“Imagine a school of 2000 students, who are solely responsible for cleaning up after themselves.”
Mr. Ward, assistant principal, presents a scary scenario.
“It is so important that they keep the school clean; we could have insects, rodents, and even disease problems if it wasn’t.” Despite their importance, the custodians are judged too often without considering the vital role they play.
And in a school where people are constantly unhappy over one thing or the other, the people who clean up the garbage, mop up the messes, and sweep the hallways might just be the happiest.
Mrs. Williams, morning custodian at Leesville, loves her job. “I enjoy my job without a doubt,” said Williams. “I love getting up in the morning and coming here and doing what has to be done.”
Some people can’t stand being at school at 7?
Her average day would kill them.
“I get to school at about 5:30 and unlock the doors, check around the school to make sure everything is in order, and it’s busy, but it’s good,” said Williams. She continued “Mr. Long, the other morning custodian, and I then have to go to the cafeteria to clean up after breakfast, and then check around the hallways and answer calls to clean up messes of blood, puke, or anything really.”
Williams loves what she’s does, saying that she “likes to do what has to be done, some people have to do that, and I’m happy to.”
When asked if their was one thing that bothered her the most, Williams said, “When kids take the paper towels in the bathroom and mess with them; it makes our job a lot harder.”
Most kids around school just throw trash on the ground and think “oh well the janitors will take care of it because it’s their job,” but Mrs. Williams said that it was one of her pet peeves.
“The trash can is right there. It shouldn’t be a problem,” said Williams. “It’s not even that I mind doing it, but why do kids have to?”
She poses a good point. Mr. Ward agreed: “Part of being a good citizen is cleaning up after oneself. It is your job to do that and [the custodians] job to clean up after the school as a whole.”
For someone who has to clean up after 2000 people, Williams is very outgoing and joyful. “I get along with everybody. I’m a cheerful person and I don’t let other people bother me,” said Williams.
“I control what I can, and I don’t worry about what I can’t control.”
It’s that simple.
