This is perplexing.
I knew the potential teachers Anna would have this year and Mrs. I.A. wasn’t one of them. In fact, this is her first year at Gloria Dei.
Paul and I had our little parent meeting with her, in her classroom (one of Anna’s old classrooms, in fact), while Anna happily dug through all the toys in the room.
She seemed tired and complacent.
We asked about the curriculum. We didn’t like the responses at ALL. To prompt any kind of creative response, I gave examples of what her teacher did last year. Her response is…”sure, I guess we can do things like that.” When I asked her what her science plans were, she pointed to an old plastic lone microscope and said, well, THAT’S what came with the room, so…” And she couldn’t give any real, fun, enthusiastic response to any questions we asked about the curriculum. It was “eh, sure, I guess, we could, blahblahblah…”
It gets worse, but if I rehash it I’ll get anxiety over it again. But let’s say I left the room ready to cry. Paul wasn’t impressed either but he did think I was stupid for wanting to cry about it. Excuse me, I’m a mom. Boo-frigging-hoo.
Even her room is awkwardly laid out, more like a day care than a little school room. What’s with all the toys everywhere, and those bookshelves are smack in the middle of the room, minimal neat, large open areas for real activity really. It’s like…cluttered and disorganized. And seemingly small. There’s a hint at attempted organization but it’s lame. Sorry, that’s just me. A gerbil is in the classroom. She didn’t even know its name, it came from the previous class and she was told it had to stay. Its name was written on the glass: “Peanut Butter.” I sat there wondering if she would feed it.
And I’m not picky over first class accommodations for my 3 yr old, but it’s my opinion that a room is a personal reflection of the teacher. Seriously. So then I walk down the halls and torture myself over looking into all the other classrooms she could have potentially gone to and they’re so cute and decorative and open and friendly, with letters on the wall and stuff. I.A.’s classroom does have a large picture of a hand-drawn/colored Jesus with his arms open and all the kids’ names around them. Which might matter to anyone else but me (I know, shame on me). And frankly, it’s kind of creepy.
So I talked with the director, K, after sleeping on it for a night. I asked her, “What did you see in her that made you hire her? Because we’re not seeing it.” Apparently Ms. I.A. has a BS, a Texas teaching certification, and a nursing certification (soon to expire). That’s all good and would usually impress me to some extent but I was surprised by my own inner voice rushing past that:, yeah yeah yeah, that’s nice, can you get to the good stuff?
K was surprisingly very open to listening to my concerns, very receptive and told me all the reasons IA was hired. Her #1 asset was apparently her creativity and enthusiasm for the kids. I’m sorry, seriously?? She said she knows she comes across as standoffish and reserved and she thought that during the interview too and actually placed her in the “keep going” pile based on that alone. But the parents’ committee interviewed her too and gave her really high marks and praise! And her past recommendations and lifetime of teaching experience were superb. K was convinced she was the right choice and by the time my meeting was over, I felt like she deserved a chance. I felt better the rest of the afternoon, in fact.
Then, on my way to pick up Anna, I ran into R’s mom. She stopped me to tell me she hadn’t had an interview yet with Mrs. I.A. but talked to her over the phone, after which she seriously wanted to cry (boo-freaking-hoo). I told her what I thought too and what K had told me. She said her meeting with IA is today and she’d let me know how it goes.
OK so I’m not the only one.
Then Anna wants to go see her new room again before we leave, so we peek in. Mrs. I.A. isn’t there but Anna’s old teacher from the 18month-old range (loved her) came in to ask what we thought about I.A. Like R’s mom, she asked with hesitation and seemingly leading-voice…what do YOU think…cautiously, not wanting to lead, but doing it. She specifically, cautiously asked: was she able to answer your questions about the curriculum and stuff? And I think: Ah-HA! So I’m not WRONG about being concerned about her not being able to answer questions specifically about the curriculum?!
Me: No, she wasn’t able to answer my questions and the ones she answered would have been better answered with “I don’t know”.
Her: Well I’ve gotten to know her and she does open up after awhile. It just takes time.
Yes. That’s what K said too.
Today, on the way to my truck after dropping off Anna (peeling her off, as usual), another mom stops me to ask me what I thought of Mrs. I.A. Again, this mom’s not happy and is on her way to talk to K. All the same concerns I have.
Look, is it just me? No, apparently it’s not. If all the moms talk to K, will they then start to feel better about I.A. like I did? Or am I just being too passive? Paul and I agreed to give this about a month or so of a chance before we start making drastic threats or changes because honestly, at this point, we have nothing but the 20 minute meeting to go off of so we have to be fair (and the lack-luster room). Let’s face it, there are 10 kids in the class. If we all hated it in a month, they’d have to DO something, but what COULD they REALLY do? Logistically, you can’t fire the teacher and find a suitable replacement in a pinch. You can’t move all the kids because there’s ratios to consider. I don’t know.
I don’t know how this will unfold. We will wait and see I guess. In the meantime, do you think she’d be offended if I went in there and upgraded that classroom a little? I mean for goodness sake.
If you’re wondering what Anna thinks, she asks to go to Mrs. IA’s class every day. We’ll see how she feels once she’s there. But since we have to peel her off of me anyway even now, we won’t be able to use her enthusiasm for going to school as a bench mark for judgment.
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