"it's coming from the top"

i am one of those people that doesn't fare well with abrupt confrontation. really, i don't like confrontation at all. and when it takes me by surprise and is delivered with a bark, it shakes me to the core. such an occurrence happened this morning at school. without getting into too many details, i was barked at about something that i had no idea was an issue at school this year. the bark was followed by a few more words to drive the point home even further...i guess. not being a good recipient of this kind of confrontation, i nodded my head and somehow managed to hold back the tears. i went back to my room and tried to regain my composure before the arrival of eleven 4-year olds. in this process, i tried to remember that this person typically does this sort of thing without thinking and there was probably something that had happened earlier this morning that caused said going off on me. and in my moments of reflection i was also struck with a more meaningful thought. how does a child i am teaching feel if i bark at him or her just because i am having a bad day? how does that child feel if i overreact in a situation and he or she is totally caught off guard? i may know that i didn't mean to hurt the child's feelings but he or she does not necessarily see it that way. hmmmmm.

i will say that not too long after the incident, the person came and apologized. thank goodness. because the email i was composing in my head did not need to be sent. several overly nice gestures continued to follow the apology throughout the day.