This one goes out to all my fellow educators out there.
You know, one of those days where it just starts badly and continues…..
So you turned off the alarm instead of hitting the snooze button and now you really have to get out of the house with the quickness! Thankfully, you ironed your clothes, loaded your bag and preset the coffee machine before going to bed. Maybe this isn’t a sign of how the rest of the day will be. You did manage to get out of the house with enough time to make it to school and copy the assignments for the first three classes. You arrive to school and you get to the copier with hopes that it’s not too crowed. No such luck… the teacher who has first bell free is copying packets of work for his or her classes. You make small talk while you grind your teeth and wait. Finally, you get to the machine only to have the copier decide that it’s your assignment that it’s going to eat (I’ve seen grown men almost cry when this happens)! You twist, turn, lift, pull, and reset everything, cross your fingers and push start. Now what’s the problem? Oh, Joe Courtesy didn’t refill the paper tray after his mountain of copies… thanks.
With warm copies, you head to class. Unfortunately, it’s not your normal, slow easy stroll to class but rather a dip and dodge (like a game of frogger) in the sea of students. And you don’t get your quiet time to sip coffee, check phone messages, and email. No, your angels are in your face, jocking for attention. And then one of them hits your coffee mug and in slow motion you see the brown wave of caffeine hit your desk, soak your papers and drip into your bag. This is when you seriously almost call it a day and leave because you know this is a sign of what the day brings.
Your classes are nothing short of chaos. Everyone is pissed about something and you’re getting your head bitten off by students whose parents went off on them this morning, who got dumped, fired from a job, or grounded by parents. Everyone is super-hyper and getting people to calm down is damn near impossible, all day! You feel like you’re in a bad episode of Welcome Back Kotter. You even have the note signed, so-and-so’s mother to prove it. Hardly anyone has done the homework but they don’t want to pay attention as you go over some of it on the board. You’ve put out six students, taken four cell phones and felt like cussing out two students. A knock at the door brings about a security guard informing you that there is a parent in the office to see you. It’s the same parent who has stood you up twice for conferences this semester alone. I guess NOW is convenient for her… we have to make the parents feel welcome and the customer is always right is the motto. Hell, I thought I was in education not customer service! She wants to know why her little___________________(fill in the blank) is failing your class and why she hasn’t been contacted about any of this! Unprofessionally, you laugh in this woman’s face. And you’re still chuckling as you remind her of the unreturned phone calls and the two missed conferences. Smartly, you also have your records book to show when you have called her. And she still denies it! After your administrator throws you under the bus and says that you’ll be happy to give little___________________ some extra make-up work, you’re dismissed in order to return to class. As you return to class the thought that extra work means extra grading for which I don’t get extra pay. So, Mr. or Ms. so-and–so can grade it keeps being repeated. Seriously, educators are one of a few professions in which people expect us to work for free (because we love the kids!). You get back to class and you try to get a sense of order back somehow and then within a statement you’re given the answer… “C’mon, Mr Fletch, it’s Friday! Ain’t nobody down on that today! Why can’t we just chill?” Friday… (you tell yourself) now it all makes sense! But you know that it doesn’t need to be Friday for any of this to happen. Throw in a couple of fights and this a normal day for you.
Eighth bell, finally! Can we get through this last class without hurting one another, please? We get through the class with people actually listening and participating between conversations about the night’s game and or party. The bell sounds and you can hear a collective, “It’s about time!” As they run out of the door you try to shout some weekend homework assignments. To this you hear shouts of, “Sorry, Mr. Fletch, that’s the bell…school is OUT and it’s the weekend!” On the way home you stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things for the weekend. As you’re walking towards the entrance, there is someone walking towards you calling your name. Then you recognize who it is! It’s that one student or parent who you couldn’t stand! You know who I’m talking about. It’s that student who did absolutely zero in your class and couldn’t understand why he/she failed. They were however very good at getting on your last good nerve. And that parent is the one who always had an excuse for their child and one time called you racist because you didn’t give her son a D so that he could play football…yeah, that one. Now, you’re trying to remember a name. Luckily, they give you an out. “Hey Mr. Fletch(er), it’s _________________ from_____________________” You get to play it off and you go into the small talk of how they are and what they’re doing now. You actually find yourself interested and you do care. The Grinch has a heart!
Then they hit you with it. “I just wanted to thank you for what you did in class.” If this were a Popeye or Tom & Jerry cartoon, you’d have transformed into that donkey with Jackass written on the side. Confused you ask, “ What are you talking about? You failed my class.” And he or the parent talks about the life lessons that they learned and how they are applying them to their jobs and lives now. Some even say, “ I’m taking Spanish in college now and I remember everything that you talked about because of your stories. It’s weird.” They tell you about how you inspired in a host of ways and you just sit there with your mouth open in disbelief that THIS kid got soooooo much out your class.
So now, what started out as one of those days, has transformed into The Day that reminds you why you do what you do.
No comments:
Post a Comment