Gossip

At the first center I worked at there was a co-worker I worked with who constantly gossiped. It happened in her classroom, on the playground, during her lunch break... One day she was on the playground talking in her little group when I happened to walk by because I was cleaning up toys before going inside. I heard her say, "Well, that settles it, Friday we'll have a teacher day." How this was any different than any other day I don't know...

If something happened at the center, you would know about it within minutes. She would either come into your classroom and tell you what happened or she would open the door, tell what happened and move on. It depended on the type of news and how quickly she wanted it known.

One day I finished changing a diaper and was on my way across the room to help settle the children down for nap. As I got to the door she opened it and said, "Did you hear?"
About this time I was walking by the door and said, "I don't care," and closed the door.
My co-teacher started to laugh and said, "You should have seen her face."
"Co-teacher, I honestly don't care. My life doesn't revolve around what happens within these walls."
"I know."

This center particularly had a big problem with gossip. I know gossip happens in any business setting but this was the worst I've ever experienced. This co-teacher is one of the worst I've ever worked with. It drove me crazy and I knew all kinds of things I didn't want to know and thought were private. I've always worked in any business I've worked in with the goal of keeping my private life separate from my professional.