sh*t + fan = the following

i find myself in a good mood today despite that it was one of the worst days at work.

i was right; Mrs B. told me that she was not asked to come back next year. she told me the whole story - she had never had any constructive criticism from The Principal in the three years that led up to what should be the year that would give her tenure (i guess you get it if you are asked to return after your fourth year). until this week, where she was cut swiftly without any warning at all. Mrs B. said she thought it was because of her evaluation of The Principal, because none of The Principal's reasons was grounds for termination (in Mrs B.'s estimation).

i've explained this before - The Principal around thanksgiving handed out to a few select staff people forms they were supposed to fill out evaluating her as a principal. of course none of the aides who got theirs filled them out because they were all intimidated. what you had to do was write five qualities a good principal should have, and then evaluate The Principal on those characteristics. putting your name was optional, but strongly encouraged. after receiving various emails from The Principal regarding the evaluation and contesting that they had lost them, the aides were given new ones which they finally filled out. rumor had it that The Principal was complaining about what some people wrote - COMPLAINING! and Mrs B.'s evaluation was one that The Principal had complained about. she had spoken to Mrs B. about it, implying that she had taken offense. Mrs B. obviously had meant no offense by what she said and had honesly filled out the evaluation - as The Principal had asked her!

when the aides asked me for suggestions i just shrugged it off saying i really didn't have any reason to like or dislike The Principal. now, well, there is a little bit more weight on one side of the scale. it just looks like she used the evaluations to see who was for her, and then went after the ones who had spoken out against her.

after school, Mrs B. came up to me. i forgot to send home the report cards. they were supposed to go out today. shoot.

what are they going to do - fire you?

it makes me wonder - if i were a teacher, could i go up against The Principal? i think i could.

there was another bad thing that happened at work today. Mr P and i were almost out the door going to get lunch, when a kid runs up to us (we were by the cafeteria door) and says that a table fell on someone.

yeah - as in, one of those extremely heavy, long, fold-up cafeteria tables.

i at first thought the kid was joking by the expression on his face. Mr P ran ahead of me and when i entered, the boy was lying there on the ground. they had gotten the table off of him and the nurse was by him trying to keep him calm as someone ran to the office. Mrs O., who usually supervises the fourth graders during lunch, quite successfully kept them calm and in their seats until it was time to clean up. i was also in there, keeping them calm. i was kind of sick to my stomach thinking about how hurt this kid could be, but especially when you're dealing with children it's important to look like you're calm even if you're not. a girl asked me if she could go to the bathroom because she had to throw up. of course, go! and then when she was done, i was outside the lunchroom and had her go sit in the office (the nurse was obviously occupied). one of the secretaries entered the lunch room and i kept thinking it looks like she's going to lose it! stay calm nancy or leave... things then looked like they were under control, so we left to get lunch and got back right as the paramedics were wheeling the kid in a stretcher to the ambulance.

i know i haven't been here that long, but i think the kid's mom should sue. HA i'm so loyal. because one might ask, how could a kid manage to have a table fall on him in the lunchroom? well, The Janitor lets them help him clean up, and sometimes he even lets them move these large heavy tables. Mrs C, another aide, told me that for three years they had complained to The Principal that it was dangerous, that The Janitor shouldn't let them move the tables because they don't know how to move them. and of course in those three years The Principal did nothing about it. i hope this is a wake up call to the administration.