Last week was interesting. The beginning of the week was great, and I wrote you that long happy email about how much I love my job. The next day, things took an interesting turn. Ha ha. All that bragging I did and what a end to the week. :) Don't worry though, I still love my job. The principal was out sick Wed, Thurs, and Fri. We had several disciplinary problems occur while she was gone. There were some incidents of threats against a student, a teachers aide going a bit crazy and trying to boss all the teachers (she's a real "interesting" lady). A chaplain gone wild and telling the kids they were worse than prisoners (that's a long story I'll have to tell you). Six detentions given in one day...and that's just the beginning of what those 3 days held. LOL. I was so sick Friday I was ready to wring everyone's neck. I could barely talk, so my music classes got off easy watching "Fantasia" which I thought to be somewhat educational, if not a good way to keep them quiet and occupied since I couldn't lecture.
Even in the midst of chaos and bad days, and me having to step up and take over alot of the disciplinary stuff due to the principals absence, there still were bright spots. The hugs I got from some of my students before they left for the weekend, hearing from other teachers how much the kids love me. Having a parent drop in to meet me telling me how much her son talks about me and loves my class. As I fell on my bed sick and exhausted Friday afternoon, I still knew I'd done a good job, and that I'd made a difference. Later that night I was so miserable I only wanted to be shot..... LOL.
I have my 4th and 5th graders, and my 6th - 8th graders writing journals for their composition class. I look forward to collecting their journals and reading what they have to say in them. It's so interesting. I've told them that what they write in those journals is confidential, and of course I don't share them with other teachers. Knowing that I learn alot about these kids. Sometimes reading their journals makes me laugh uncontrollably. LOL. Other times, they make me want to cry. Just Friday, I read a journal entry from a girl in 7th grade. They were writing on the topic "If I had 3 wishes they would be..." One of her wishes was that her step-father would come back to life. Her real father left when she was small, and the only father she's ever know died in the past 6 months. On the lighter side, I now know who every girl in my class likes. LOL. It's quite interesting.
The guys journals are interesting too. I've learned about hunting, mudbogging, fourwheeling. I'm sure I'll learn more. :) Several of the guys want to join the military, and each of them in their "3 wishes" journal entry wished to never have to go to school again. In my writing back to them I told them how important school actually is to a military career. Good grades are looked highly upon when joining the military, and the better your grades are, the better sign on bonuses you can get. I know this because the military was after me for years, offering me big money to join up because of my excellent grades, and my scoring on their ASVAB test. They seem more excited about running off to war, which they know nothing about and "blowing off heads." Those are their exact words. I hate to think of them when they actually look someone in the eyes and pull the trigger. When the watch their buddies fall next to them. When the come upon the child missing a limb. I know many soldiers, and they tell me the horror they see. I've seen much horror in my life, many crazy things in the ER, but I'd never even begin to compare it to the horrific images of war. These guys are so young and full of war-lust. It drives me crazy. I want to shake them and try to make them see, but there are some lessons that one must learn for one's self.
