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A little unsteady.

The sadness of work.

By Summer RaynePublished 2 years ago 9 min read
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When I was 18 I left high school to become an early childhood teacher. I worked hard and completed my Cert 3 and Diploma hoping to become the best friend and educator to all the beautiful little children that came through the centre but I was so very wrong.

When I first started working at the centre, my boss was extremely nice to me. She made me feel welcome by helping me with my assignments, showing me the ropes and how to respond to all the different needs of every child.

After a couple of months, I started to see a different side to my boss. She came across rude, would raise her voice at me for the littlest things and would make me feel a little bit uncomfortable but I thought maybe she was just having a hard time, so I ignored her poor attitude and continued educating the children.

A month or so after that our manager had some concerns that another educator (Jess) and I were unhappy at the centre and decided to ask us what was going on. Jess explained that our boss is being quite rude towards us and was making us feel uncomfortable. I didn’t say anything as I was still new to the centre and didn’t want any trouble.

The manager decided that she needed to bring this up with her and so they had a meeting in the office. When the meeting was done, our boss walked out and called us both outside. We had only stepped a foot out the door as she began yelling and swearing at us for “talking about her badly.” I stood there shocked as the director of the centre swore and yelled at us. She told us to write a letter of resignation and leave.

The next day I arrived to the centre at the same time as Jess, we walked in together and our boss came out of her office and walked up to us. She hugged Jess and said “I’m so sorry for speaking to you like that yesterday.” Jess explained that it was okay and my boss turned to me, looked me dead in the eyes and walked away. She never said nothing to me, not an apology, not even a word. I decided that I would just forget about it and let it go.

After 19 months of working at the centre, I ended up with anorexia. I was extremely unwell but I showed up to work everyday because in the past when I had taken a day off, she spoke to me rudely on the phone and because of that I sucked up my pain and exhaustion and went to work. I never complained once about my mental health but one day while I was sitting in the sandpit with a group of children she approached me and said “you look disgusting, I want you to leave now and don’t come back until you sort yourself out.” Confused and upset, I said nothing and left the centre.

The next day she rang me and said “I need you to come back to work, one of the girls called in sick.” I put my foot down and replied with “No sorry I won’t be back until I sort myself out like you told me to.” Angry she hung up on me.

After a week, I decided to go back to work as she was constantly ringing me and asking me when I was coming back. I still wasn’t well but just to keep the peace I went. She forced me to eat every morning when I arrived to work, I found this to be a bit much and it made me extremely uncomfortable.

A couple months later I put on a little bit of weight but I was still very skinny. I felt pretty good tho so that was the main thing. I always went about my day, educating the children and planning follow on activities for their developmental needs and interests.

It was a Monday morning and I set up the outside area, ready for the children when they come out. I made a small slide into the sandpit using a wooden walk board. There was an A frame in the shed that we are meant to use for the walk boards but I didn’t get it out as I had hurt my shoulder that morning before I came to work and I was setting the yard up on my own. I was in the sandpit playing with a group of children and my boss came out and asked me “why didn’t you use the A frame like you were meant to?” I replied with “because I hurt my shoulder this morning and I couldn’t get it out of the shed.” She gave me the filthiest look and said “No it’s because your f*cking lazy.” I looked at her and she said “If you had used your brain, you would have asked someone to help you.” And then she went back inside and slammed the door behind her. I put my sunglasses on and sat in the sandpit crying but still playing with the children so that no one would notice.

A few months after that, the other educators and I were playing with the children. It was winter so we all had to be inside by 4pm as it was to cold for the children to be outside. We worked together to pack up the yard. Another educator and I took the children in while Jess locked the sheds so that I didn’t have to go back out there and do them before I locked up the centre at 6pm.

I arrived to the centre the next day and my bosses mother (she works in the office a couple days a week) came up to me and asked “where you on lates last night?” And I replied with “yeah I was.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me out the back door and said “well tell me why there are still balls out and not packed away.” I explained to her that we were all outside packing away and I took the children inside while the sheds got locked. She looked back at me with a filthy look and said “that’s no excuse, your on lates.” She walked back inside and slammed the door.

