Chronic Complainers are Drainers!

Though I love my job, I really get frustrated with a few of my coworkers. They are constantly complaining about something. For Marathon (one of our school fundraisers) this year, we asked the kids to bring in $40,000 for our school. If they succeeded, we (well, technically the Marathon committee) agreed to have an all-night slumber party in November. Well, the kids raised $43,000 for our school, so our all-night slumber party is set for Tuesday, November 24. Well, I will say that most the staff is okay with the sleepover (myself included). While they admit they would rather be at home snug in bed than on a cold floor with 20 munchkins, they know it's for the kids. However, there are a select few that will find every reason imaginable to complain about it. "I have a student that sleepwalks, so I don't want to be responsible if anything happens to her," "I have a thing about sleeping over at strange places, so the latest I can stay is 2," "Last time we did this, I got no sleep and strep throat the next day!" "Do we get compensation for this?" and my favorite, "What time does the sleepover start? I'll be sure to book my flight to see my daughter before then so I don't have to go!" The people that should be complaining-3 teachers with toddlers, 1 teacher who just had major surgery, or our principal with a 7 year old and 3 year old, are smiling and even looking forward to it (a little).

It's really hard to be positive when people are complaining, particularly when you are hearing these complaints daily. I actually went in and talked to my boss the other day about my frustrations. She listened, like she always does, but this time, she actually did something about it. At our meeting on Thursday, she said to everyone that ultimately the sleepover was her decision and if people have a problem with it, they need to go to her. Otherwise, she told them to keep their comments and opinions to themselves. So, now there won't be people complaining about that, but it's only a matter of time before they're complaining again. What'll be next-accelerated reading, recess duties, walking children out to the bus-who knows?