This new teacher seemed much easier to work with at first. However, if Nikki would mention me (usually in passing), she or the aide would give her a funny look. Like a rolling-eyes kind of look. Nikki really didn't feel all that comfortable in this new room, but she had to make the best of it.
A few weeks before Christmas, I arrived at the school to pick up Nikki. (We only have one car, and I had an appointment that day, so I took the car.) She wanted the kids to come in and see the classroom and meet the teacher and the aide. I came with them. Everything seemed fine, and we only stayed for a fer minutes. (The teacher is real cutie, hehe!) But... immediately following that, Nikki started having trouble with the teacher.
The teacher would tell her to do something, then tell her not to do it the next day. She would want things done a specific way, but when Nikki would try to anticipate for this and ask questions, she would get, "I can't tell you exactly what to do every minute of the day!" She would complain to Nikki that Nikki has no rapport and is not close with the kids. The children in that class don't trust anyone new.
Some of these kids go to different classes for certain activities. Nikki was told to go with the kids and help the teachers in those classrooms out, like if they needed help with a badly behaved student. The teacher soon told her that the teachers were complaining about her. She claimed they told her that Nikki was "interrupting the class" and so forth. Nikki would merely be standing by a wall, not saying a word. My sweetie is not the interrupting type. She's really quiet and unassuming, except around those she knows and is comfortable with.
Nikki asked all the teachers if they had any problem with her, and if she was interrupting in any way when she would bring a student into their classroom. They said that no, she wasn't... and had only nice things to say to her. Either they're not being honest, or the teacher that Nikki works with is lying.
There have been other scenarios, but I won't go into them all. Suffice to say, they are all BS. Because of this teacher's reactions from before she met me, and then the way everything started hitting the fan right after she met me... I'm claiming shenanigans. This is homophobia, pure and simple. (Possibly transphobia, if she somehow clocked me as being born male.) She's trying to get Nikki out of her classroom. She even went so far as to suggest to Nikki that she might want to find employment in another school, namely elementary. True, Nikki would rather work in elementary than in a middle school, since that's where her education is, but it's not hard to see where this teacher's true motivations are.
Nikki is really worried about having her reputation tarnished. If she's wrongly accused of not being able to follow instructions, or interfering with other classrooms, that might go on her employment record, and endanger the possibility of her finally having her own special ed class. This has been Nikki's goal for as long as she can remember, and to have it ruined by one homophobic ass would be beyond heartbreaking.
Nikki had an appointment with the principal just this past Monday. She said that Nikki stomps around grumpily, and doesn't interact with the students or faculty. Huh? She says "good morning" to any staff member she sees, and the teacher won't even answer her most of the time. She's also always helping the other students with their work or whatever else they need help with. Nikki is not the most outgoing person out there (and neither am I), but doesn't act grumpy at work.
I'm just hoping and praying that she gets through the next four months okay. Then she can go on to do her internship at another school, and possibly have her own classroom. My baby deserves better than this.
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