Why I Am Leaving

I have a secret. A big secret, and I am keeping it to myself. The reason why I am keeping it to myself is because you have a big mouth. In addition to the gossiping, your lack of support to other staff members is ridiculous. You are technically the assistant director, however, as many staff members know, the only reason why you have your job and title is because it was created for you based on the fact that you are friends with the right people.

You always tell us (the staff) to call when we need you. That is a load of crap. When the cook needs you to support her, you act like you are so busy, when in reality you are either sitting on your butt or in the administrator's office, where you spend the majority of your time. The cook has a disability that prevents her from exceeding a certain weight requirement. Every Tuesday, she has to put the entire food order away because you won't help her. You are aware of the disability, however, you choose to ignore it.

When we (my co-teacher and I) had a toilet that overflowed several weeks ago, we called you to assist us in cleaning it up. You said that if you came back there, you would puke and we would have to clean it up. The mess sat for twenty minutes before you sent in another teacher to assist us, when you could've done it yourself. That is part of the job as assistant director: filling in for the center director on her off days, and supporting the teachers when needed. During this twenty minutes, we had to greet parents as they came to pick up their children, conduct a learning center, supervise the children on the other side of the classroom, make sure the mess (which contained poop and pee) didn't spill out into the hallway, re-route children to the other bathrooms in the hallway and make sure all the children were safe. Had you been in there, things would have been a lot smoother. Instead, you ignored us and our needs, demonstrating your lack of being a team player and support for the teachers.

Aside from the fact that you don't appear to be a team player, the thing that really gets me is how bad you gossip. Your favorite target is me, and I believe it was you that told the director about my lack of listening and communication with the parents in my room. I was told that several parents came to the director and complained about this, however, the week that they supposedly complained, she was on vacation - how could they complain to her when she was gone for a week? I honestly feel in my heart that not one person complained; I do feel that I may have said something that was taken out of context, which was mentioned to you by a teacher, and you added way more to what was said than needed. In other words, you added things to what I said to make me look like a bad teacher.

I am so sick of you. Really, I am. This past week, I took some children to lunch and swimming on my off day with parental permission. When I arrived to pick the children up, I am told by my director that several children were upset that they couldn't go, and that one child broke down in tears because she thought it was a popularity contest to go swimming with me. That was not the case. Anyone was welcome to go with parental permission. I felt really bad for thinking that I made a child cry, and was tempted to change my mind about going since a child was upset. I had fun swimming, however, in the back of my mind, I wondered if what I was told was true.

I talked with the cook and both school age teachers, who told me that NOBODY cried or was upset. Once again, I was lied to by my director, who I believe got the supposed information from you. You opened your mouth once again about me, making me look like a bad person because only certain children were allowed to go with me.

If I went to any member of administration with my concerns, it would be denied, so I am not going to bother. I think I have it figured out why you keep talking about me: you are jealous. The reason why you are jealous is because I can text/call your neighbor anytime and ask her if I can take her daughters out. You and your neighbor are friends from what I heard, and pretty good friends at that. I think this eats at you, and you are using this jealousy to spread gossip and get me fired. I think you are waiting for me to do or say something that you can use against me because the day I took your friend's daughters shopping a few months ago, just like last week, it got on your nerves.

Thank you to the office assistant who made me feel like less than a person a few weeks ago. You are aware that I am in the classroom full time right? Or does that not matter to you? It didn't most recently, and to be perfectly honest, not acknowledging the fact that I am a teacher in my classroom was the lowest thing I have ever experienced in my entire career. I wanted to thank you for that, and I look forward to you leaving at the end of the summer when school starts.

My secret? I am leaving in two weeks. I am leaving teachers that I love and admire, parents who are wonderful, and children that I have seen grow over the last three years. The reason why I am leaving is because of you, dear "assistant director", due to the fact that I cannot work in a place where I am constantly made to feel bad about myself. I also cannot deal with the gossip and the fact that I cannot trust my own boss anymore. However, when I am asked why I am leaving, I will say that I found a job with more flexibility, better pay and more hours. I will keep the fact that your gossip as the reason why I am leaving to myself.