Towards the end of the day, I was in the staff room completing my assignments. She came into me and said “you wanna make sure you pack everything away tonight!” I turned around and replied with “I will but you need to understand where I’m coming from, we were all outside packing away…” she cut me off and said “I don’t have time for this sh*t, I have an appointment.” She grabbed her bag and left. After work I decided to ring my boss to let her know what had happened between her mother and I because I didn’t want any drama. As soon as she answered the phone, she started abusing me for back chatting her mother and she said that I was in the wrong. I said nothing and she hung up, I sat at my dining room table and bawled my eyes out.

The next morning I arrived to work and nothing was said about yesterday. So I went on about my day.

A month or so after that, my boss and her mother decided that they liked me now. They made me coffee every morning and were weirdly nice to me. I continued to do my normal activities as I knew that they would turn on me again.

Jess decided to resign. She worked every shift with me and my boss couldn’t find anyone to replace her so she worked her shift with me. Every morning she would come in and go off her head about the way the centre looked and said that it was all of our fault. She took every bit of anger out on me because I was the one she was with the most. I began to get use to her rudeness and bad attitude.

A few months after that I found out that I was pregnant. I was so stressed about tell her because she’s not a very nice person to be honest.

When I was 13 week’s pregnant, I decided that it was time to tell her. I arrived at work and asked if I could have a word with her, she walked over to me and I said “I’m just letting you know that I’m having a baby, I’m 13 weeks today.” She looked at me, said nothing and walked inside. An hour or so after that she came outside and said “I don’t agree with this because I expect you to be here longer but there’s nothing I can do about it now.” I was disappointed with the reply I got but I wasn’t expecting her to be over the moon about it.

The next morning I came into work and she asked “how are you feeling?” And I replied with “yeah not to bad, just really tired.” And there it was, the reply that I wasn’t expecting but wasn’t surprised of, “you should of used a condom.” She said. I just walked out of the room and didn’t talk to her for days. I have put up with a lot from her but that was to far. She crossed the line. I was upset and explained to my manager that I was unhappy with her, “she’s not supporting me and she’s making me feel uncomfortable.” My manager spoke to her about this but my boss never brought it up with me.

A couple days later one of the kids fell over and their tooth went right through their lip. I took him inside to my boss and said “can you have a look at this, I think it might need stitches.” She looked at me and walked away. Like are you serious? I was standing there with a crying child who had blood running down their chin and she walks away. I took the child to the manager and she assisted the child.

The next day when I got to work my boss said “you wanna know why I didn’t help you yesterday?” I just looked at her and she said “because I make you uncomfortable so don’t bother coming to me with your questions if that’s the case.” Then she walked away.

A month or so after that she told me that I was only able to have 6 months off after I have my baby and then I have to come back to work. I told her that I will be having 12 months off work and I’ll come back if I feel like it. I was sick of the way that she treated me.

Towards the end of my pregnancy, she was making it really hard on me. She was trying to make me lift things that I shouldn’t be lifting pregnant, made me stand up on chairs to hang things up on the wall when she was standing right there and could have done it herself. I know what she was trying to do, she was trying to make me resign so that she didn’t have to pay me maternity leave.

I had no intentions what so ever to go back to that place but I didn’t resign because I wanted her to pay me my maternity leave. I worked there 4 years! I earned it. She didn’t like the fact that she couldn’t try hard enough to make me resign.

I’m still getting maternity leave off her now and I won’t be resigning until I get every last cent. She messed with me and gave me hell for 4 years. I’m glad I never have to go back there. I got out and I couldn’t be happier.

heroes and villains
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About the Creator

Summer Rayne

I’m Summer Rayne.

There’s not really a lot to say about me, I’m abit boring but the things you will read on my page will not be.

I don’t have any certain things that I write about. I write about all different things.

Anyway I hope you enjoy!

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