In all my years of teaching, this is the first time I’ve ever wanted to just walk out and quit. Between the full moon and the Spring fever, it was absolutely chaotic in the classroom this week.
It is awful when Spring Break feels like it is just too far away. We know that these kids need a break from one another, even though they probably see one another outside of the school. However, there is something about being cooped up inside a classroom with someone day-after-day. Little things – just like in a family – begin to grate on one another’s nerves until it escalates.
The constant arguing, bickering, name-calling, and disruptions amped up my anxiety. My fight or flight response kicked in and all I wanted to do was to escape. Unfortunately, you can’t escape if you are the teacher. And this didn’t just happen once, it happened twice during the week, in one class! Even with engaging lessons! Sometimes, it’s just chaos no matter how engaging the lesson or activity.
I’m hopeful for a better week. It will be a short one for the students and myself. I am going to be out on Wednesday to take my son for his MRI. Plus, I will be packing up the house on that day with the boxes I’ve managed to salvage. We have to be out by the 1st, and we still haven’t found a place, but I did get a great lead on a place. We know that we have about a month or more before my son’s lawyers will be able to reach a settlement from his accident. I think that once that happens, he will be buying a place and going back to work. I will probably stay at the rental I found until the house I want to purchase can be repaired. That’s a long story in itself, but despite the neighborhood that house is in, I fell in love with that house, although the rental that overlooks the Broad River is fantastic, too. It’ll be a tough decision.
