Cherokee Trail Elementary! 1/13/2022 Week 2:
Week two started off similar to week one in that I had trouble tracking down the bagel delivery. This time they had switched locations last minute because the store the order was originally set at had such a staffing shortage they could not complete the order on that morning. The bagels were delivered within the 15 minute window and the delivery was made by another store manager that had been up since 3 am.
We met Marie at the door and set up the display of bagels and schmear in their teacher lounge just before 8am. We saw a young man that looked fresh out of college report as a substitute and Marie mentioned that he was one just two that day which was not bad considering the recent circumstances.
I try to see the positive in every situation, and while today’s staffing issues make that hard, it is very apparent that everyone is being called on to just do a little more, sometimes a lot more. While a couple years ago this process may have been easier and cheaper for us, a situation in which we may be paying more and having to follow up more on order status and eventually may have to pick up orders ourselves, it is the result that matters and we are willing to do the extra legwork. Then from the manager’s perspective, I am sure he’d prefer to be at his store, making sure things are running smoothly, or even trying to interview and hire more staff, and I am sure he wasn’t delivering bagels himself a few years ago.
More importantly are the schools, where everyone’s best interest is to keep kids safe and then to make sure they are getting the instruction they need. Marie has to juggle so many things everyday, and now the increase in need for subs, for tracking who is out that day, alongside all her normal duties. Then of course there are the teachers that everyday fight of a pandemic in their classrooms, at home, and are told different things everyday. They are unsure sometimes who to rely on, who to believe, and what to do that is best for themselves, their family, and their students. Then if they need a day off, or are sick themselves or a family member, they can’t find subs to fill positions. This all added to their true job description of teaching a myriad of subjects to our young generation. And then there are the subs, who are willingly filling positions in this time, for such little pay.
Yes, there is a lot of stress, a lot of frustration and it is all warranted, but what we can try to choose to see is a lot of good people, meeting in the middle and figuring out how to solve little crisis after little crisis together.
Next up 1/20/22 – Prairie Crossing Elementary
