To be shocked to learn that a teaching assistant take drugs at the weekend?

[LesleyPumpshaft]

Like the thread title says. Found out she takes cocaine and E's when she her family have her kids, so does her boyfriend, the rest of the time she is a complete piss-head.

She has also kids and lots of people seem to like her. She has not been sacked, so is obviously doing her job at the school.

None of my business what she gets up to I know, but AIU or naive to be rather shocked by this revelation?

[squeakytoy]

yes but she didnt see her DS's TA, she was with one of her own mates..

If I was with clients or customers who know me in a professional capacity I would be much "better behaved" than I would be if I was just in the company of my personal friends.

[Goldenbear]

I know this is not what she saw, I'm arguing that I wouldn't approve of a TA doing this in her leisure time. Like I said it just wrong given the job and I would loose a lot of respect for DS's TAs If I witnessed such a scenario.

[DorisBoltneck]

It's not big and it's not clever....

[Birdsgottafly]

you do realise it is not actually illegal to TAKE drugs.. it is only illegal to be in possession of them or sell them..

So you your safe if you snort off someone's body part

[MrsKeithRichards]

She sounds nice, sharing the wealth and all that.

[akaemmafrost]

No I wouldn't actually. As long as she takes good care of my child when she is in her care I couldn't give two hoots.

[Oblomov]

OP: "I must have led a sheltered life indeed! "
It would seem so.

People speculating that Doctors and nurses are only functioning, not performing properly in their job. I can't agree with that.

People stating, as if its a fact, that all people have downers. I'm sorry I don't think that can be claified.
Some Mn'ers could get drunk on half a glass. Some can drink for england. Some get hangovers. Others don't. Some get downers after a drug. Others don't.
There is no evidence that this TA has a downer, that is effecting her work.

What is the EVIDENCE, that this TA even took said drug ? Op could present, what exact evidence, to Head/Police/etc, if Op decided to take this any further? Because I must be missing the actual EVIDENCE. Please explain.

[GirlWithTheMouseyHair]

There isn't any evidence as far as I can tell from OP and ehr subsequent posts...

I'm someone who throughout years of heavy ecstasy use never once had a come down maybe because I was in my teens and early twenties

I dunno, my friends are all hitting 30 this year and occasionally will splurge on a bit of coke at the weekends but nobody is drug taking like we used to when we were younger. Less disposable income now

I wouldn't judge the TA on what seems to be gossip, especially if she's doing ehr job perfectly adequately. Not sure where I stand on generally people in caring professions taking drugs but if I were to judge then I ought to be judged too - if they are able to do their jobs well I honestly don't see what business it is of anyone else's.

I was at my most productive during my drug taking years, but also suffered horrifically from depression throughout - was still able to do my job well.

[cricketballs]

The change in reflecting standards in my professional life does worry me; I am human! I like to have the occasional cigarette, I like to have a drink and enjoy myself. Whilst I am not condoning drug use, if it doesn't impact on her standard of work why should her personal life outside of her job (according to the op it is not doing) then why should anyone working in a school have to live like a nun?

[NellyJob]

I remember we met our reception teacher in the taxi queue on a Saturday evening and she was shit-faced, and was going 'oooh I love Nellyetta, she's such a honey' etc., actually it made her a bit more human than the stiff persona she adopted for the working week, bless her.

[doinmummy]

I find it sad that so many people think its ok to take an illegal drug .

[Goldenbear]

Well I haven't led a sheltered life so I suppose I'm wondering how a health professional taking class A drugs regularly can be anything other than 'functioning' in a work context.

TA and class A drugs, personally I think they should abstain. It is not asking much of a child care worker/professional to abstain from drugs- it is hardly akin to life in a nunnery!

I saw the Head Teacher scoring smack at the weekend AIBU in being shocked by this?

[McHappyPants2012]

it wouldn't bother me.

She is n't doing it in the toilets at school it is on the weekend.

[LeeCoakley]

Just musing on whether there are other 'pillars of the community' who get paid so little and shown as little respect ('I'm not getting that shit off your shoe, that's the TA's job'). You can't have it both ways! Personally I think we should just get a huge wad of cash every week. I'd try to live the life of a saint in exchange for a living wage.

[PeshwariNaan]

I guess I'm being a bit judgey here, even though I've done lots of drugs in my time including the two you mention. Coke and E are pretty hardcore party drugs IMO - not sitting around having a spliff with friends. A bit of pot on the weekend never hurt anyone (just my experience/ opinion - I don't smoke now but I think it's pretty mild compared to other drugs). So I think there is a difference between coke and E all weekend and other types of things. Just my opinion.

[FarrowAndBollock]

YANBU

[Joiningthegang]

Yabu

[whois]

YABU

Our of work she can do what she likes.

You might be surprised by the number of high achieving adults who take drugs. Bankers, polititions, teachers, doctors, dentists, nurses, psychologists etc etc. Drugs are not just for the unemployed chavs. It is NONE of your business what a TA does outside of school.

I love the hypocrisy "OMG people take drugs, they are awful people"

You do realise that alcohol is an extremely powerful drug? Drastically alters moods, loss of judgement, vision disturbance, memory loss, loss of balance e t fucking c not to mention the long lasting health effects.

I find alcohol to be one of the vilest drugs and don't understand why it is so socially acceptable, apart from the legality aspect. Excluding legality, I just don't see the difference between going to a restaurant and sinking half a bottle of wine and getting drunk or going to a club and taking MDMA, or to a friends and listening to music and having a few lines of coke.

[JockTamsonsBairns]

I'm guessing the TA's boyfriend must be on to an earner then, because she's not sustaining a coke habit on the back of her own salary that's for sure.

Also, the posters who have said they know about the effects of drugs as a result of dabbling in the nineties - forget it. E's that are going about nowadays are nothing like what was available back in the day.

OP, YABU. Beak out, and leave the woman to her private life.

[squeakytoy]

If alcohol were to be made illegal with effect from tomorrow, would all of you who drink it suddenly stop because it was "illegal".

Most drugs were once legal too remember...

[squeakytoy]

Jock, you dont have to be on a high wage to afford it really. If you only occasionally dabble at weekends, like most people do, and go halves with a mate, then you are spending about £20-£25.

[thebody]

Sorry if I missed a bit but you seem to have based this on spiteful gossip.

[Goldenbear]

Who are these high achieving professionals you talk of, can you name a few or are you just going on hearsay and 2hand conversation?

I love the fact that the hypocrisy line is always spouted in these debates. In reality a lot of people do not take drugs in isolation, it is often mixed with alcohol and other drugs making it much more harmful than a glass of wine.

[Anonymumous]

Well I don't think you are being unreasonable at all, but then I made a conscious decision in my teens that I was never going to use drugs or get drunk because I would not want my hypothetical future children doing that, and it would be hypocritical of me to try to stop them if I'd done the same thing myself! (I was a very long-term thinker...)

[squeakytoy]

GoldenBear, the poster is hardly going to publicly name people who she knows, is she?

And neither would I. But I know lots of high achieving professionals too who take recreational drugs, from all walks of life, and I know them because they are part of my own social circle too, so it wouldnt be secondhand conversation, or hearsay.