The Rumor

Ms. Tanner stepped up to the copy machine right after Mrs. Grayson was done. They gave each other a hurried smile as Mrs. Grayson walked away with her copies. When Ms. Tanner leaned over to scan her key fob on the machine, she saw that Mrs. Grayson hadn’t logged out. She noticed that a few items had not been printed, and one was titled “Letter of Resignation.”

Quickly, she logged Mrs. Grayson out and logged herself in. As she waited for her own copies, she couldn’t help wondering why Mrs. Grayson would want to leave the school.

Her curiosity grew all day. She watched Mrs. Grayson for any sign of discontent. And then she wondered if perhaps a very happy countenance (or one of relief) would also indicate that Mrs. Grayson really was leaving. The next day, she was still distracted with the “secret” that she knew. She wondered if Mrs. Grayson had spoken to their boss yet. She wondered when Mrs. Grayson would announce that she wasn’t coming back in the fall. She wondered why Mrs. Grayson had made the decision and what she planned to do next. It was while she was having lunch with Mrs. Alexander that she finally shared what she knew. “You’ll never guess what I found out,” she said, whispering even though the two were alone in a classroom.

“Okay. So, tell me then,” said Mrs. Alexander. She didn’t have time for guessing games, and she wasn’t sure that this was going to be very big news anyway.

“Mrs. Grayson is leaving.”

“What? No, I don’t think so. She’s been here for over a decade.”

“Well, she is,” said Ms. Tanner, pleased with herself for knowing something her colleague did not. After that, it was easier for Ms. Tanner to tell another colleague. And of course, the gossip spread.

It was very unfortunate that the principal of the school heard it even before the “news” reached Mrs. Grayson, and Mrs. Grayson was somewhat surprised when she received an email from the principal, Mr. Parker, requesting a meeting. She was even more surprised when in that meeting, Mr. Parker asked her if she was in fact planning to resign. And she had no answer when she was asked if she had any idea why her colleagues might think she was. She was happy with her job, and she had no plans to resign.

Mr. Parker said, “I believe that there was something about a resignation letter that someone claimed to have seen.”

Mrs. Grayson was confused. “A letter? I didn’t write a letter of resignation.” And it was uttering those words that gave Mrs. Grayson a hint. “Wait a minute. Letter of resignation.” By this time, she had printed the letter. It was a template that she’d shown to her life skills class when she’d talked about work and how to leave on good terms. This took only a few minutes to explain to the principal. When she was done, she said, “But I just don’t see how anyone would think that I was resigning. Even if they saw the template, they’d see that it was only an example. The company and the supposed author of the letter are very obviously fictitious. I used the name ‘Batman’ and had him retiring from Heroes R Us! As you know, I like to add a little humor in class when I can.”

“Well, I’m just glad that you are staying with us. Thanks for meeting with me today. Would you like me to send out a staff email to clear this up?” He asked.

“Yes, thank you,” said Mrs. Grayson

I’d like to say that Ms. Tanner learned a valuable lesson, but she did not. She didn’t really see herself at fault. Afterall, she hadn’t even meant to see what she had seen. And it was perfectly natural to make the assumption that she did. She assured herself that she shouldn’t be blamed for the misunderstanding.

As for Mrs. Grayson, she used the experience to create a very useful lesson plan about Rumors in the Workplace for her life skills class.