Friday, June 04, 2010

The Class that Satan Put Together


I cannot wait until the year is over. I've been teaching for years. There have been good times and bad. This class is just bad. I've had horrible students over the years. No matter how bad their behavior or whatever, I've usually found good in them and found a common ground. It sometimes took a year or two but it has usually happened. This class is different. I really never want to see them again. It makes me sad to say this but it's just the way it is.


I had a student named Timothy a few years ago. Timothy was described to me as a happy go lucky boy with a delightful playful side. Timothy in reality was an ax murderer dressed in 4th grade regalia. After a year of Timothy's playful yelling, abuse, arson, and petty larceny, we took a trip to a museum on a field trip and he sat next to me on the bus. I'm not sure why he sat next to me but he did. That was all it took. For the rest of the month we were friends. I still see Timothy and we are still friends. We have bonded. It happens that way with almost all of my kids. I call them my kids because they are. My kids are mine. This class is just not like that. We haven't bonded and it isn't going to happen. I'm counting the minutes until they become someone else's problem. It makes me sad as a teacher to say this but it's just the way it is. Some years are like this. You can't do anything about it.


This is why I think the whole merit pay for teachers idea is a crock of poop. You must play the hand you're dealt as a teacher. My class from last year wasn't the best but I would have made a couple of merit pay cents on them. This class wouldn't make me a cent. I'd be eating Alpo instead of collecting a check if merit pay applied. There are so many ideas that are wrong about education and they are posited by people who've never set foot in a classroom. My class that Satan put together would defy anyone.