Soap Opera

Sometimes I get so frustrated with things that end up taking away from the time that teachers spend in the classrooms. Case in Point:

A man came to school today to file a complaint. Apparently, his wife used to be one of the cooks that made the food for the children at school. As of April she quit and told the principal it was because she was ill. Her husband came in to say that he didn’t understand why she did this at the time because she wasn’t, in fact, ill but has since found out that it was because she was in love with one of the male teachers at the school and he now suspects them of having an affair. He wasn’t sure which teacher it was and had come to school to find out so he could deal with it.

Now “deal with it” in South Africa is a relative term. More likely than not it would involve some confrontation with the teacher that included a gun or some other weapon. Thus, we are now having a meeting during class time so the principal can warm the male teachers to be careful because she doesn’t want to the man to come during school hours to shoot the teacher.

I don’t think I learned anything about this situation in any of my training. My school has become a soap opera.