Work Rant No. 4: the boss drives me nuts.

I generally like my job, except for the insane coworkers. And the idiocy of some of the parents. And the insanity of the office politics...

Well, let's say that I like teaching the kids and I hate almost everything else. That could cover most of it. The boss, who has been rather middle of the road, if not an indifferent figure in my view of the day, has added herself to the list of people who irritate me.

I have a clear understanding what Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is. It runs rampant thru my family. It is only by luck that I don't have it myself. Many of the children I work with show signs or have been diagnosed with it. I frequently use what I learned from my mother for how to cope with a child that has this disorder. It is part of the reason why people will put me in the rooms with the hard to control kids, because I manage to keep the room under control.

So, when I took a parent aside and spoke quietly with them, I made it clear to her that this was not in my capacity as an employee of the day care. I explained to her that my observation was based on my personal experience and what I've learned from my family's history of ADD. It was from one woman to another, and she understood this. This parent then spoke to the boss about the possiblity that her son had ADD.

I then get a lecture from the boss later about how I can have those conversations on my own time, but that I couldn't do so with the parents that bring their children to the center. I wasn't a lead teacher or the site director (read the boss here) and I didn't have the authority to make those statements. In my defence, I stated that I had made it quite clear that this was a personal observation and not reflecting or endorsed by my employer to the parent. At which point the boss said in a rather patronizing tone: "That may be true, but every 2 year old is a candidate for ADD."

It was more then just the tone of voice that made me angry. It was the statement itself. ADD isn't something that suddenly develops when you're of school age or when you turn three. It's a problem that is present all the time, it's a question of how the brain is working. A child with ADD will have a short attention span, have low impulse control, and seem like their "go" button is pushed all the time. They're very smart kids, usually, but they can't make themselves sit down and apply their smarts fully. They get bored half way into the project, even if it is a 10 min project.

These are qualities that you will see in a child as they begin to interact with their environment. You will see it at any age. Even adults exhibit the symptoms of ADD. Some people use the example of how you're channel surfing in your brain, unable to stick with one thing. Either way, you've got problems concentrating on things for a long time. Adults may have a better time controlling it, but that's only after years of effort. Children don't know how, so they're easier to diagnose.

Most 2 year olds will sit down to listen to their favorite story, or at least stay in the general area. They usually will follow simple directions or sit and play with toys for longer then 3 min at a time. They will have a fairly easy time focusing on you as you talk to them. A child with ADD is alot more on the go then your usual 2 year old.

But, because I'm not a lead teacher or the boss, I must be wrong. Never mind the multiple years I've put in to understanding this on the very real possiblity that I may have a child with ADD. Never mind the experience I've built up working with the kids with ADD, especially when no one else wants to do it where I work. Those things just don't count because I don't have the right job title or more letters after my name.

Some days, I really despise the people I work with.