knock myself out for no recognition, appreciation, or compensation for my efforts. I have acquired and exhibited these skills repeatedly over the last month.