Day 9

Today was supposed to be a good day, since I've only have a Year 11 IT class last lesson.

Although when I finished school today, I felt pretty irritated. Not because by students, but because of a colleague.

It is not her personally, but I felt that she is always undermining my authority as a "teacher" in the school context, especially if she was talking to me in front of students. Up to now I still feel quite irritated by it, as it just didn't happen today but yesterday as well, so I guess the built up of it.

What happened was apparently I made known to a student in my class that i know what he said to the other teacher about me, being lenient on him and let him out of the class 5 mins early, which was untrue. Anyhow, apparently i was pulled aside and with the student as well, the 3 of us discussed. She talked to me as if he was one of our friends and told me basically not to tell him what she's told me about him; sort of like dobbing in a friend but don't let him know about it. The reason i told that student what I know, so that he knows we teachers are transparent and that we don't take favourites or whatever. I jsut wanted him to know in my class, I don't want people to lie about me giving them early points to leave class early (he snuck out of class to another class in the lib). ANyhow, today another incident where I can't remember what, but it was like very minor thing. But she kind of told me off in front of the student/s (apparently one of her favourites). Oh yes, I remember now. I told the students whom i saw at recess that next lesson, i will have parents' phone numbers ready because some of them are slack in class with their research assgn and it's due next week and some haven't even started. What's more they have been mucking around in class. So this teacher's "favourite" students are in my class and so happen she heard what I told them (as in giving them heads up and that I wanna see work done next lesson; otherwise there will be a phone call home). She is like 'Elizabeth, u r mean. Be nice to them. etc' in front of the students. That really pisses me off as she is supposed to be acting like a teacher instead of joking around with me in front of the students. What's more, her comments aren't joking as I know she thinks i'm being harsh on them. Which I think I am not being harsh (just by getting phone numbers ready). Anyway, she told another teacher in front of me, like as if she is telling on me that I'm a mean and harsh teacher =.= I just feel pissed and irritated by the fact that she can't treat me like a teacher and she sides with her favourite students. It doesn't matter if she tells me what she thinks but in front of students where she makes comments like that, I feel crap cos she is cutting my authority in front of the students and that pisses me off. Teachers should be supportive of each other and to joke in a way like that is not teacher-like and not a good role model for students as well (to copy that kind of behaviour).

She is a nice person but I do think she has a long way to go in order to get her act together as a professional educator in terms of professional mannerism in a school setting.