Things I learned this year...

Friday was the last student day and Monday is our last teacher day. (unless you have textbook training on Tuesday and helping interview throughout the summer)

I learned several things this year from my seventh graders and thought I would share some of them. I hope you enjoy.

~I can never name my future children Nick, Tristan, Austin or Tina. There is no way these names wouldn't evoke the urge to scream

~Point sheets don't save everyone, but they do help some.

~Meetings EVERY MONDAY MORNING really suck, especially because they start 10 minutes before contract time.

~If you are good at your job you get the privilege of doing MORE work and get put on more committees.

~We are going to have so much fun with IDM/SF paperwork. I Don't Member So F**-it is what I like to call it.

~Sometimes it is good to get new staff into the building, especially when one of the ones leaving is a pathological liar.

~Being Special Education Department Head you get asked ALL of the questions that people can't answer AND are expected to come up with ALL of the solutions because that is your 'job'

~Sometimes it is more fun when you aren't in the 'cool kids club' You get to go out for Naughty Schoolgirl Martinis and have way more fun on the last day of school. Not to mention the martini comes with a blowpop. Delish!!!!

~It is really hard not to tell a student they are being a major bitch in class. Things like that could get you fired even if it is very true!

~Hearing my name over the intercom makes me cringe every time because I know it is never good and I will probably be subbing for the day

~I am going to miss a lot of my students, but some I pray transfer over the summer...

~7th graders have too many hormones

If you are a teacher, I wish you a fantastic summer full of relaxation and rejuvenation. You have earned it.

Middle School Antics.....Gross me out.....

EXPLICIT MATERIAL...... READ AT OWN RISK!

For some reason our students seem to be more 'sexually charged' than they have been in the past. Over the past three weeks these kids are playing grab ass like it is going out of style. Oh yeah..... THEY ARE 13 / 14 YEARS OLD!!!!! One word: GROSS!!!!!

We have had kids writing sexually explicit notes to one another and passing them in class. One such note was an 'instructional manual' on how to give a blow job! I was so glad I didn't get or read that one. We have had kids literally grab each other inappropriately and constantly! I really don't see an end in sight.....

The most recent activity was yesterday. A student thought it would be funny to ummmm..... put a condom on a pen and throw it across the room with a sub! Poor girl..... She handled it well though. She got on the phone and asked administration to come on down and take care of it. Our principal showed up a few seconds later and took 'swarn statements' from the entire class. It has been narrowed down who threw it and it will be taken care of tomorrow.

My question is: What is wrong with kids these days? They have no sense of right and wrong, blame others for their own action and act as if they are 15 years older than they are. I am so frightened that we are going to have a pregnant 7th grader by the end of the year. I can't imagine that one.....

Do we need to start monitoring what these kids are wathcing on T.V.? Do we need to put stricter warnings on explicit video games? Do we need to have community outreach classes that teach some of our parents how to be parents? I don't know, but I think something needs to be done soon! I am so thankful that winter break is coming up next Friday and I will have 15 days middle school free!

I need to vent

Please feel free to skip this post.  I am not looking for sympathy or any words of encouragement.  I just need to vent or else I am going to explode. (If you are a co-worker realize this has been slowly building over the last 7 weeks and I have to get it out or I might go insane.)

When the bell rang at 3:40 today four words crossed my mind.  I Want To Quit!  I am not the quitting type, but today I had enough.  I realized just how tired I am.

I am tired of the kids running the school.  

I am tired of no follow through with any initiatives.  

I am tired of hearing the same people gripe, moan and belly ache about the same shit every day.

I am tired of being put in charge of things that will inevitably make me look like the bad guy.

I am tired of trying to please everyone.

I am tired of hearing teachers in the adjacent rooms screaming at their students.

I am tired of seeing the same 5 kids in the hallway ALL DAY LONG, and of nobody willing to take care of it.

I understand that I teach special education and that there are students on my roster.  However, they are NOT MY OWN CHILDREN.   I have the same problems with them that  you do, please don't make me relive that ten times a day.

I am tired of scheduling meetings and having nobody show up.

I am tired of having to tell people how to do their jobs.

I am tired of waiting to see what the consequences are when we write a student a referral.  I have one kid in my advisory who has skipped it at least 3 times a week and NOTHING has happened to him!

I am tire of waiting to see the consequences for the two students who SEXUALLY HARASSED ME last week.

I am just plain old tired..... And it's only Monday!

I am so stressed out this year that my eye has already started to twitch.  This is the seventh week of school, not the seventh month.  I should not have physical issues due to stress this early in the year.  (Can't wait until my other compulsions come back.)  

Please understand that if I walk away and say "I will deal with it tomorrow"  it isn't necessarily because I am mad at you in any way.  It is simply due to the fact that I can't deal with anymore today.  I am done.  Out.  Finished.

Now, I just have to mentally prepare for tomorrow.....