I started my career at Packemin in the special education department. I worked with low functioning and high need students at my previous school and realized I liked this population and I knew I could make a difference in their lives. Although things were not perfect, I was content until, that is, we got a new chairperson who I shall call Mr. Doofus.
Mr. Doofus did not like me. I wouldn't care if he did not like me after he got to know me, but he did not like me because of what he heard from the department pets. (The rest of this is for another post.) Mr. Doofus had issued a directive in the beginning of the year that we should not give out books right away. After a week, I noticed Mrs. R, a math teacher another pet, distributing books. I assumed the ban was lifted and gave out books as well. Mr. Doofus yelled at me for doing so. I apologized and said, "I thought it was okay as Mrs. R was giving books to her classes." He looked at me and said, "What is okay for her is not okay for you." I didn't respond. But, to this day, 15 years later, I will never forget this blatant favoritism.
It took over ten years for Mrs. R and me to learn to get along. Mr. Doofus had done a good job of creating a big divide in the department, a split that kept two teachers from working together to help their students.
1 comment:
I thought the purpose of history was to learn from our mistakes. How do Chairpeople still have pets and what haven't we learned?
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