Today as I was sitting in a meeting with my fellow co-workers, I realized that perhaps my patience -the patience of a saint- isn’t a gift after all. Perhaps maybe it is a flaw.
It’s no secret that this year’s group of students have tested that patience. The patience that I pride myself for having. The patience that God taught me by giving me a child who, honestly, makes these misbehaving students look like angels. Or maybe these students see that as a challenge.
My AP made the comment that if you tell a student to do something and they don’t, we need to write that up as a refusal to obey. She’s right. We’ve given them too many chances to change their behavior and instead of them correcting their behavior, they’ve challenged us at every point. I shouldn’t have to tell a student to sit down 10 times in 15 minutes. I shouldn’t have to call out an entire class for talking while I’m trying to teach. Most importantly, I shouldn’t have to tell them not to squirt each other with water bottles in the classroom or throw projectiles at one another.
I plan to remind the students of the classroom rules once more. After that, I’m only going to say it once. The second time is a straight up write up for failure to follow directions and refusal to obey. I’m going to have to say goodbye to my firm patience and find a way to get back my classroom.
