Down with fever...and disappointment

Until Saturday afternoon I was in perfect health. The weather was fantastic with 23 degrees and completely sunny with sparkling blue skies. We went out to look for a new cycle for H and for myself, then had a bit of a lunch in a typical German farm house, then to the city center to buy somethings, then back home. And then suddenly within an hour I was down with fever and cold.

I was a bit disappointed to be unable to go to the kindergarten when I so much wanted to. I had to report to Mrn how wonderful and successful the whole week had been. I wanted to see how she and Jnn would react to this or what faults they would pick owing to their nature of fault finding.

I was aware of how I had been labelled by them as irresponsible for reporting about my absence at 8.30 instead of 7.00 or 7.30 (and I couldn't inform in time as I was under sedative meds)
In every other kindergarten where I have worked before, it was sufficient to call in the morning between 8-9 a.m. to report that I wasn't coming. In this kindergarten you are supposed to inform as early as 7.00 or 7.30 plus send an email to a bunch of people.

Not wanting to invite any further labels of irresponsibility, I Smsd Mrn on Sunday on her private cell, then mailed all the required people officially. Even after this, the next day Monday, I SMSd Mrn again in the morning at 7.30 on her private cell, then called Jnn on her private cell to inform that I wasn't coming.
Not sure what false allegations Jnn might find for the last week's activities, I also mailed to Mrn a concise report of last week about everything that had happened.

Later in the day, Mrn sent me a curt almost to the point of rude email that next time when I have to report sick I have to do it ONLY on the group cell phone and NEVER on private phone. Furthermore, in one of her messages she said that even though I had mailed everyone it was important that I ring personally and inform as "one doesn't often check one's mailbox." Imagine this coming from her who told me I could have checked my official mail at home.

 Yes, I do understand that official reportings have to be made officially which I did and in time. But if you have to inform someone on a weekend then how do you do it other than smsing on private cell number? And besides, she always did say to all of us that she was reachable on her private phone at all times even when she was on sick leave or a holiday.

Her rude email has left me with a bitter sour taste in my heart. She just doesn't like me and anything and everything good that I happen to do just heightens her displeasure with me. Not a nice situation to be in for sure...

Loz's Birthday

Yesterday was Loz's birthday. Neither of us were in a position to do do much as regards celebration because of being just two in the group. We just sang birthday song for him and in the afternoon I made his birthday crown with the help of other children. He had baked muffins in his baking workshop which served as the  birthday snack.

Mrn called to wish him happy birthday which was obviously diplomatic of her. Jnn didn't bother to do any such thing.

This whole week the group has done extremely well. No mishaps...no complaints...not even those tit bits of accidents that punctuate a kindergarten life such as, falling, hurting, fighting or wetting.

There's a girl in our group who is since three months on potty training. She forgets to go to toilet and wets herself - sometimes three or four or more times a day. Jnn has professionally learnt health education but is totally void of basics such as these. Yes, of course, ignorance is not a crime, but if one is ignorant and brags of being an expert it certainly is a bit of a crime; even more so when such a person even starts accusing other better workers of being something like fools. Jnn had never been able to devise a solution for this situation on her own, her greatest feat being correctly dressing or changing the children. She would grow irritated but still change them a hundred times if needed, without trying to solve the situation. This is hardly the way to train a child.

When left on my own in the group, I just took simple steps to ensure that she didn't forget to go to toilet and devised a reward program which was just drawing a star on the back of her palm. In the last five days this girl hasn't wet herself a single time. Today her parents came to me and were so happy with this. They have started a similar program with her elder brother (in yellow group) who is on potty training since more than a year and a half and still regularly wets himself leading his teachers to believe that he must be lacking sensation in his lower body. Talk about experts!!!

And soon the last day of the week drew to its end too. This was, without a doubt, my happiest week in this kindergarten. And not surprisingly for Loz too. He too admitted that he has been very happy this week, the way he hadn't been since a long long time. "I actually enjoyed myself so much this week; I worked totally carefree and happy without any stress or tensions even though we were just two in the group."

I have warned him to take care of certain things when he is around Jnn or Mrn, for example not lingering extra on his breaks tidying up the room properly and especially noting down his activities or other self related information in our daily register so no one, not even Jnn could say he didn't do so and so thing.

Mrn and Jnn both will be back on Monday. Loz himself will be on leave on Monday and Tuesday and will be back on Wednesday.
How I'm dreading Jnn's and Mrn's return! They both are such big 'kill-joys', such wet blankets....

