school year sum up

i haven't blogged lately and my reasoning was that i was way too busy with school and assessments and parent/teacher conferences, etc.

i'd have to look back to see if i have mentioned here on such a "public" forum about my assistant teacher. (the chances of her finding my blog are slim to none, but if she does then she needs to hear the truth!)

my assistant teacher this year was a complete idiot. truly. one of the other teachers in the school often said to me "there's nothing you can do about stupid". and not a truer statement could be said about this poor girl.

i knew right away that it was going to be difficult when i gave her a task to do during the teacher workdays, before school even started and she messed it up, or when during the first week of school she cut construction paper for the classroom using a guillotine paper trimmer and managed to cut it all crooked. it got to the point that i didn't ask her to do anything beyond cleaning and caring for the kids because she would mess up every task i asked her to do. and me being a perfectionist, couldn't handle the unprofessional results having her do something yielded. but taking care of the kids turned out to be something she couldn't do either. they knew how to "walk all over her". they didn't listen to her and would play the parent game - you know, if ms. sarah says "no" then go ask ms. ____ and she'll say "yes". she was totally inconsistent with them, didn't handle discipline very well - too much over little things and not enough when it really needed to be dealt with (yes, that goes along with inconsistent), and she really couldn't watch more than 2 at a time. often i would find her during free choice time sitting at the art table with 2-3 students doing playdough, only she wasn't making something with them, she was playing herself. and most often, those 2-3 kids would get up and find something else to do and ms. _____ would still be there playing all by herself, while i am left to watch 18 students throughout the room. but she did clean - the same three things everyday, and nothing more. sometimes less, if she didn't start in time and the clock struck 3:00. she'd drop whatever she was doing and leave.

at the beginning of the year i brought it up with the director, but she thought it was the bunny's fault (we had a pet bunny that she spend more time with than she did the students) so we found another home for it, then we thought she just needed a little guidance and training - so the assistant in the room next to ours stepped up and helped explain things that i had not (cause i assumed she knew how to do it after 6 weeks of work), and the assistant in another pre-k room spend 3 days in my classroom with us, telling ms. ______ things she needed to be doing, always up and walking around, always moving on the playground. and then she went to her official training. but when she got back from that she told the director that she hadn't learned anything, "it was just music and games and making stuff. nothing serious", yeah right! the only serious they taught her was HOW TO DO HER JOB! so the director was going to move her to another classroom only to have her plan thwarted by the fact that there was not a teacher in the school that could be moved that was 21yrs old, which is a requirement by the state of ga.

so she stayed. and then i was told - jokingly of course - that i was complaining, if i brought it up again. the enw director recognized the incompetence, but thought it was too late in the school year to make the change. so the night of our "graduation/celebration" she calls in and says she can't make it. her boyfriend is sick. so the director gives her an ultimatium - "come in or it's your job" we were hoping that she ddin't come in, but she did, and she looked terrible. i'm all dressed up, thek ids are all dressed up to perform, and she shows up in jeans and sneakers, hair pulle up and no make up (did i mention that when she doesn't wear make-up she looks 50? maybe that is so she can appear to be the same age as her boyfriend..yup, he'd 50) so she shows, but leaves immediately after the presentation is finished.

to make this short, she never was let go, she stayed almost til the bitter end. and then the last day of school she called in sick. didn't come in, didn't see the kids, and then didn't show up for her last two teacher workdays either.

i almost want to call her and make one last jib at her. just so she knows how much trouble it was this year having another child in my room.

so there it is, my school year. i have never had another year like it and hope i don't again. in addition to the assistant teacher thing i had 10 students come and leave my classroom during the year. that is a lot of turn over and change for such a young group. it was hard to feel settled.

i am happy the year is over. i hope some of the little dears come back and visit, but i was not sad when the last day of school was over!