Quoth the Raven

You probably don't care one bit to listen to me moan about my job. But I had to write this to vent. I've had a really tough time over the last couple of weeks after accepting a long-term sub position. I initially turned it down for a variety of reasons, but changed my mind after both the principal and the 6th grade team leader, whom I respect a great deal.

Well, I still haven't heard anything about my dream job for which I interviewed. It's frustrating not hearing anything when I know that they have finished the interview process. I even called this morning and left a message with the secretary. She said that she would pass along my number to the search committee. I'm still hoping that no news is not necessarily bad news.

Meanwhile, I've been teaching 7th grade Reading for the last couple of weeks. It's probably the most challenging thing I have ever done. There are several factors that play into making these children tough:

1. The community and their home-life circumstances (many of them come from broken homes and tough backgrounds -- it's a shame).
2. The fact that they are 12 years old. I'm sure I was just as obnoxious, but holy lord, some of these kids are mind-boggling. There is one in particular who comes into homeroom at 7:30 am, when I'm still waking up, finishing my coffee and resigning myself to the fact that I can't go back to the warmth of my bed -- I can hear this kid coming down the hall. He's a yeller. Everything he says is LOUD. He has no inside voice. It's unbelievable. He yells, screams, makes noises, slams things, moves chairs around, and just generally drives me completely insane.
3. The permanent teacher, before she left, had extreme pain in her hip, which meant that she was unable to control the classroom, which means that I was responsible for a classroom in which all discipline had broken down. Trying to restore order to the chaos is like trying to hold back the water-swell of a hurricane. To get their attention, I have had to yell almost as loud as I can. And I'm 6'3", 225+ lbs, and have a correspondingly big voice. It's really astounding how little respect, fear, and care these kids have.

Anyway, after last week, while I was using the lesson plans the teacher had left me, I decided to try something new. The work she left basically amounted to busy work, with the kids merely reading each day and then completing worksheets. It was boring and frustrating, and made for a bad experience for all of us. Yesterday I made copies of The Raven and we've gone over it the past 2 days. Instead of a nice response, I've gotten more complaints of boredom.

Finally, I decided that for my own sanity, I need to walk away from the situation. Thanks for listening, and we'll return soon to our regularly entertaining, not bitching blog. I'm really looking forward to playing basketball tonight to blow off some steam.