Sometimes we (I) get screwed unintentionally. Events, choices and circumstance (luck?) manage to combine in ways that just work me over in the worst sorts of ways, completely without intentional design, malice aforethought, or evil intentions. This is the life we live, and sometimes it just sucks. Fortunately, that is not the majority of the time, just occasionally, when these black stars align and the pieces fall into poor and undesirable order.
When that happens, you pray, you dig in, you regroup, and you perform damage control to the extent possible. You also do all that you can do to ensure that this particular set of circumstances never conspires to work you over again in this same way. Sometimes you kick your own butt because your foresight was defective, and you did not see this coming in time to head it off. Sometimes you are just a leaf floating on the flood, and there wasn’t anything you could possibly have done to avert the disaster you are now facing. Sometimes you are a parent, and you are watching disaster careen down towards your beloved child, and you can clearly see it coming, you have warned them, and they just have to learn for themselves. I was that kind of kid, too, at times. Sorry, mom and dad, that I was once too stubborn to listen and learn from your experience and wisdom.
Well. I did see this one coming, there just was little I could do to avert it. Some of the choices I made earlier, before this loomed on the horizon, tied my hands. At my work, there is a huge software program that handles, literally, every aspect of school functioning: human resources, accounting, inventory, lesson plans, standards, parent/student communication, discipline, staff, faculty, records, report cards, etc., etc., etc.
I am new to the school this year. Because I am multi-subject certified, and want to help when there is a problem, I finished this year not only as the school’s educational technology coordinator, but also as a FULL-time teacher, and a part-time administrator of this new software package. Because I have fresh eyes, I found several problems with the way our school had previously, years ago before I was hired, set up our courses. These problems mean that every report card for the last two years for both middle school and high school is wrong. In more than one way. I mean, like leaving out entire classes from student records that students took, PLUS incorrect calculation of student credits accrued towards graduation. These are not small, insignificant errors.
So, I asked to attend the international training conference for this software package that handles all of our stuff, where the errors are that I found. My school agreed to foot the bill for this, usual practice when a staff member undergoes professional development training specifically for the school. I asked for this since I was an assistant administrator on this software package, and I knew I needed to know more than I currently know about it. The other lady at my school, who is the knowledgeable person on this software, had been to the conference previously, and did not want to attend again. First hint. She also refused to commit to returning to our school for the upcoming year. Number two hint (and all that pun implies).
WHILE AT THE SOFTWARE CONFERENCE, another conference attendee from another school nearby, who used to work for the school where I work, told me that she saw a Facebook post from the software administration lady at my school celebrating that she got a new job in the USA. Poop. Shirt, shoes and sox. Dookey. Other scatological references galore. I do know what this means.
I am the only staff member from my school in attendance at this learning conference. There is no way my school can get someone else here for this training to take over the administration of this program for our school – I am it. I know I am going to be handed the administration of this Goliath software program on a silver platter, for at least the next year, in addition to the other duties I already shoulder. Crap. Scat. Coprolite. Feces. Every word on this website, times two. http://www.poopnames.com/
There is the slight possibility that the school will hire someone to do this administration instead of me – and perhaps the person will already be familiar with the program. Slight chance. Slight. I did have hints that this was coming – I just don’t have the resources to take a bunk like she did. I literally do not have the money saved to be able to relocate, in spite of attractive job offers in other schools, in other countries. *sigh*
Time to suck it up. hunker down and dig in – all of which is disgusting, considering what it is that I am sucking up, hunkering into and digging up.
Dirtdaubber Wasp 