A Little Support
This week has been nothing new.This week everything has changed.
As usual the parent's of my classroom have found a multitude of things to be unhappy about. As usual they came en mass to attack. As usual I stood my ground. As usual they made me feel like my bones had been ground to a fine powder and then sifted through a cheesecloth and scattered to the wind.
But this time, someone else got involved; my head teacher and the other fifth grade teacher. A little support is everything. I have been saying and doing all of the right things but it gets so frustrating and exhausting standing under all of that pressure alone.
This week has been nothing new. Teaching at a private school can be tricky because you are burning the candle from both ends and manipulation comes easy to the people who can afford to send their children there. I have been assured repeatedly that these parents just have problems and that it "is not you." But this week I know that to be true. It has been a very rough past couple of days; lots of crying behind bathroom doors, hiding the scars and smiling through the pain.
But this week everything has changed. To have someone ask me how things are going, to offer to hold conferences with me, to have them take my side, has helped me in ways that are unspeakable to me. I knew I was right. But now I feel strong enough to prove it. I started smiling again: for real.
This week has changed me, because someone stood up for me, because I have an ally, because the pain is shared, and the joys are mutual.
posted by Trisha @ 5:07 PM
