Last Wednesday as I had mentioned, was an example of a completely perfect day. Thursday however, was not. A lot of hushed whispers about the possibility of a fight occurring after school have been spoken, causing rumors to spread abound. In an attempt to extinguish the quietly simmering embers of rising tension, high school lunch now takes place right in the middle of fourth period. Having to go back to class after lunch makes for a much more controllable dismissal than everyone leaving all at once from the cafeteria at the end of the day. My students were not able to handle such a change.
The first half of fourth period was fine, no surprise there, but the second half, after coming back from lunch, was a huge, chaotic mess. It was the first time I felt like I actually wasn't able to control my class. I handed out writing assignments and detentions like candy on Halloween. It got them in their seats, but not in the state of mind that would allow learning to take place. The bell finally rang, and everyone jumped up. I sat them back down, and to ensure order, I dismissed each student individually. Prior to last Thursday, I had never before felt relief at the sight of an empty classroom. I was beat, no doubt about it.
Friday came, and as soon as first period started I began to rain fire down on my classroom. I let them know how disappointed I was, and I made sure to inform them that I thought it would be a very poor choice to do the wrong thing, get expelled the last week of school, and lose credit after putting in four weeks of hard work. Based on the fact that I probably could've heard a pin drop, my speech was a resounding success. They were silent, and it was awesome. I'm not the kind of teacher that typically needs, or even wants, a soundless classroom, but when that silence marks victory, I'm happy to take it.
Sunday was the Fourth of July, and it was the first time that I actually really missed being home. I'm a big fan of the buddy holidays, the holidays like New Year's Eve and St. Patrick's Day, where you spend time with friends and more often than not end up having indulgent amounts of fun. My friends in Teacher Corps are great, but it just wasn't the same time I would've had in New York. Plus, when you spend the last five years watching fireworks with the same person, you can't help but come to affiliate the two. Oxford put on a pretty good show, but I just couldn't allow myself to fully get into it.
Monday rolled around, and I was back on top again. The days down here range from awful to damn near perfect, but usually fall adjacent to either side of the median. An endless series of ups and downs has been my experience thus far with Teacher Corps, but thankfully the good days outnumber and outweigh the bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment