So. Where to begin? On wednesdays, I teach every single period, so it's a pretty crazy day. I have a 25 minute tea break midmorning, and a thirty minute lunch. So regardless of how smooth the day is, it's hectic. The first three periods were quite nice, working on a summative assessment about the rainforest.
Anyway, aside from a continuous whiner who ran away from class at one point, the morning went fine. Then I moved on to my year 8 (7th grade) Geography lesson, which spans two periods with lunch in between. The first period, I kicked two kids out of class because I have a new "zero-tolerance-after-two-warnings" policy about insulting each other. Then at the beginning of the second period, I asked a kid to step outside for chasing another child and swatting her. I promptly forgot about her, however, because one of my students, who is five eleven and about twice my weight, started writing a note that said "I hate everyone in this school, I wish they would just leave me alone, why does everyone say I'm a bully cause I'm bigger than everyone else? I wish my mummy was home from hospital and my brother was out of prison..." (I stopped myself from saying, well and also you are really mean to everyone) and then she started crying. Then the girl sitting next to her started crying and I noticed that SHE had written a note that said "I love my mother even though I have never seen her, I talk to her on the phone but last time she said she didn't want to talk to me anymore. I hate my life and I hate that everyone else has a mum that they've seen..." and she was also crying... then three girls made themselves cry from reading those notes (before I could stop them)... then another girl who at first said "I want to cry too" later really was crying for reasons she would not disclose... all the while the three severely special needs students were being helped with their classwork on fairtrade by the TA.
I was trying to talk to my "big bully" who was in tears, because I have a soft spot for her... In the middle of that, a girl from the year above with whom my bully had had issues in the past came in to ask me something and before she could, my blubbering bully sucked her teeth and said, "what's she doing in here" to which the strange older girl flipped and starting screaming she would put my bully in the hospital. When I finally ushered the screaming child out, and returned to my crybaby, there was a crowd of five spectators. At that point, the two kids who I had kicked out the previous period were returned to class and apologised to me, as well as being quickly brought up to speed by classmates in answer to the question, "wait, why is everyone crying?" And finally another teacher brought me the student I had asked to step outside and forgotten about!!
I mean, wwwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttttttttttttttttt????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel like laughing hysterically.
I want to add that this day was particularly intense. Not exactly "out of the blue," but definitely concentrated drama! and, just so you don't judge the girls too much, the big blubbering bully did write on the whiteboard, "I love Ms. White she is the best teacher eva. I feel aloft better now thanks you" which prompted a flurry or professions of love, not all of which were directed at me...
ReplyDeleteI agree with big blubbering bully, you are a great teacher. Thank you for being the way you are. Those kids are very lucky to have you as their teacher.
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