I Can't Please Them All, and I'm Okay With That

So I had a really great talk with my colleague at my new job. She has been in the position a year longer than me, but she's been in the district a very long time. She's frustrated about many things, and it kills me that she really is all about the school. She cares so much, sometimes to a fault (if that is possible). She is such a kind person, and she really wants to please everyone. It seems to eat at her. I really enjoy working with her. She has a lot to offer me in terms of learning the job, and I like her a lot as a person as well. The conversation was interesting and enlightening. It seems that no one is pleased with the job we do, at times. There is one group of people who have circumvented me and gone straight to my boss twice without saying a word to me. Now I know that it shouldn't bother me. I'm new, and the woman who was in the position before me was a super woman who seemed to be perfect. They are used to her meeting them at the door with solutions to their problems and/or needs. I'm not holding myself to perfection, nor do I try to be everything she was to the campus. But I'm a pretty direct person. I admire people who come at me directly with a disagreement or a request for explanation. I'm trying to gain the credibility with the teachers on my campus. However, I refuse to do so by abandoning what I feel is right. I respect and admire people who stand for what they believe. I really want to understand their side of things. It's difficult to navigate situations that were developed long before I came along. I feel that I am doing the best job I can do. It is important to me to do what is best for kids, and that sometimes means making unpopular decisions. I am a strong enough person to handle this, and it is my hope that people will learn and understand that I am okay with agreeing to disagree. I can deal with people not liking me. I don't need affirmation all the time. But I would like to be confronted when I have made a decision that is not understood nor agreed with. It is my greatest wish to support my teachers. I have only been out of the classroom a month. I KNOW what it is like, and I have not forgotten that in the short space of 4 weeks. So I know that I cannot please everyone all the time, but I'm okay with that. I hope they can learn to be okay with it as well.

Just came in from a great time with good friends and beer. Can you think of anything better? (Sex does not count in this instance!) Remember to pray for me on Tuesday....