A mild frustration at the preschool.
By The Horse
@TheHorse (206373)
Walnut Creek, California
July 6, 2022 9:23am CST
One of the things that frustrates me slightly at my friend's preschool, where I teach (and play child psychologist to kids with special needs) pretty regularly is that the other teachers, especially in the toddler room, speak mostly Spanish amongst themselves.
I can understand and speak some Spanish, but not enough to be involved in lengthy conversations. It makes me a feel a bit "left out."
But maybe it doesn't matter, as I spend most of my time interacting with the kids. Most speak Spanish at home but are open to learning English. I speak with them (the kids) in English with a few Spanish words thrown in.
Have you ever felt like an "odd man out" at work?
15 people like this
15 responses
@xander6464 (40891)
• Wapello, Iowa
8 Jul 22
The good news is that in only a few years, you should be fluent in Spanish.
1 person likes this
@xander6464 (40891)
• Wapello, Iowa
9 Jul 22
@TheHorse You're young. You have time to passively learn lots of languages.
I assume you already know Russian and several Asian languages so you can communicate with your Russian and Asian Brides...Or are you avoiding them because not being able to talk produces a happier marriage?
@RasmaSandra (73704)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Jul 22
Nope I was always all right at the places I used to work at in NYC but I did have some problems in Latvia when I started instructing people in English at various institutions and I had to constantly switch between English and Latvian and some of the admins there only spoke Latvian That was confusing
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (73704)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Jul 22
@TheHorse sure I learned Latvian as a child before I learned English, We were a Latvian speaking family at home,
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (206373)
• Walnut Creek, California
7 Jul 22
@RasmaSandra What other languages does Latvian overlap with?
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69409)
• Germany
6 Jul 22
I was the odd woman out from the first day of my teaching job. I speak standard German but live in a part of Germany where the locals speak dialect or at least have a strong accent.
At the beginning it happened that I couldn't understand a word when my pupils were talking German (my native language!) and I told them to repeat what they had said in English.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (206373)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Jul 22
It can be the same here with my Indian neighbors. They have so many dialects that they sometimes resort to speaking English when they can't understand each other. @Vandana7 can tell us what percentage of Indians speak Hindi or Punjab.
1 person likes this
@m_audrey6788 (58482)
• Germany
7 Jul 22
@TheHorse Yes. The feeling of being left out because you know little of the language 
@Torunn (8609)
• Norway
8 Jul 22
@TheHorse The only time I can remember when I felt really left out was when we were visiting a school in Poland and the organizer for some reason had forgotten that he could have sent me to a math class, so I ended up with a colleague in a biology class. In Polish.
Then I spent quite a lot of time just looking at people, 'cause I didn't really understand what they were talking about at all.
I could do English only or German only, and the Scandinavian languages should be OK. Not all the Nordic though, some times in Finland I think I should learn more Finnish.
@FourWalls (62425)
• United States
6 Jul 22
Odd man out? No, ‘cause I’m a woman. And I’d think you’d feel like the odd horse out. 
Yes, I’ve felt that a lot. It’s easy to feel that way while working as a temp. On the other hand, it was sort of refreshing because it kept me out of office politics.
Yes, I’ve felt that a lot. It’s easy to feel that way while working as a temp. On the other hand, it was sort of refreshing because it kept me out of office politics.1 person likes this
@JudyEv (326128)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Jul 22
Yes, occasionally. Mostly because I wanted to get on with whatever had to be done and the others weren't so dedicated to giving value to their employer.
@aninditasen (15746)
• Raurkela, India
7 Jul 22
I studied at a school where English was the medium of instruction and taught in such schools too. So never did I feel the odd man out.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (15746)
• Raurkela, India
8 Jul 22
@TheHorse English is my second language and apart from that I know my mother tongue Bengali, Hindi and Oriya.
@LindaOHio (157041)
• United States
7 Jul 22
Definitely. When I held my last management position I was always the outsider among "the girls". They made like we were buds; but behind my back they couldn't stand me. :-(
@ihasaquestion (8274)
•
7 Jul 22
You know what they say, the odd man out tend to be the smartest. And in this case, you are indeed as an educator. 
