I get it, but your still wrong.

Working in the daycare field, I have a .. general, small insight on what it's like to work in the classroom environment. It involves planning for lessons, gathering supplies, and making sure you have all the help you need to make each lesson a success, no matter what that may be. It takes a lot of work that usually goes unseen.

There's also a social side & that's where I fail the most. Children don't have this affect on me, but I tend to be timid unless I'm really acquainted with someone. So being open and real with parents can be a challenge. 

Parents can also be a pain in the butt or a blessing. 

There's nothing like being in the middle of the morning routine when the same child comes bursting through the door late, again.. and again .. and again, once more interrupting the class. You want to ask why? Why is this happening again?? Well, first of all, you should. You should ask why. 

Now I'm on the other side. I still sub for a daycare part time, & because I'm a parent of a complex child with many diagnoses, there are too many appointments and what would be sick days for me to hold a full time job.

I love my daughter so much--enough to be able to see her strengths and weaknesses. And I know she is wonderful.. And I know that she is intelligent.. And I know that she can be pokey and ..resistant, & even argumentative.. mostly at home though, & sometimes for her therapists. 

And we are late.. Oh my gosh.. we are late so often, and it's so frustrating for me, as I'm sure it is her teachers and paras, but she has a diagnosis. She has a valid reason. And I'm so over it that some days, if we're going to be more than an hour late just because she was too pokey, or we overslept, I keep her home. 

Being a timid person, it takes a lot of courage for me to walk her into the school late (again), and even though I usually put on a cool, this is no big deal air it's because if I didn't, I'd probably be in tears. 

That being said, you can imagine the shock and hurt I felt when I heard a para make a snarky remark one of the last times I brought Roo in. The irony was that she wasn't even late for school, she just missed the bus. And this particular para probably didn't even intend for me to hear it, BUT I DID, which brings up another important fact. If your a parent who isn't homeschooling your child, at some point your going to be talked about by your child's teacher or other staff members. There are going to be moments that they're annoyed with you, or pleased with you, or just mentioning your name in general conversation, but they should never ever do it in front of you, other parents, or other children who are within earshot, especially if it's negative, because it's wrong.

I realize that there are exceptions to every rule, but this wasn't one of them. I emailed Roo's special ed teacher, explained the situation and hated to do it. Just like I feared, the para denied it, but thankfully, other staff members have continued to be polite & I feel I was believed. Which is a huge relief, because why would I make that up? I don't even know this lady's name. Yet, she denied it. Later I was told that this particular para held a respected position elsewhere, which makes it even more sad. Why can't people admit that they slipped up, or "I'm sorry, I was having a bad day," or the honest to goodness blunt truth that this child is late often, and in a moment of frustration I said something that I shouldn't have. How hard is that?

Okay, it's hard. But now I don't trust this para. I hate that. 

There really isn't a good way to end this post, so I will go with a hopeful...

The End.