And So It Continues...

So today, I'm in the cafeteria with my students who are eating breakfast (I have the pleasure of taking my whole class to breakfast) and a certain TA walks up directly behind me and yells, for me to hear, to another TA if they are ordering food for lunch today. The other TA says not that she knows of and asks why. Annoying one says because she's not allowed to order out anymore. She's obviously saying this to make sure I hear her. It's purely for my benefit. I decide to be the bigger person and not turn around. I act as if I don't hear anything. Hard to do when someone is basically yelling in your ear and you can feel them staring at you. The TA she was talking to had no clue what she was doing and she eventually walked away. I don't think she fully understands that I don't care who, what, when, where, why, or how she eats. None of this would have been an issue if she hadn't yelled at me in the first place. UGH!!!!

Later during the day...

I'm walking down the hall during my planning period. She and two other TA's are loitering in the hallway. One of them says to another, "Hey, E, do you have a minute?". The infamous TA, let's call her "B", (make your own assumptions) says, "No, but some people have ALL day!".

I guess it was suppose to be a jab at me. Maybe she thinks that a teacher has nothing to do all day. I guess her job and life are WAY more difficult than a measly first grade general education/ESL teacher and single mom.

My question to all of you is...

What do I do? She has made my workplace a hostile environment. I am very uncomfortable when she is anywhere around me. I'm not sure what she's going to do next? I need some words of wisdom from my blogger friends.

Nit-Picky Parents

The hardest part of my job, sometimes, is dealing with overly demanding or unreasonable parents.

I do have several involved parents this year which I love! Only 2 of them are a bit high maintenance but they are nice about it and only have their kids best interests at heart. As a parent myself, I understand and appreciate their involvement.

Something interesting happened yesterday as I walked the kids to buses and parents waiting at the front of the school.

A fellow teacher is having a difficult time getting her kids where they need to be on time so I am walking my students as well as her parent pick up students and daycare bus students. I walk around to the front of the school with my students and this other teacher's students as an adult comes up to introduce herself to me. She says she is there to pick up one of the other teachers students and will each day so she wanted to meet me. That's great. I should know who is taking these kids each day. She then proceeds to ask me why it took so long. I tell her we are on the other side of the school and have to walk around. She asks again why we have to walk around. At this point, I'm done. I've walked the kids, I'm on my way to daycare drop off, it's Friday, and I have answered her question already. So, I tell her we walk the kids to buses first and then to the front for parent pick up. I'm starting to turn and walk away and she continues! She asks why we can't go through the building. I tell her, AGAIN, we walk to buses and then around to the front. Now I'm REALLY done. She's not though. She asks, AGAIN, why we can't walk through the hallway. I tell her because the other kids in the building are going out and we'd be going "against" the flow. She continues by saying that they are not, they are already outside. Well, I just can't take it anymore! I have given her WAY more than she needed and this is not even my student! So... I throw my arms in the air and tell her, "I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you should go inside and make that suggestion to someone." UGH!!!! I'm usually so calm and collected and rational. She definitely pushed me to the point of frustration. I do NOT like being at that point. It's so hard to control my responses when I'm frustrated!

Hopefully this woman went home and reflected on her actions as I did on mine. I certainly do not want to have any conversations with her.