Dirty dirty politics

Entry 24: Wednesday, 15 December 2010

One party over and I set myself in preparing for another party.
Every fortnight we have a team meeting in our group rooms and this Thursday, I was supposed to have it in my group room. It being also the last meeting of this year and also because I always like to give an extra touch to everything that I do, I decided to make it special by planning Indian food from a restaurant and decorating the table in lavish style with plenty of gold flowers, gold table cloth and red candles.

I was really very excited.

Then came the blow.

Ingrid told me she has cancelled the meeting.
“What?’, I cried. “Meeting is cancelled?”
“Yes” She replied in her characteristic brutally blunt and violently rude tone.”Meeting is cancelled.”
“But why?”
“Because there is nothing to discuss.”
“But I have sooo much to discuss regarding the Christmas Play.” I protested.
“ You can talk to teachers on your own. There is to be no meeting.”

Everyone in the Kindergarten was as shocked as I was on hearing that the meeting has been cancelled for a reason that is so obviously an invalid reason because having a meeting and discussing vital points about that day is the need of the hour.

The truth is so ugly. Ever since I took on the play, I immediately became a hot favourite with the parents and children and this has been too hard to digest for Ingrid, Marcella and maybe a few others, who hate all the parents and prefer to think that all parents always hate all the teachers no matter what teachers do. Marcella openly hates my popularity because the same parents who abuse and criticise the other teachers actually pay reverent respect to me.

Ingrid has no doubt deeply regretted many times that she allowed me to have the play. The parents and children are so excited and happy about it that she cannot cancel it but she can make things difficult for me which is exactly what she is doing. She has refused to make me free for taking practices, refused to provide me any teacher to help me out, deliberately occupied the teachers who were free and biggest of all she has refused to provide me with essential things like mikes, stage props etc. And now cancelled the whole meeting itself…!

I was so terribly upset and wanted to resign immediately but I guess I shouldn’t be rash and stupid. I have decided to carry out the play with or without any help. I am capable enough to do it alone but thankfully Mark , teacher in 4th Group and Annie, assistant teacher in baby group, are still helping me out and in any case I cannot break parent’s and children’s hearts. I do feel like telling about this ugly behavior to the parent’s committee which respects and loves me a lot and the committee would immediately confront Ingrid and ask explanations but I don’t want to make things uglier than they already are. As it is Harry is about to get transferred and we may have to go back to India in just 2 weeks time, so I think it is better to depart with respect than suspicion and speculation. I do not want teachers to refer to me as someone who complained against them to the committee even though I know they deserve it fully.

Dirty dirty politics…!

No news about Harry’s project extending or any new one starting. Means we are going back to India after all…!