I’ve been back in the classroom for two weeks and I’m still alive. I am pleased.
Teaching last year was horrific. I felt more like a warden at Alcatraz than a teacher. I still wonder if I managed to teach ANYTHING! Oh wait, there were those handful of students who told me “gee, I really liked this assignment.” So I guess I reached a couple. The effort that goes into planning a lesson is nothing compared to trying to teach that lesson to kids whose behavior borders on the absurd.
Ok. I’ll back away from that and just report that this year’s class is soooo much better. These are sweet kids. Really. Oh, they have their issues around behavior, and I deal with them swiftly, thanks to the strong support of the administration, but they are not mean spirited or disrespectful. I feel inspired by them to present well-planned lessons to them, whereas before, I just needed anything that would keep those hellions at bay so that I could get home in one piece.
I know, already I’m going back on my word not to talk about that old class, but man, you just don’t know how deep an impression they made on my psyche. I was reading online where someone was being a bit testy about the down time teachers have – summer, holidays, etc. School let out in May. I stood outside watching the last bus pull off asking “what the hell was that?” (referring to those ‘children of the corn’). I laid on my couch for almost two weeks straight. No joke. I was whipped – emotionally and mentally. Plus, my voice box ached.
Anyway, back to this year. As expected, I have a mix of abilities, but it seems the majority of them are teachable, in that they listen and respond. All I ever needed was just a little participation. I seem to have more than a little these days. Thank you God. I have to thank Him because He knew I needed to know that kids like this still existed.
Update: I quit teaching.
