Thirty years ago this week I began my dream of being a preschool teacher. I had made the decision at the age of 4 that I would grow up and become a preschool teacher and I would be a nice one! I shared much about that time in my post “Sticks and Stones can break my bones but words can hurt me too.”
I was a whopping 19 years old when I first began teaching and quickly there after took on the responsibility of being the acting director. I never really intended to become a Preschool Director but financially it made sense and the reality is that I love to be in charge so it was a great fit.
All these years later and I am still working at
my second school and still loving what I do. I assumed my work would involve loving and teaching children, dealing with tuition and supporting parents and staff. I had NO idea when I began that my world would be filled with many moments when I simply had to shake my head and laugh. So in honor of my 30 years I decided to share a few of my crazy directing experiences.
My disclaimer is that the stories I am about to share took place in my LAST school, not my current one!!
I think one of my favorite stories to tell involved a teacher who I will call “Jane”. “Jane” had worked for me for about a year at the old school. She was polite, loved kids and worked very hard. The school was set in a quiet residential neighborhood and was surrounded by homes. One Saturday I received a call from one of the neighbors complaining of loud music coming from the preschool. I thought that was kind of odd and decided to go and check it out. Sure enough the windows were open
and I could hear music coming from the playground. I quietly went outside and could see the “boom box” sitting on top of the jungle gym. This jungle gym was wood and had an 8′ high platform with slides attached and was surrounded by a 6′ tall fence. Those numbers became very significant when I realized that on top of that playground structure was “Jane” and she was sunbathing……. completely nude! Oh my goodness gracious I saw more of her that day than I ever wanted to see!! I called to her and as she stood up (ugh) I could hear other voices and realized that the neighbors were all out in their backyards! I am sure you have already guessed that “Jane” had just enjoyed her last day on the job!
A few years later I hired in a very nice girl who I will call “Stacy”. “Stacy” was at times quiet and energetic but knew the name of every single child in the school. She seemed very engaged with them and really on top of her game. Every once in a while I noticed that she just wasn’t her normal self and seemed to have trouble remembering schedules and the names of some of my little friends. I chalked it up to her being tired or stressed. Imagine my surprise and joy when she told me she was pregnant and then
obviously began to show! We were all very overjoyed and things were going well. That is until the day she showed up slightly off and obviously not pregnant. Now I am no doctor but I do believe that it is hard to go from 4-5 months pregnant to a flat stomach overnight. I was thoroughly confused and confronted her. After a bit of a discussion I learned that “Stacy” was very pregnant but her identical twin, “Tracy” was certainly not! Yep, they had been switching off coming into work as needed! “Tracy” assured me it was legal as she had her units, fingerprints etc., but all I could do was shake my head and cut a final paycheck!
Many years later I had another employee, “Sally” who was simply amazing. Organized, responsible, reliable, awesome with kids and a fantastic closing teacher. She seemed like she had it all together until one 
Saturday night when I received another call from a neighbor. The neighbor was worried that there were many cars parked around the school and lights were flashing inside. I drove down to check it out and walked into the school. Inside was “Sally” and some of her friends with a ouija board having their own little seance. Yes, she too was finished!
My last adventure to share is the one that I think bothered me the very most. The other few I could find humor and laugh but this one was just weird. We had a new teacher’s aide who was fairly fresh out of school. I will call her “Katie”. She was having a hard time adjusting to the world of preschool and I honestly wasn’t sure if she was going to make it or not
. One day I received a call from her mom and was told that “Katie” had died the night before in an accident driving on Bear Creek Road. I was shocked and sad to hear what had happened. I shared it with the rest of the staff and let the parents know. As a school we were genuinely upset but working on moving forward. About 3 months later I ran into “Katie” shopping at Safeway. I looked at her and said, “I am so confused, your mom said you died.” Her reply was simple…. “I didn’t know how to quit a job.” UGH!!
The past 30 years have definitely been a wild ride and I can’t wait to see what the next 30 will bring!!