Attitude is Everything!

Some people just have the worst attitude...and they try to spread that bad attitude onto everyone they come across.

We took our students to Dixie Stampede. It was another reward they earned for doing so well on our state testing. We weren't the only school there, but we were one of the first to arrive and be seated for the pre-show.

Before we left, I assigned each kid a buddy. (It is much faster to count 10 groups of 2 than counting all the way to 20.) I told them that no matter what they weren't to leave their buddy. If one out of the two needed to go to the restroom, both partners had to go!

We arrived into the room where the pre-show was being held. The second row was open and I told my students to file in and fill it up. Somehow, in all of this, a teacher (whose class was sitting in the first row) decided to squeeze into my line and took a chair in with my students. This caused an issue because than one of my buddy groups was split up into the next row. I would have solved it right then, but it wasn't brought to my attention until much later on when all the other seats around us were filled. In fact, my students didn't mention it to me until this teacher had left the seat and it remained empty for about 15 minutes (I told you we were early) and all they asked was if their buddy could come sit in the empty seat.

I looked around and asked if they saw the person that had been in the seat. My students told me, "No." So waited about another 5 minutes before I went and grabbed the buddy that was misplaced.

Five minutes later, this teacher (We'll just call her, B.) approaches me. "I don't know what kind of manners you are teaching your students at your school, but they are being very rude!"

Me: "What? ...What did they do?" Out of anybody, I do not allow my students to be rude!

B: "I get up and leave for just a minute and they take my seat! That's just plain rude!"

Me: "Oh. I'm sorry. My students thought you had left and found a seat elsewhere. I can send that student back to the seat she was at. No biggie."

As I walked over to my student, I got a death glare from B.
I know I had a confused look on my face because I had just told her I would fix the problem and instead of a smile...I was getting a glare?

After I placed my student back to the seat she was originally in, another teacher from my school asked me what all of the rearranging was all about, so I told her what had happened.

About 5 minutes later, B. approached me again.

B: "Can we talk over here a minute? "

I look around to the jam packed room... and wondered where we were going to talk that young ears would not hear. I followed B. until she got to the end of the row where "her" seat was located.

B: "I have to say you are very rude!"

Me: "Excuse me? "

B: "What you did! What you allowed your students to do! All very rude!!"

Me: "I'm sorry. I don't know what you are talking about. There was a problem. You brought it to my attention. I solved the problem. How is that being rude?"

B: "Did you not just go talk about me behind my back over where my students could hear you?"

Me: "No. I had another teacher ask me what was up with all the switch-a-roo and I told her. I don't think that was bad mouthing you."

B: YOU are JUST rude!

That was my breaking point... and before I said or did something I knew I would regret later, I said,

Me: "No...You are actually the one being rude! Speaking to me like this in front of my students."

B: "I'm not being any ruder than you."

Me: "Then I guess we will just have to agree to disagree."

And I walked off.

She sat and glared at me throughout the whole pre-show.
I sat and laughed with my students at the pre-show performer.
I had a wonderful day there... not sure I can say the same for B.

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” ~Winston Churchill