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Yesterday was almost a "one year day."
Sep. 8th, 2004 10:18 pmThat's the expression used to describe the occasional days that drive teachers recruited to teach in the frozen, godforsaken reaches of the Canadian far north to swear to themselves that they'll only stay until the end of the year.
The year 7s were pleasant enough. Every year level after that decided that their first day of classes was the time to make the absolute worst impression that they could. One particular class even bordered on embodying all the worst things said and shown about British schools. This year 9 class was worse than that shown in "To Sir With Love" and, at times, had me fearing I really, actually would have a demonstration of one particular incident in "Clockwork Mice." One particularly annoying student kept making these ear shattering loud "oop" noises. After I had given him a number of warnings, he started giving me nonsense about having Turette's syndrome. Yeah right, like I'm going to fall for that. I assigned detention for him.
It turns out that he actually DOES have Turette's, something that nobody bothered to inform me of until after the fact. Fortunately, the boy was quite understanding about the incident and we are currently square. (Bloody hell!)
At the end of the day, one of my fellow English teachers commented that it was a good sign that I was still capable of laughing about the whole thing. He didn't seem to buy in to my explanation that I had simply been driven mad by the events of the day.
Today, however, was a markedly different day. Apparently, my insistence on detentions, among other things, actually managed to commandeer some measure of good behaviour. Again, the year 7s were well behaved and, for the most part, so were the rest of my classes. Even that hell class of year 9s, which I had at the end of the day, were a bit better behaved than they were yesterday. I even managed to get one of the primary troublemakers in that class on side with me (though he was still disruptive enough that I wound up having to give him a detention anyways). The best part of the day, though, was right at the beginning of the day when a student in my form group (homeroom class), who had given me a fair bit of grief the day before, remembered that I had an interest in martial arts from a conservation the previous day and brought me a brochure for a local martial arts club that he belongs to. And he was even reasonably well behaved.
And I think I'm finally getting my groove back. Today I even got in a work out after school AND left (relatively) early (around 6:30). I decided to celebrate the day with chicken udon soup and spring rolls at Noodlehouse. All in all, today was a good day, and a much needed one after yesterday.
The year 7s were pleasant enough. Every year level after that decided that their first day of classes was the time to make the absolute worst impression that they could. One particular class even bordered on embodying all the worst things said and shown about British schools. This year 9 class was worse than that shown in "To Sir With Love" and, at times, had me fearing I really, actually would have a demonstration of one particular incident in "Clockwork Mice." One particularly annoying student kept making these ear shattering loud "oop" noises. After I had given him a number of warnings, he started giving me nonsense about having Turette's syndrome. Yeah right, like I'm going to fall for that. I assigned detention for him.
It turns out that he actually DOES have Turette's, something that nobody bothered to inform me of until after the fact. Fortunately, the boy was quite understanding about the incident and we are currently square. (Bloody hell!)
At the end of the day, one of my fellow English teachers commented that it was a good sign that I was still capable of laughing about the whole thing. He didn't seem to buy in to my explanation that I had simply been driven mad by the events of the day.
Today, however, was a markedly different day. Apparently, my insistence on detentions, among other things, actually managed to commandeer some measure of good behaviour. Again, the year 7s were well behaved and, for the most part, so were the rest of my classes. Even that hell class of year 9s, which I had at the end of the day, were a bit better behaved than they were yesterday. I even managed to get one of the primary troublemakers in that class on side with me (though he was still disruptive enough that I wound up having to give him a detention anyways). The best part of the day, though, was right at the beginning of the day when a student in my form group (homeroom class), who had given me a fair bit of grief the day before, remembered that I had an interest in martial arts from a conservation the previous day and brought me a brochure for a local martial arts club that he belongs to. And he was even reasonably well behaved.
And I think I'm finally getting my groove back. Today I even got in a work out after school AND left (relatively) early (around 6:30). I decided to celebrate the day with chicken udon soup and spring rolls at Noodlehouse. All in all, today was a good day, and a much needed one after yesterday.