An unbelievably nice day today

Mrn was supposed to be absent just for two days but today she rang to tell us that she won't be coming the whole week due to still being ill.
And what a nice day it was without Mrn the morbid or Jnn the dreadful.

In the morning Jnt from the yellow group came to help us out. She is a good jolly natured person who doesn't seem to mind smiling affably at others. She stayed with me till Loz arrived and after that Loz and I were alone with nine children and the whole day passed with touch-wood no mishap and no fear and restraint in our hearts.

In the afternoon, after nap time, the green group had to go for meeting. So their group of 16-20 children were split between our group and the yellow group and we managed together with no problem at all.
Loz commented that he felt very happy and relaxed after having talked to me yesterday. Just like me, he noticed too that despite just the two of us with nine kids that later became fifteen kids which is more than we had ever had in this group before, we hadn't experienced any tension, stress or even difficulty in managing the day - something which is impossible to imagine with Jnn who constantly complains of stress, stress stress and tensions and difficulties even when there are just five kids with four teachers.
If she were present today she would have died with her stress..!

Long after I had returned home from the kindergarten, I received a call from him informing me about the transport strike tomorrow. Although this time I had received ample warning from all quarters through mails and messages, I must say I rather liked this kindly and helpful gesture of his; so unlike the previous incident last week when Jnn and Mrn both proved to be so brutally unhelpful.

A heart to heart meeting

Today Mrn was sick so she went home leaving the group to Loz and me alone. Jnn is on holiday this whole week.
I must say, it was in a way relaxing to be able to work without either Jnn or Mrn around. While Mrn seems to tell us without telling that she knows best and we are nearly fools, Jnn watches with an unsuspecting eye only to report not only each ounce of oxygen that you inhaled per minute but also if you inhaled other gases which you were not allowed to. Watch dog of the boss!!

The whole day went without a mishap - something which never happens here naturally because of Jnn who makes sure she has something negative to say.

In the afternoon, we had our meeting - just Loz and me alone! Ulk was supposed to join us later.

First I talked about a few children related points and then when my points were finished Loz he wanted to discuss a particular matter related to Jnn. And he slowly and a bit hesitantly opened up his heart to tell me how he was getting sleepless nights because of her.
"I don't know what's her problem. Why she seems to single me out for doing this kind of thing. I believe she is a quite nice person and is good with her work. But on many occasions in the past and particularly in the last 1-2 months she seems to report things about me that I haven't even done. At first I listened in silence without arguing or refuting her because I found arguing ugly. But now it has become a routine that she says bad or untrue things about me and what is worse all the others have even started believing her, so no matter what I say in my defense they are still going to believe her. The latest example is last week she reported me to everyone that I left the kindergarten with children playing in the garden without being supervised by any group teacher, without informing Jnn. This is not true. I told her not once but twice."

I heaved a great great sigh. "I know exactly what you mean, Loz. You are not alone in this. I am in the same boat. I have a whole long list of things she did wrong but nicely blamed them on me letting others think I am no good. Just like you I too did not like making things turn ugly by arguing but this only spurred her confidence for lying. And recently I have noticed that she has started watching us and reporting us, and most of the times she reports absurdly wrong. She has become great friends with Mrn and the others and they all seem to trust her and believe that she is a poor hard working lamb while we are hideous wolves just waiting to grab our paycheck and do everything wrong or nothing at all in the kindergarten."

We talked for nearly half an hour over this matter and decided that we shouldn't keep quiet about it and must discuss it with Mrn and request her to a least verify her claims before believing her reports.

Jnn was crazy today

Today Jnn, Loz and only I were present in the group. Mrn was on her leave; she is always either on her paid leave or sick leave or taking her overtime down which again means absent. When does she work then? And how the hell does she get so many over hours without working?

Well, so Loz went with some kids to the park, while Jnn and I stayed behind in the group. For some reason Jnn looked and acted extremely irritated. I asked her two three times if she was okay or everything was okay with her. She promptly said yes but continued to look like an irrascible grandma ready to fly off the handle. She left the children in the inside room alone while she sat down outside to write a lengthy documentation work something that we are actually supposed to do only during our free time.

Usually the day Mrn is absent, Jnn always rushes to finish her work as soon as possible. Today she was particularly crazily rushy
She not only woke the kids up from their nap a bit too early but also ordered the children to sit down for snack a full half hour earlier than everyday. That's when almost as if the kids decided she needed to be taught a lesson. First Pl knocked off his glass of water and got himself and the child sitting next to him wet. She irritably scolded him and changed his clothes. She wasn't even half finished with this work, when another child dropped water on himself in the same fashion. I began changing this kid, when Em knocked off her glass and got herself soaking wet. Jnn changed her, brought her back to her chair and the next moment, Em knocked her partner's glass full of water again getting herself as well as her partner wet. Jnn couldn't believe it happening. She changed her again and this time Em poured water from the jug all over the table!

