After many years in the workforce and having watched my fair share of low budget, poorly made videos I have finally been sexually harassed.
No, not by someone I work with. I work with all women. By a parent, and a female parent to boot!
I'm fairly oblivious when a guy flirts with me and even if I do catch on I usually doubt myself and don't engage. So I'm sure you can see a very obvious homosexual male would never even think a woman would hit on me. But and sadly it happened.
I so wish I could say this was a joke or that I'm doing anything I possibly can to get attention. But I'm not.
I was asked out on a date by a female parent of a student that I don't teach. She had it all planned out and told me she even had a babysitter.
Naturally I panicked after it hit me that she wasn't playing a joke on me and my brain quickly shot back with “Oh I'd love to but my boyfriend is getting home from the city and we’re going to spend the weekend together!”. I'm sure it came out sort of howler monkey sounding but I didn't want to hurt her feelings or make her feel embarrassed that she couldn't tell I'm gay.
I hold no dilutions about people being able to tell I'm gay. I don't even have to bat an eye lash and people know. I fall into several of the stereotypes: loving Babs and Cher, my favorite color is pink, I wear skin tight pants…I could keep going but I think you get the picture.
Well I thought I had dodged that bullet until the mother took a small issue and used it as a way to scream at me and almost hit me in front of children.
Then the texts started coming.
Not the kind you'd expect either.
She sent me text after text about how I wasn't actually gay and was pretending to be and what a horrible person I was.
I didn't respond. I simply sent them to my boss.
Our Halloween party came and went and, once again I thought the issue was put to rest.
Wrong!
She sent me more texts like the first one and then started sending me inappropriate pictures of herself.
Now I wait. I wait for this clearly unstable young woman to call the state on my school and fabricate stories that will be investigated and come to nothing other than a waste of everyone's time.
Which brings me to another issue I hadn't really considered until today. Why is it that in the field of child care you are guilty until proven? Why do parents always have the upper hand and teachers like me are at their mercy?
Yes I'm aware that the children belong to their parents and by no means am I saying or implying that a parents isn't entitled to their opinion. I'm just baffled by the inequity.
The way our country handles accusations with teachers is ridiculous.
If a child should go home and talk about their day with their parents and the child says something that could be interpreted as something reportable why don't parents speak with teachers and care givers first?
I've been working with children for years and any intelligent parent would talk to the teacher first.
I've always loved working with children but their cognitive ability to verbally recount the day is usually non existent. For example, every morning I ask the children what they had for dinner. Out of the group one can remember. They now know that I'm going to ask this question yet still don't have the ability to remind themselves to commit to memory their meal. This is age appropriate.
I guess I'm lucky in a way. It's been a very long time since I've had a parent loath me. I just wish this particular parent had let myself and the educators fully do our job. We are suppose to be a support system for them.
This entire situation is beyond words.
I will say that if she calls the state on where I work I will destroy her. Where I work now is one of the best schools I've worked at. I know if she does call the state anything she says won't be able to be taken seriously and all we be unfounded. But if you're going to poke a tiger be ready to be pounced on
No comments:
Post a Comment