coming out of my self induced isolation to rant because as much as i would like to exist to no one……i unfortunately have to work to live……and work unfortunately involves other people….one of those people unfortunately being an incredibly narcissistic boss (and i try very hard not to throw the psych buzzwords around lightly/am ❌not❌ diagnosing anyone but ANYWAY keep reading if u want to know the mundane details of workplace drama somehow centered around a game of duck duck goose???
so i work with kindergarteners and there is a group of ~10 boys rn who are straight up out of control wild rn….like wrestling, punching, shoving, headlocks, throwing toys, name calling, lying, blatantly saying no to teachers, generally causing mayhem for everyone
and nothing has worked to manage behaviors — we have to keep certain kids separate but at this point, with only 4 classrooms and ~60 kids, u just ….can’t do that with everyone lol so it’s just a matter of damage control/harm reduction rn
but the day after halloween is historically Extra Bad and i agreed to stay late bc we were down a teacher and we offer aftercare so it was basically those 10 boys plus a few other kids running around while i tried to make sure no one cracked their head open. but literally every two seconds i had to tell kids to separate/take a seat/take their hands off each other.
so when one kids dad comes to pick him up, he’s sobbing in a corner bc he says the other kids wouldn’t let him be the “Ducker” during duck duck goose, and ive been checking on him every few minutes and asking him if he wanted to talk or if he needed space, but he said he needed space. apparently he is usually a main issue during the aftercare hours
but the the dad gets super upset and says he’s been unhappy with the aggression seen the last couple days, he asks for my name (never a good sign) and says that someone is going to get hurt if we don’t do something. i can’t even disagree with him but i let him know im trying and i’ve been separating the group and having them sit and it’s an ongoing issue we are working on.
he leaves with “bye colleen, i will be calling the school tomorrow” (a terrifying sentence even tho technically i work in a church rn 👀)
SO im anxious abt that bc again, the safety is a valid concern even though he is not an objective person bc his son is involved — literally the worst thing in working with kids is having parents upset and escalating the issue
so after i clock out, i email my boss and first ask her if we can check in tomorrow morning abt my safety concerns/brainstorm abt possible solutions. i also said that this parent said he would be calling in the morning but that I would explain the situation in more detail further tomorrow when we talk.
SO she comes up to my classroom and says “tell me what happened with [student name]” and explained that he was upset about duck duck goose, but that when his dad was unhappy with what he’s been seeing recently at pick up. i tried to explain further what i’ve seen and she says “it was the day after halloween, stick to what happened with [student name]” so once i explained again she left
so then i go down to the office to make copies except on my way there i hear her very loudly reading the email i sent her word for word to someone (in a mocking tone lol) ….and at that point i freeze bc like….do i still go in? do i pretend i don’t hear this happening??? i stood there for a little and she went on to basically say “this email doesn’t tell me anything, i thought someone was hurt but it was all about a game of duck duck goose?? she’s overstepping her boundaries, etc etc)
and i was already almost at her door which was wide open for anyone to hear and ended up just going and saying “im going to stop you both right now because i could hear you talking really loudly about me from the hallway and id appreciate it if you could stop”
and she instantly starts ⚠️screaming⚠️ at me, like “yes i was talking about you because you didn’t say anything in this email, i don’t know what you think you were doing, you don’t work at aftercare it’s not your place!!”
and at that point im trying to do damage control and say repeatedly “im sorry if i didn’t articulate myself properly” “i apologize if i didn’t handle the situation correctly” “i apologize” “i apologize” — i tried to explain that i was only giving her a warning that she might get a call, i wanted to explain more in person, and it wasn’t just abt a game of duck duck goose lol it was a matter of safety
so we go back and forth for awhile, im flustered/angry to the point of tears while still trying to articulate my thoughts (i angry cry and it sucks) and everything i try to say she is shutting down
genuinely the conversation evolved into “it’s never been that much of an issue except yesterday when you were there” (yes it has!!!)
“then you are saying the issue is me, and i want to know that so i know what to work on” even though i know the problem is not me!!! i don’t know a lot and i don’t have faith in my abilities anywhere else but i know that i am good at this job!!!
the conversation ended more unresolved than it started and i had to go back to a room of kids with that on my mind all day and im just frustrated bc this is a woman that last friday told me i was doing an amazing job and that was so glad i was back and was so excited so what i was doing with the kids — but any perceived threat to her ego or criticism, justified or not, and it all comes crashing down
and i know this, i sometimes get too comfortable or forget and share personal things or get sucked into the office culture here but really, i need to maintain boundaries; i plan on clocking in at 8 (not coming in at 7:45 like i have been in case anyone needs help!!!) and clocking out at 4 (not staying late to help out at aftercare because while i thought that was helping, i guess it was ~not my role). i will not feel guilty for eating my lunch outside and staying tf out of the office. i will not provide any information abt my personal life to my boss bc that information is not safe with her. this is a job and that is it.
tldr: it just really fucking sucks to walk in on ppl talking about you and it’s also absolutely 100% a family trigger lol