Argh, well my pet issue of the last couple of years came to a head today.

I just spent 3 days in an in-depth training to become a trainer in the system we use to evaluate and improve our programming. There are 10 training sessions that we are qualified to train in now. We spent a month doing weekly homework, webinars and assignments. It was real work even with my 6 years of experience in this program. I was able to spend less hours because I read really fast and it was familiar. We should have put in about 6-8 hours a week on this program. I really didn't have time but I have been asking for years to do this training so I definitely took advantage after I asked again and got accepted.

The point of the 3 day training was to actually do practice training with a partner and get feedback. We stepped up to it over the days, I was given a partner, I got to choose the topic I wanted (Reframing Conflict) and we had a couple hours the day before to put together our training. My partner was someone that I had hesitation about. She works in my department, does not have as much experience and I have some concerns about her work. Basically the least qualified person I could be paired with, and I have been very positive and encouraging thinking that would help. Our presentation was terrible honestly. I overtalked at first, then caught myself and stepped back for her to do her part. She told me I had done her part and so I went on to the next section of the power point. Well she actually had not done her part, the content. We were just missing that. She also could not say the name of the workshop correctly, she kept saying Reframing From Conflict. In our feedback session the observer pointed out that had another meaning. I think to have done better we would have needed many hours and walked through it from beginning to end where I did quite a bit of teaching in the process. She was having difficulty tracking what we were planning and remembering so a lot of our time went there. After the missing content part and trying to recover I know I went downhill. I am really upset, I wanted to work on my training technique and learn how to do some things better. I guess this lesson was more about working with others. I feel this pull to be helping and understanding. I have been doing this since I was in elementary school!! They didn't have a difficult enough (math, reading, science) program for me so they had me tutor and work with others, I could read the materials at least twice in the time given and just entertained myself, I turned in my math test 2nd so I would not upset anyone after the teachers talked to me about how the boys felt. I was put in group projects that everyone wanted to do with me because I would make sure we got an A. I don't want to care about how others feel that much! I don't want to tutor or train someone without any recognition! I have a lifetimes of making other people feel good and I just want to let myself be upset that she was not prepared, and that when I sensed this unpreparedness I overstepped.

So the snobby thing, If I have not already sounded like a snob, I have had this issue with some people we have developed from within directly from site staff. Many of them do not use professional or educated language. It is an issue I have only brought up with one person and we agreed there was no way to address it. I honestly have no idea how to address it respectfully, however I know that when the observer corrected her use of the title of the program that is the only time I have ever seen this happen. We never correct or offer support on speaking and presenting, and then we send our people out to make an impression on the school and parents and the larger afterschool community.

Day 3 of no patch also,