I've learned an important lesson today. "Stay out of the Principal's way."
This really all made sense before, but for some reason I like to keep proving myself over, and over, and over, and over again. I'm a people pleaser, and for some twisted reason, I keep wanting to impress this being we call the principal.
Today I had some incidents that bothered me very much, and I was at a loss of what to do.
T.K. had gone a little too far with her chutzpah act. I know she tends to get frustrated easily, but lately her frustration has been taken to a whole new level. Instead of asking for help, she started becoming angry and fresh. For example the incident with her test last week, the way she handed it in after 10 minutes. I had to force her to take the test back, I then sat with her, gave her extra time, and she ended up with a 97%.
When I marked that paper, I was ready to rip it in half. The nerve of the girl! She could've easily done well without my help, and yet she put up such a fuss!
I didn't say anything at that point, but it it did bother me very much.
Today, I gave the girls a literature quiz. The quiz was really supposed to be yesterday, but due to my excitement about my niece and everything, I told them it would be pushed off to today.
T.K. had given me a note yesterday explaining that she didn't understand what she had read in literature, and that I should take it into consideration. I gave the class the extra day, and told them to ask their classmates for help if they didn't understand the chapter that well.
Today when I gave the quiz, T.K. refused to take out a paper. She decided that because of the note she had handed in yesterday, she should be excused form the quiz. I told her that was unacceptable.
T.K. then took out a paper and marked it with a big zero, and sat with her hands folded as I began to read the questions. She marked her paper before I even began the questions. I have very little patience for things like that, and I could feel myself getting angry.
Later, as the class joined their history groups, T.K. refused to join them. Instead, she sat in her seat and looked at me.
I called her over and explained that I knew she was frustrated, but it couldn't be expressed this way. If she had a problem I'd be more than willing to help her, but not in this way.
She listened, and then proceeded to go straight back to her seat.
I was so shocked, I could've slapped her. I asked her to go to her group and she just looked at me.
The bell rang while I was still debating the issue of punching her.
I know that the other teachers have been having a problem with her too.
In 7a, S.G.L. was my recurring problem. It wasn't only me. Again, the other teachers felt this too.
This girl was more that just having a problem learning, it was affecting her socially too. Her father had been against having her evaluated, and so she was sitting in class suffering.
Like T.K. she reached a new stage, she began getting angry.
Not angry in the same way as T.K, though, she was going around breaking rules, and refusing to do any schoolwork because she hid under the excuse of being dumb.
I don't know a lot, but my guess is that scholastic work isn't easy for her, but I don't think she really tries. T.K. on the other hand, will study for hours and then blanks out during a test. S.G.L. is different.
S.G.L. won't study on her own, she insists on studying with her mother all the time. She'll never take out her notes (if she even bothers to write notes) and study by herself. I have a feeling that she's starting to give up before she even tries. She goes around telling everyone that she's dumb, so that she has an excuse to go and fail every test.
The teachers are climbing the walls with her, and so is her mother. We need her to be evaluated, but we need the parent's consent. The teachers all think that if something isn't done with this kid, she could very well turn out to be a child at risk.
She doesn't bother bringing her books to class or updating her journal. I finally gave it to her and sent her out of class for not having a book. She was flaming mad.
I cannot describe to you the letters that she keeps giving me. Every single test means I get another letter. She begs me to take over every test because she feels like garbage if she doesn't get 100%.
I began giving her easier tests, but as soon as one girl hands in he test, she stops working. She's so pathetically paranoid that the girls who are finished are going to look around and see that she taking an easy test. So on the one hand she tells everyone she's dumb, but on the other, she still wants to get 100%, but she doesn't want anyone to know she's getting help. Sheesh!
I was at my wits end, and went in to talk to the principal.
As I had expected, she spent more time criticizing my technique than focusing on the girls with the problems.
Finally, we arranged for her to call S.G.L.'s mother and I was going to call T.K.'s mother.
I did call Mrs T.K. and she was extremely nice, (everyone says she looks like my mother, and I think so too!) believe it or not, I let her do all the talking.
I asked her what was going on in the past week and a half that T.K. was acting this way, and she told me about all the pressure she was under etc. I barely said a word, I let the mother talk.
I learned a lot more that way. We ended off by agreeing that if T.K. needed any help I'd be more that glad to help her and that the mother shouldn't hesitate to call me.
It worked out well.
Now back to the principal. She criticized everything I did, and she even called me "hog" because she felt I spoke too much. (No kidding! That's why I became a teacher!!) I listened to her advice and that's why I barely said anything to Mrs. T.K., and it worked well.
I believe that what the principal tells me is right. She has lots more experience than I do, and she's dealt with many more people and situations. Everything she told me today made a lot of sense, but I disagree on one point.
I HATE THE WAY SHE TREATS HER EMPLOYEES!!
She's so careful that her teachers should always say the right things in the right way to their students, but she has no concept of how to treat people. Everything she told me could've been 100% true, but the way she told it to me was unacceptable. Calling a person a hog? (Even tough I probably do deserve it, I talk way too much!) That's disgusting and unprofessional. I can't stand to work under someone like that. If you don't treat your employees with respect, why should they treat their students well?
I'm so angry, I'd rather slap her than T.K.
S.C.W. a twelfth grader came up to my apt. before. It's convenient that I live near school and she has where to run during play practice!
I fell asleep before because I was so zonked, and while I was dreaming, I heard my husband talking to my mother on the phone. Even he told my mother he felt sorry for me. I'm working so hard, and all they do in this school is work you harder.....for the grand sum of $6,000 a year.
