Promotion
i just wanted to make a post about something work related.
yesterday during my free-ish period, my boss called me (he was out of school). So i take the call in our staffroom (with other teachers nearby) and he says, "first off, this has to be very confidential..."
and then he offers me the position of Assistant Team Leader & tells me to go home & think about it and give him a ring later on that night to talk about things. obviously i needed to keep it on the sly.
meanwhile i'm busting with excitement, so i ran to my classroom & called Jed on my mobile and *squeeeeed* for about 3mins.
called Rich later on that night & we had an in depth discussion about it.
i am concerned primarly because there WILL be gossip. people WILL talk about this and talk about me behind my back. we had a SHIT of a year last year because of our Team Leader who was a fucking psycho (very nice person when not your BOSS) and she appointed an assistant TL as well, but it left a fucking disgusting taste in everyone's mouth (the process, not the ATL).
so i thought about it all night and talked to jeddy in depth about it. stopped in at the Deputy principal's office & had quite a talk with him this morning. First thing he said was that a lot of ppl were going to have something to say about this.
the reason for this is:
a) our EX team leader is also in our office and has this fucking huge inferiority complex and hates being relegated to inferior 'teacher' mode. she insists that she has a 'position of authoritah' (somehow) and even tho she is super nice to me, i know she is also SUPER threatened by me as i am half her age and although i do not have a Masters, i DO have as many other qualifications as her. she is always very vague & mysterious about how long she's been teaching & i know it's only a few years more than me. at the end of last year she approached my TL and demanded to be the ATL for 2008, but he thinks she needs to do something other than managing.
b)i am young-ish
c) there are other very suitable people in the team, who ALL have career aspirations as well
d) there are other much older & very competent people in the team who would appreciate being approached with the opportunity.
so. i talked to Mike in depth about this.
at lunch today, when most of the team were sitting around the table, Rich made the announcement. he was EXTREMELY diplomatic about it and explained the process & how it was hurried & how he discussed his decision in depth with his deputy etc etc.
then he announced that i was the new ATL & there was about 1 second of 'cheer', which is fine.
but... i know i'm being sensitive & i know that as a 'leader' i need to make sure that what ppl say about me just washes off my back, and in a position like this people WILL talk about me and about how it came to be and i KNOW that the ex TL will have a fucking TANTRUM about it (but rich is dealing with that, not me).
anyway, i drove 1 hr home with patrick tonight and it was like a big pink elephant in the car with us (he's one of the older, more experienced teachers & prob would have appreciated being asked...) and not a single word was said about it!!!! and we normally say EVERYTHING that happens in the day.
and when i left the office, Cath totally blanked me! omg. i KNOW she's got a lot of shit on her plate at the moment, so i'm not going to let it stress me.
meh, as i said before, i cannot let that stress me and i must be above gossip. this is really a big/HUGE opportunity for me and a very fucking big stepping stone so i really need to embrace this as fully as possible.
a nice thing tho - i've currently got a student teacher, and after work today she said that when Rich was talking at lunch about having a new ATL & the qualities they needed etc, she thought i'd be perfect for the job! so was pleased i got it... how sweet!
Assistant Team Leader doesn't really mean that much tho. i don't get that much more $$ and i don't get extra time (tho i already have a reduced teaching load because i am in a consulting role in the school), and i am going to get A SHITLOAD more responsibilities. but it does mean i get experience & a sort of 'position' (tho not much of one) in the school.
i'm pretty excited about it, but i know i really have to focus on keeping my nose to the grindstone & not worrying about what others say. i'm pretty reasonable and get along with everyone, which is prob another reason why rich asked me... but still.
we're going on an excursion tomorrow, to the Fremantle Jail and then to the Shipwreck Galleries to see The Batavia, which is pretty exciting.
yesterday during my free-ish period, my boss called me (he was out of school). So i take the call in our staffroom (with other teachers nearby) and he says, "first off, this has to be very confidential..."
and then he offers me the position of Assistant Team Leader & tells me to go home & think about it and give him a ring later on that night to talk about things. obviously i needed to keep it on the sly.
meanwhile i'm busting with excitement, so i ran to my classroom & called Jed on my mobile and *squeeeeed* for about 3mins.
called Rich later on that night & we had an in depth discussion about it.
i am concerned primarly because there WILL be gossip. people WILL talk about this and talk about me behind my back. we had a SHIT of a year last year because of our Team Leader who was a fucking psycho (very nice person when not your BOSS) and she appointed an assistant TL as well, but it left a fucking disgusting taste in everyone's mouth (the process, not the ATL).
so i thought about it all night and talked to jeddy in depth about it. stopped in at the Deputy principal's office & had quite a talk with him this morning. First thing he said was that a lot of ppl were going to have something to say about this.
the reason for this is:
a) our EX team leader is also in our office and has this fucking huge inferiority complex and hates being relegated to inferior 'teacher' mode. she insists that she has a 'position of authoritah' (somehow) and even tho she is super nice to me, i know she is also SUPER threatened by me as i am half her age and although i do not have a Masters, i DO have as many other qualifications as her. she is always very vague & mysterious about how long she's been teaching & i know it's only a few years more than me. at the end of last year she approached my TL and demanded to be the ATL for 2008, but he thinks she needs to do something other than managing.
b)i am young-ish
c) there are other very suitable people in the team, who ALL have career aspirations as well
d) there are other much older & very competent people in the team who would appreciate being approached with the opportunity.
so. i talked to Mike in depth about this.
at lunch today, when most of the team were sitting around the table, Rich made the announcement. he was EXTREMELY diplomatic about it and explained the process & how it was hurried & how he discussed his decision in depth with his deputy etc etc.
then he announced that i was the new ATL & there was about 1 second of 'cheer', which is fine.
but... i know i'm being sensitive & i know that as a 'leader' i need to make sure that what ppl say about me just washes off my back, and in a position like this people WILL talk about me and about how it came to be and i KNOW that the ex TL will have a fucking TANTRUM about it (but rich is dealing with that, not me).
anyway, i drove 1 hr home with patrick tonight and it was like a big pink elephant in the car with us (he's one of the older, more experienced teachers & prob would have appreciated being asked...) and not a single word was said about it!!!! and we normally say EVERYTHING that happens in the day.
and when i left the office, Cath totally blanked me! omg. i KNOW she's got a lot of shit on her plate at the moment, so i'm not going to let it stress me.
meh, as i said before, i cannot let that stress me and i must be above gossip. this is really a big/HUGE opportunity for me and a very fucking big stepping stone so i really need to embrace this as fully as possible.
a nice thing tho - i've currently got a student teacher, and after work today she said that when Rich was talking at lunch about having a new ATL & the qualities they needed etc, she thought i'd be perfect for the job! so was pleased i got it... how sweet!
Assistant Team Leader doesn't really mean that much tho. i don't get that much more $$ and i don't get extra time (tho i already have a reduced teaching load because i am in a consulting role in the school), and i am going to get A SHITLOAD more responsibilities. but it does mean i get experience & a sort of 'position' (tho not much of one) in the school.
i'm pretty excited about it, but i know i really have to focus on keeping my nose to the grindstone & not worrying about what others say. i'm pretty reasonable and get along with everyone, which is prob another reason why rich asked me... but still.
we're going on an excursion tomorrow, to the Fremantle Jail and then to the Shipwreck Galleries to see The Batavia, which is pretty exciting.