Recently I seem to be encountering people being cranky in their workplace. Hmm I said recently but I'm sure its an everyday occurrence everywhere. There are three situations that have cropped up recently though, where friends of mine have had run ins.
1. A teacher at Jacks school was approached by a parent who wanted to discuss her childs reaction to an event. The teacher in a very defensive and dismissive tone told the mother "I did tell everyone they had another option but your child was not listening". She then turned her back and walked away from the flabbergasted mother.
2. A teacher at Hamish's preschool was seen grabbing two crying children in what was described as a rough way and raised her voice at the other staff calling "would someone help me with these two children, I have things to do". Unfortunately for her it was the mother of the a fore mentioned children who saw the event.
3. Recently while at a pub, a friend and I asked an employee to change the air-conditioning temperature. While we waited we decided sit elsewhere and told the employee as he returned. When he went back behind the bar he exclaimed to his colleague that he thought we were "f**king stupid c**ts". Unfortunately for him my friends husband heard the comment and a situation occurred.
We all sometimes have bad days at work. Or just days where we are cranky. When is one able to make allowances for that?
Personally I don't think any of these situations are ok. Some of them though I think are understandable. Trust me I have bad-mouthed clients behind their backs. The problem is that these people got caught.
I didn't mind that the pub worker called me a name. I'm sure he had had enough of difficult clients that day. But even Andrew said that if he had overheard the conversation he would have addressed the guy and felt right in doing so.
The first two cause me more of a problem. I could imagine feeling frustrated or dismissive with children and parents if I worked as a teacher. But these are our children and no parent would like to think that their teacher is not treating them with love and respect.
And yet what if these teachers were having a really bad day? Can we not make allowances?
In the end I guess the answer is no! Do what you want to us but if we ever catch you speaking that way to our children or in relation to our children, mumma bear will raise her head and bite yours off.
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4 comments:
Hey Leigh,
I was talking about the same matter yesterday to a collegue. I overheard a teacher at Zen's school speaking, in what i regard, a non-respectfull way. It wasn't too bad, not something that I felt reporting to the principle but, I fully agree... I have a really low threshold when its our kids paying the consequences of an adult bad day at work.
I agree with you in almost all cases, except that I don't think teachers are required to love their students.
They need to be respectful (as Mana repeats above) and courteous and kind, yes.
More so with children, I think, than with adults, because children are particularly sensitive to unfairness, and it is unfair to take your bad mood out on someone who has nothing to do with it.
And I don't think it's advantageous for a child to have a teacher who clearly doesn't actually like kids--we've both been there.
But I don't think there's any requirement for the teacher to treat their students with love.
(I don't think it would hurt the child if the teacher didn't love them, not if the teacher is consistently respectful, professional, appropriate, and courteous.)
I'm sorry that happened Mana. I know Jack says that one of the teachers in 'always cranky' I want to intervene but I know its not appropriate. Treen I agree with you I guess what I meant is that kids who are respected and accepted by their teacher (at this age) see that as a form of love. Especially at preschool age. If you asked Hamish he would say that all of his teachers loved him. They cuddle him when he is sad and they talk to him in a caring and understanding way.
That's a good way of putting it. I think we're both making the same point, really.
(But you get some parents--not you, of course!--who seem genuinely to believe that because they love their children, everyone else should also love their children, which is an attitude I've never understood.)
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