Tonight I received an email from one of the teachers' union people who said she has been assigned to be my representative. She said she wanted to meet with me to go over my complaint and explain that process that would follow. She said this would take "several hours".
I found this startling because, a) I thought the union was opposed to what I was doing and was only interested in representing Crazy Sue, and b) I did not ask for anyone to represent me, and c) I thought this fucking thing was nearly over.
My spider senses are tingling. What is this? Why didn't I know the union was going to be representing me? Do I have a choice? I forwarded the strange email to my staff representative who said he would call on my behalf tomorrow and find out what the hell is going on now. I wonder what would happen if I died of heart attack while waiting for an ending to this stupidity. Who would be liable? Who would be sued? Would Crazy Sue find a new person to terrorize, and would the school board continue investigating my claims against her post mortem for eternity?
My dreams of having this finished by the end of the week are dashed. My dreams of having this finished before the earth completes a full revolution around the sun are also looking unlikely to be fulfilled.
*
In first block this morning two very strange things happened:
1. A girl made some death threats towards other students in my class. When I sat down to talk with her, she told me her foster brother is trying to kill her in her sleep because she keeps waking up with bumps on her head. She told me that she is going to kill him first, along with the girls she doesn't like in my Drama class, and then she is going to kill herself. I took her to the office to chat with the principal.
2. Another girl gave me a Christmas card (because, she said, Christmas cards are the best) and a bouquet of cloth daisies and roses made of... bacon. Truly one of the strangest gifts I have ever received in my entire life.
I am having a really weird day.
*
12 comments:
By strange, I hope you mean, FANTASTIC. It makes me like you more to know people think you'd like something like that. I'm getting confused in the sue saga. Can I lay it out and you tell me if I have it? Sue made your work environment unbearable. Everyone connected with the school and the union want you to mediate...which means, discuss your problems with a mediator and come to a way to get along. But you know this won't work, because you've tried so many similar approaches before. YOU want to...that's where I'm sketchy. What is it you want? You are really sticking to your guns on this, I'm proud of you. I know how long you've been dealing with this misery.
Yes, the bacon flowers and Christmas card ARE fantastic, dampened only by homicidal ideation and the fact that the bacon has hardened hot glue on it so I should not really eat it.
You do have the Crazy Sue saga correct. The union wants me to mediate because they want control of what happens to Crazy Sue. The school board wants me to mediate because it will cost them money if they try to discipline Crazy Sue and the union fights them.
What I want is to force the school board to make a ruling. Either they will find that Crazy Sue is a big old harassing bully and transfer her to another school, put a letter of direction in her employee file, or offer her some counselling or something.
Or, they will find that I am big old liar and direct me to stop making up shit about Crazy Sue.
That's what I want, for the board to get some balls and tell me which one of us is wrong here. They want us to kiss and make up so they don't have to deal with the aftermath of a decision. But I need a decision.
Ugh. The whole thing is simply awful. I'm so sorry and hope there is the right kind of resolution very soon. It really sucks waiting when the facts are really clear and if they were even half trying, they would see that and take appropriate actions against CS.
They are doing a lot of very bizarre stuff involving bacon these days. I don't get it, and not only because I'm a vegetarian. I agree: You've had a really weird day.
Haha, I didn't even think about Shawn and J's chocolate bacon cookies and connect them with this bizarre flower arrangement! Yes, why is bacon becoming so fashionable to play with? It's kind of macabre.
Thanks for the Crazy Sue support. In a moment of clarity (asleep) it occured to me that the union representative who emailed me might just have missed the boat entirely, not realising that the process has already happened. That's what I am pinning my hopes upon today so I can go to work. Hurrah.
What a very odd day. I hope that girl will be okay, poor love.
Bacon flowers. My word. What an imaginative soul she is.
Yes, I hope so too. This unfortunate girl has a terrible history of abuse and comes to us with a lot of mental health issues. I took her to see the principal rather than the counsellor because she said she trusts the principal the most, so it wasn't punitive for me to take her there. Our new principal is very good with kids with special needs.
Bacon roses? That's bizarre and brilliant.
I know you hope the Crazy Sue thing will be over soon, but, because of a lack of balls all around, it could take a while. I'm sorry.
I agree with Heart, bacon, is making some kind of weird comeback.
Wow this Sue thing, sounds more complicated all the time. I think there are enough players in the production so far that you could make it into a play.
Hi meno. I'm definitely learning how slowly the wheels grind where it comes to this kind of thing. I'm glad I had no idea at the beginning or I might have chickened out.
Spindrift, it would make a weird play, wouldn't it? I will write it with a very dramatic ending even if I don't get such a thing.
You may not need a dramatic ending, and I hope for your sake it is dull, and Crazy Sue just disappears into the sunset, and this whole thing peters out. But then again truth is stranger than fiction so they say. If I were in the play, I would like to play the manager of the lollipop person, or maybe the HR guy (overworked, not caring, and slightly ruffled) Or maybe just one of your fellow teachers that says things like, 'that crazy Sue, shit's gone crazy for her', or something redundant like that. And I'm really concerned why people (your school, the union, some party) don't get how affected you are by this. I think you are really brave to be doing this, something I couldn't have done, and after this when it's over, I would go on a year break or something. Go sit in the woods for a while and let some of that beautiful Canada into your soul.
Oooh yeah, a year long's break sounds like a very fine idea. If the school board doesn't do something to solve my Crazy Sue Woes, a break for me may be in order. But when it comes right down to it, I'd really rather she be the one who's on a break.
You know, I think the other teachers really do understand and agree with what I'm doing. (Several of them have had to go talk to the HR guy as witnesses.) It's just the administration that won't help me out (which is frustrating because they are the only ones with any power to do so), and of course that's because they are afraid of squaring off with the union. They need an official ruling before they are allowed to mete out any disciplinary measures.
In the end, they're all just following protocol, making sure there's due process. So I understand it, but meanwhile I hate it.
Crazy Sue had her final interview on Tuesday, so I'm hoping that means Mr. HR has his report done by this Friday and a decision is made by next Friday. Just in time for school to be over for the summer, haha.
PS: I like the idea of you playing the manager of the lollipop lady, or the HR guy. In fact, I think you should be double-cast so you can do both. You will steal the show!
Post a Comment