The Loss of Comfort
I feel really bad to say this, but working at Sylvan just doesn't feel like the same thing anymore. It doesn't feel like the same welcoming, homely place anymore. When I walk in there, it feels cold. The only familiarity I have are people like Nicole, Molly, Nick, and Ahmed. Every thing else there has changed. I thought that when the new director came, things would be the same, or maybe even more fresh. I never thought that every day I would wish to walk in and see Mazzy back to rescue us. I don't know what it is or if I could even pinpoint exactly what it is, but all I know is that something about the new director rubs me the wrong way. Sometimes she seems alright, but there are other times where she is loud, obnoxious, controlling, and downright not "education" material. I always have thought that people in education have a certain attitude. They are the kind of people with warm hearts who not only care about what they do but also care about the people around them. They are people who are easy to approach and they won't make you feel scared to ask for what you want and need. This new director is this IN-YOUR-FACE kind of person who doesn't seem to have a grip on what is really important. She walks in and just basically takes over. The shopping days and game days are all switched around, some people were telling me they lost hours, there is this lack of personability, and she just doesn't connect with the center. It seems like she rubs in the fact that a room was out of order or that there were things in the attic like birthday cards for the kids or teacher awards. It is almost like she is implying that Mazzy didn't do her job or that she is going to do better. I wish I could just tell her that regardless of what wasn't happening in terms of what she sees as right, we were happier and much more comfortable working in our old environment. I don't think it is just me. I can see it in the eyes of some of the people I work with. I can even see it in the eyes of some of the kids. People want to know who the heck this woman is and who the heck she thinks she is. I think with her kind of attitude, she should be working for some big company haggling and nagging at people. She shouldn't be working at a learning center where we are supposed to be positive people helping out children who are strugging in school.
I guess the thing that really pissed me off was that she decided to schedule two meetings in one week and said they were mandatory. She was acting as if we didn't go it was going to totally ruin everything. The thing this woman needs to understand is that most of the people working there are students or hold other jobs. I think it is fine to hold a mandatory meeting one time in a week, but not two. You can't tell people it is mandatory that way. I have class on Wednesday night and I also happen to have an exam that night also. There is no way I can skip that and go to the meeting. I can go to the Tuesday one, but not the Wednesday meeting. There are other people who can't either. She says the Wednesday meeting is to train for the BR program, but what she might not realize is that the people who have been working there longer than three weeks have most likely been trained in BR up to three times like I have and we don't need any more training. Maybe what should be mandatory is that all of these new teachers who are being hired need to be required to go. I know the BR program...I just lack enough students to practice the technique of using it. So no, I'm not going and she shouldn't make anyone who has been there long enough feel obligated to go either.
Well, I guess that is enough venting. I like most people, but something about her rubs me the wrong way. I don't feel the same comfort there that I once felt. I do feel alright on Fridays and Saturdays, but on Thursdays, it just feels wrong. I don't feel the same support system that I felt when Mazzy was the director. Frankly, this new one blows and I guess my personality just clashes with her's. Hopefully I can look past it one day or maybe I will get lucky and she will leave.
I guess the thing that really pissed me off was that she decided to schedule two meetings in one week and said they were mandatory. She was acting as if we didn't go it was going to totally ruin everything. The thing this woman needs to understand is that most of the people working there are students or hold other jobs. I think it is fine to hold a mandatory meeting one time in a week, but not two. You can't tell people it is mandatory that way. I have class on Wednesday night and I also happen to have an exam that night also. There is no way I can skip that and go to the meeting. I can go to the Tuesday one, but not the Wednesday meeting. There are other people who can't either. She says the Wednesday meeting is to train for the BR program, but what she might not realize is that the people who have been working there longer than three weeks have most likely been trained in BR up to three times like I have and we don't need any more training. Maybe what should be mandatory is that all of these new teachers who are being hired need to be required to go. I know the BR program...I just lack enough students to practice the technique of using it. So no, I'm not going and she shouldn't make anyone who has been there long enough feel obligated to go either.
Well, I guess that is enough venting. I like most people, but something about her rubs me the wrong way. I don't feel the same comfort there that I once felt. I do feel alright on Fridays and Saturdays, but on Thursdays, it just feels wrong. I don't feel the same support system that I felt when Mazzy was the director. Frankly, this new one blows and I guess my personality just clashes with her's. Hopefully I can look past it one day or maybe I will get lucky and she will leave.