Today was very good on some fronts. My friend Mary, who is working on her masters in instructional technology plus media specialist degrees at Fairfield Univ started a 15 week internship with us today. She has done some really interesting grad school projects (including matching up GPS curriculum standards with appropriate current reference books), so I am really looking forward to having her with us. I need to get her times to go over to CMS and WMS to look at their facilities, definitely watch the Hobbit in action in booktalks and maybe storytelling if that falls on the right days, and maybe go watch the Fisherman teach a couple classes to get a sense of how things are similiar/different in different schools. Definitely have to introduce her to Christopher Robin downtown too. Mary will be done a year from now, so there may well be opportunities coming up -- the Hobbit will be retiring about then.
Mary's son Jackson was in Jake's preschool class, and he's big on the Pokemon nonsense too, so we definitely have to get the boys together for a couple playdates.
Went and spent 45 minutes in OFL's office this afternoon to talk over options of what to do about the Eeyore situation. As the title says, it was the answer that wasn't an answer. I told him about the conversation we had, that it was disturbing to me, and that I wasn't sure how I was supposed to work as a partner with someone that I really felt I couldn't trust (in terms of not hesitating in the least before throwing my ass under the bus). He seemed pretty shocked by that. She blew me off again this afternoon for the inventory we both agreed needed doing -- Friday it was the playdate, today it was some nebulous "appointment". She left at 2:45. She did arrive early today to cover the AM shift because Kanga was out for a comp day, but I had told her Friday we REALLY needed to do the inventory today if she wasn't staying to do it Friday. I know she has a reading PLP tomorrow, for which she has not read the book (announced that today with the usual "oh well, someone else will have read it" attitude). I am sure that will preclude her doing anything requiring responsibility once again. I told him she had found three checks from staff for bookfair, told me that they were in the drawer first thing this morning, but had not bothered to bring them down to Joan herself for deposit. I had asked Joan if she'd come down with anything, and the answer was no. I suspect Eeyore doesn't want her name on any deposits.
OFL thought that I should continue to try to make things work as a partnership, starting with a guilt trip tomorrow about how she blew me off two afternoons running to do something we'd both agreed was necessary and we should do together, and how if this is a real partnership then she has to pick up her end of the stick and get a move on. Beyond that I am supposed to keep track of what she actually does (shades of Cynthia) and what I do. This should be a lot of fucking fun. He told me I am a "big personality" and maybe she thinks she is overshadowed by me, so maybe I should be encouraging teachers to ask her to do things for them. I'm honestly not sure who to ask -- I have teachers who have specifically said they do not want to deal with her. He did say that perhaps she might be better suited at a more limited level (read: different level school), but that we should make every effort to work this out.
If that doesn't work --well, I asked him to think about how what the line in the sand was going to be ... how much is too much. I hope we don't go there, but after what the Good Doctor put me through at CMS, I need him to know I have limits as to what I will put up with. I don't know where the line in the sand is yet for me, but I know it's not too far off.
Weird tidbit of the day -- In college, OFL dated Eeyore's sister (a very successful school administrator now, who according to OFL receives rave reviews for everything she does). She never mentioned to him while they were dating that she even had a sister. Hmmmmmm. Anyone else think the shrinks would have a field day with this one????
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