Another Day Another Adventure of a School Marm

Now I am afraid this story will not be half as funny in writing because to laugh you might need my voices and actions to make it come to life but I am going to try anyways.....
   
     So as life takes over and my list gets longer and longer a few subtle things happen namely lack of sleep. When my to list is longer than hours in the day and I am going on four hours of sleep for the past five days then you are talking about a perfect combination to allow for a minor (or major) meltdown by this School Marm and that is exactly what happened about a week ago.
      I have a group of students who spend every lunch in my room. Well one day one of the boys brought Top Ramen for his lunch and left the wrapper on the back counter. My least favorite part of the job is when I get asked the same question over and over and over again. I can handle the school related questions like when is this assignment due, how do you do this; but not the questions like why is my hair up...like 60 times in one day. I want to scream because it is UP! Why does there have to be a reason why my hair is up and why can't I put my hair up without a big deal. So now there is a wrapper in the back of my room and between the day it was left and Wednesday I was asked probably 60 times why is there a Ramen wrapper in the back of your room?
      Now take my pet peeve and combine it with my lack of sleep and stress. See I was putting together an activity for my team: so I had to put together a list of who was going to what room and I was getting constant changes to that list plus I have to put my homework packets together for the students I needed to go to the homework rooms and I was even able to start them during prep because of helping all the other people on my team. So I was hurriedly doing them during Homeroom and Second Period which I was asked another 30 times while doing that Why is there Ramen on  the back counter? Now I cannot help but to think of my reaction if I was in classroom and there was trash on the back counter I would realize students are messy and rude because of that I would just through it away and I wouldn't even bother asking the teacher why the wrapper was there. Regardless I had another student in the middle of starters and asked me Why is there Ramen here? And I lost it....

      I began screaming with fire shooting our of my eyes "GIVE IT TO ME. GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!!!!" The student looked genuinely terrified and the rest of the class was now staring at me. He handed me the wrapper I took it and with all of my energy and force I spun in my chair from facing the back wall to facing the front which is where the trash is. I took the wrapper and with all my force threw it in the trash while screaming, "BECAUSE IT IS TRASH NO ONE BOTHERED TO THROW AWAY." Now that I had lost it there was a part of me that realized that I was overreacting but another part of me that still believed it was totally justifiable.  So after I threw it away I began justifying my screaming to the class saying such things as.... I know it was only the first time this student asked the question but I have been asked it 60. You be asked the same question 60 times and see how you feel..... And on and on for probably a solid 5 minutes about that. Looking back that is the most ridiculous part of the whole thing is me believing I could justify screaming like that over trash. It was CRAZY!!!

    The worst part of it....Later I realized the seasoning that was part of the wrapper trash got spread over everything, my desk and computer, and so know I had made of mess of everything and I have to clean up seasoning off of everything and I had to shake every paper to get them off.

So that was the time I lost it. And now looking back I see how funny it was.

Gearing Up for School

                 I guess you could say that I have been gearing up for school because recently I have been watching a lot of school movies:: Won't Back Down, Waiting for Superman, and Bully. All of which I would recommend to ANYONE! I am a teacher, I love it, and I believe COMPLETELY in public education. I think public education is one of the best things in America but I also will tell you that education is  BROKEN right now. You have business mean passing laws dictating the direction of education and they have to realize that  CHILDREN are not a business and you cannot treat schools like a business. That being said all these movies point out the problems in the education system and how it beats teachers down so much that sooner or later even the best teachers have had enough and just give up fighting anymore. In fact, I have felt a lot like the teacher in "Won't Back Down," this week. She purposely went to the school in need to make a difference but by the time we see her in the movie she has been beaten down and has given up. That is how I have felt this week..I surrender I am done!!! BUT that is not what this post is about rather it is this with my experiences and what the true problem is.
         This movie blames the teacher unions, the administrators, and the teachers but in the end  the true problem is the breakdown of the family. If family units were still strong and teaching their kids than the bullies would be punished earlier in life. In fact, one of my own nieces could very well turn into a bully but her parents punish her now while she is young. If the families were strong and involved they would know exactly where the kids stand.  I will continue more later.....

Games

Knight to A 5

Rook Counters

The games we play do nothing but

Hurt

I play with the hand I have been dealt

Wanting a full house

With love and kids

Bets are placed

And Raised

Higher and Higher

I start to wonder 

Is this too rich for my blood?

Are you bluffing?

Can I ever win?

Queen moves to protect

CHECK....

but is it finally

CHECK MATE

I AM BACK!!!!

So I have not been blogging a lot recently. I have just let life steer me and I have decided to take back control. What I have loved about my blog is that I publish the poetry I write on my blog, Good and Bad but all mine. And I also tell little stories about my students. In fact sharing this small things have been something that has helped me find the good things in small ways that are important to me and fulfilling and I have found that I need that release. I need to continue to make time for the small things because it helps me know what I am thinking and it helps be with the big things. So many teachers have said it, and I am yet another witness testifying it is true, if you let it teaching will take up your whole life and suck you dry. Well this past year and half I have let it and I am not going to anymore. I am exhausted and I am discouraged but already today after writing four new poems and redecorating my blog, I have found the Easter message of renewed life true and I am feeling better about life. So maybe no one reads my blog, I write it and that is the whole purpose!!