On this past Tuesday, I worked the election polls at a local Elementary School (for runoffs). My kids got to spend the day with family friends, and I got to do my civic duty. OK, I was paid a little, but if I were doing it for the money, I would have stayed in bed.
I arrived at the school and found that we were to work in about 200 square feet in the media center. In those 200 square feet, we had three voting booths, a handicapped station, a private area for confidential work, and several processing tables. Can you say sardines? Fortunately, the machines ran on battery back up because we kept kicking the power lines and accidentally unplugging the machines.
Apparently, the Media Center Teacher was having a bad day. We thought it was slightly laughable that she put us in a tiny corner of an enormous room, when she was only using tables at another far corner. Students were not going to be checking out books since the government had paid for use of the room so we should have had more space. We thought it was humorous that our presence had aggravated her to the point that she kept throwing us nasty looks. We thought it was comical that she snapped at other teachers who came into the room.
We did not, however, find it funny in the least that she verbally abused the students. Instead of speaking to them, she shrieked. Instead of reminding a child of his password, she ridiculed the entire class for not remembering passwords five months into the school year. Instead of listening to a question a child asked, she yelled, “I don’t care”. Instead of properly disciplining an unruly child, she got in his face and yelled, “I am 15 years older than you”. (She had to be 25 years older than him). Instead of calling a child by name while loudly complaining to a teacher about his behavior, she called him “this one”. We were all instantly and completely dumbfounded.
Now I am going to assume that this teacher was having a bad day. Her personality seemed out of character in the surroundings she had created. The room, decorated by her, was about 2000 square feet of murals, stuffed animals, bookshelves and comfortable sofas. Since I am not there everyday, and for my own sanity, I am going to believe that she actually liked her job and the children liked her. Just as this one teacher could have a bad day, so could any number of adults in the school on any given day. Some of us adults do not handle bad days well.
Children have bad days too. Sometimes, kids are just not up to par. Mentally they may be foggy. Emotionally, they may be stressed. Physically, they may be tired. As homeschoolers, we can take a day off, or adjust the days’ activities to the mood of the adults or children in the home.
I have never heard my kids say, “I’m not coming back in here anymore”. I did however; hear a child mutter that sentence as he left the media center on Tuesday. I sure am glad we homeschool.