Thrown to the wolves

My neck hurts. I would guess it's the tension. There's only eight more days. Three of them are half days.

Each day the kids who are nuts become just a little more nuts. There's no reaching them. I don't have the skills. I'm becoming more and more convinced that most humans don't have the skills. Your level of training can't cut any ice with this.

I know I'm way outmatched here. I feel no shame in saying this. I haven't got the skills to deal with many of the problems that face me. Most teachers don't. Most wouldn't come here on a bet.

This is one of the dirty truths about the U.S. school system. All that NCLB bulls#*% means nothing. Rookie teachers are routinely given the classrooms with the worst students. We are given the most students. Classrooms with 38 or 40 students. Do you have any idea how hard it is to control 40 people? Do you know how hard it is to keep track of a week's academic production from 40 people? An expert teacher would be up against it with these kinds of odds. Do you think much learning is happening in a classroom like this? It's the norm and not the exception. Throw the rookies to the wolves.

I'm going to survive my first year and I'm coming back for more. I need my head examined.