Jinxes and Cooties

Remember the third grade? Someone could give you boy germs or someone else's cooties, and you could pass them on to someone else. If you said "No Returns!" you couldn't get them back again from someone else in the chain.

I'm in a Cootie Free zone, right now. No give backs. I'm passing on the contamination, and it can't come back-- I won't allow it.

My job used to be fun-- I remember waterfights in the staffroom at lunch. I remember one Prince who even brought us in some "fruit punch" after a late-night fun fair. I remember getting rolled down the hall on an AV cart. I remember monthly pot-luck lunches and staff parties and gift exchanges.

I remember joy.

And yet....the lip-service is all there. We hear it all the time, the need for leadership, the need to *embrace* the skills and talents of our colleagues, the need to play, but I sure don't see the follow-through.

Why did I stop being able to rise above the politics and low morale? When did I start just putting one foot in front of the other and mindlessly Zombie-ing my way through the day.

It had been coming for some years-- I had tried to transfer out of there when we got this Prince. It was bad enough our school had become the dumping ground for retiring-- or should be retired--Princes at the end of their career, but this one came with some bad baggage.

In fact, the warning bells rang loudly when one day after his imminent arrival was heralded we, the staff, received a card from the staff of the school he was leaving......a sympathy card.

His movement from one school to another in the district over a period of 10 years belied the real pre-requisite for advancement here-- complete incompetence is what is needed. That and of course, the ever present "who you know".

It's pretty hard not to be cynical when you see who does get hired and advanced and accommodated.....while you sit on the outside.....hoping your luck changes. Because skill, talent, education, attitude and ability are not enough, apparently, when you are up against frank nepotism in an army of sycophants.


Gee...do I sound bitter? I guess that's because I am...