In total, she was changed four times just one after the other and Jnn was ready to pull her hair out of her scalp.
"Jnn, we ( not we,only she; I wanted to be polite) should not have made the children sit so early for snack that too with water in front of them. It's our fault."
"Its good we made them sit so early, considering so much of time that we have spent changing so many children so many times."

She is such a moron....

Public Transport Stike

Today as I waited for my usual morning bus with H at my side I was a bit puzzled to see neither any bus nor any other passenger like me waiting for the bus. S rang to tell me that today was a public transport Strike. I rang the Kindergarten to inform them. Ulk advised me to take a taxi which would be paid by the school. I rang the Taxi service but there were NO taxis available, all having been already taken. I kept trying  incessantly for the next two and a half hour but no success. Finally I decided to stay home and mailed my absence.

The next day, Mrn asked me how was I going to adjust my yesterday's absence. I could use it as my overtime or take a leave.
"Let me think, which would be better." I said thoughtfully.
"Ya, think about it-" She replied a bit pertly which made me look up sharply." because the kindergarten can't pay for this day when it is your fault. The school had duly informed you about the strike."
"Mrn, I am not asking to be paid for this but I got no information. Ncl sent me the official  mail on my official id at 2.38 pm. I check my official mails only in the school. At that time I was in meeting together with you all and Ulk until 3 pm. Then I went home. I didn't see the mail until today morning."
"But you could have checked your official mail at home." She reiterated somewhat irritated. " Or you could have walked to the school; the distance is not so much that one can't. And by the way, Jnn says you knew about the strike."
"Whatt?" I cried. "No, that can't be true. I did NOT know about the strike."
Jnn stepped in super calm and cool and confident."Yes, you did. yesterday I was talking to Nkls discussing the strike and you said yes, you were also aware about it."
"NO, I didn't. If I knew, do you think I would fake it?"
"Oh man," Mrn threw up her hands in irritated dismissal. "You decide whether you knew it or not."


I was hurt and deeply insulted on an issue that I hadn't even raised.

I had 5.45 hours overtime and I decided to take that.
"This will make you half an hour in minus. Is it okay?" She asked. This means you will need to do half hour extra today."

I went to Ulk and asked her to calculate my extra hours. It turned out Mrn had calculated my extra hours (deliberately) wrong. She had put me in minus hours even on my medical leave!

I suspect she has been calculating my work hour deliberately wrong. No matter how more I work, I always show up in minus.

Mrn is pregnant

Today as soon as I went to the group, Mrn took me to the staff room and broke the news to me that she is pregnant. This is her forth month. I was happy and congratulated her and extended my full support and help to her if and when she needed. I wasn't exactly surprised; the load of fruits and juices and special teas which she had lately been bringing with her to the kindergarten had made me suspect that she was probably pregnant.

In the afternoon, we all four had a dead serious meeting with Ulk who formally discussed this pregnancy and asked us if we wanted to know something more. We were asked to write down our questions , feelings, impressions and fears on separate pieces of paper and then talk about them. When we all had done that, Ulk collected all the paper notes, threw them to us in a mail and said that the meeting was very productive.

Mrn will be going on maternity leave in August. Jnn looked a bit shaken and bewildered. She seemed to be araid of the new changes this pregnancy could bring about in the group. Well, so am I...a little bit...! I mean, now Mrn is going to be a good deal absent from the group which in other words means Jnn is going to get a free play - free play or a substitute; and neither prospect is heartening to say the least.

Zlt thinks the same too

Today, I was out in the park where I met Zlt. She is a poor, not much educated Bulgarian single mother of a sixteen year old daughter. She came to Germany three years ago, quickly learnt the language due to her hardships and established herself totally owing to her grit and mantle. A true struggler, I call her.

She obtained a job in this kindergarten as a child carer just a month and a half later than me.
I normally asked her if she was feeling better in Grch's group; earlier she was in Sbr's group.
"Well, certainly I am not brimming over with happiness." said she sardonically. " Nobody smiles here or is a friend of anyone. Some of them seem to think they are experts and nobody else knows a thing. So many times I have seen people smile to someone's face amicably and sneer the moment his back was turned. I don't feel like coming to this place to work. It is depressing and oppressive. It gets on my nerves..."

So I am not the only one who thinks about this place in this way. I had begun doubting myself.