My Patience Wanes...

'Tis safe to assume. It's official. Spring Fever has hit! If I look at the calendar, I've got 3 more months of school left....THREE! Three is really nothing. With three months left and so many projects and lessons to teach, I feel like I'm facing the end of the tunnel way sooner than expected. I'm excited for summer to come, yes. No doubt. But I swear, that saying that there are not enough hours in the day is so true! I look at my lesson plan book and see that it's the classic case of "so many lessons, so little time." (Ok, when I originally heard that lil' saying, it said, "So Many Men, So Little Time"...not that THAT pertains to me or anything...lol). As of today, I'm faced with a week of meetings, ITBS testing, mounds of papers to correct, and report cards. Ugh...report cards.

But let's talk about my kids for a sec...

Sometimes, I just don't understand 'em. Take this week, for example. Every Monday is when I try to set the tone for the week. We discuss what's to be expected for the week, any special activities we may be doing, etc. With our report card period ending, I thought that it was apropos (vocab word!) that we talk about how they are "almost-4th graders." This includes being more responsible, showing self-control in the classroom, and being respectful of others. AND....considering that Friday would be a field trip, if I were them, I'd be on my best behavior. One would THINK they would take that to heart...one would THINK that they'd try and be on "my good list", right??? You'd think.

Think again.

Last Thursday was THE worst day ever. It all began with this pounding headache when I woke up. Nothing seemed to be going right. Now when the students come into the class first thing, they already have a routine they must follow. This routine is nothing new...it's been established since the first week of school and it rarely ever changes. BY THIS TIME, I expect them to know what to do in the mornings. Albeit, it's not all the kids who are CHOOSING to do something else, I also expect the responsible kids to help their neighbors and remind them what they should do. Teamwork, you know?

The entire 3rd grade have been practicing for an upcoming performance this month. It ended about ten minutes before lunch. Instead of going back to the class and knowing that nothing can really be done in that amount of time, I decided to stay where we had practiced and play some songs for them on the piano. I mistakenly thought that they could oblige me with their voices for 10 minutes because they found fooling around, LOUDLY with their friends more appealing. Considering our talk at the beginning of the week AND with our field trip the following day, it really, really, REALLY pissed me off.

So much that I snapped....lectured them for 15 minutes...lost my appetite...and got totally frustrated that I was on the verge of tears! THEN...when lunch was over, I barked at them some more and told them that for the remaining part of the day, I did NOT want to talk to anyone unless it was a life-threatening emergency. It was bad...

So bad that I had my backpack set and ready to go at 2:15pm. Um, my day is over at 3pm. Yah...the kids knew it and I could tell some of them felt bad. But I rarely get that emotionally frustrated with them....to be on the verge of tears??? They chose the wrong day to piss me off, that's all I gotta say. Come 3pm, as soon as their afternoon teacher walked in, I walked out. I didn't even say goodbye to them...

For the record, I totally L-O-V-E this class. It almost feels like my first year of teaching again. I have been blessed with a great set of kids each year and while there are always challenges to deal with (behavior, parents, academics, etc), I could honestly say that I've enjoyed 'em all. This class, in particular, cracks me up on a daily basis. Something totally different this year is that usually, I have a lil' following of girls who are constantly around me...at my desk, at recess, anytime there's free time, I'd have little girls around me. Not this year. This year, it's boys! And my boys LOVE to share....LOVE to talk....and LOVE to tell jokes. I've got a bunch of standup comedians in my class! Take this one kid in class...after we discussed our field trip, their grade, what could've been done better on their part, I wanted to go outside and enjoy the rest of the afternoon playing outside. Everyone has their head down and is waiting for me to call their table to line up, when here's this one kid who shoots his hand up in the air. Knowing that our discussion could go on and on, I say, okay, this is the last comment and we'll talk more about the field trip on Monday. I call on my student and in a loud voice he says,

"So Superman walks into this bar, right?".....

See what I have to deal with??? LOL! Well, the following day, aka our field trip, there was a pile of apology letters. Okay, so the afternoon teacher told them that they had to write them, but some of the things were really sweet. All is forgiven, of course. And happy to say that the field trip went well- beautiful weather, no one was lost, no one got hurt, left behind, and the performance we watched at Herbst Theater was awesome. I really can't stay upset at the kids for too long...I love 'em way too much.

Plus, I KNOW that we will NOT have any more days like that for the rest of the school year...or else. Ha!