Things fall apart, the center cannot hold

I was giving a test today and thinking about some of the behaviors my children display. When I give a test the students will raise their hands again and again. “Mr, come here.” I’ll go to the student’s desk and they will ask, “Mr, is this answer right?” I’ll say that I can’t answer any questions because it’s a test. A couple of seconds will pass and it starts again. “Mr, come here.” Sometimes it’s the same kid. This will happen from the moment the test starts until the moment it ends. Sometimes the student gets mad when you don’t give an answer. “I’m not going to the next question because I’m not sure I’m doing it right.” Sometimes they get so angry that they rip the test in half and throw it on the floor. This is so frustrating because we can’t copy things in the building.

I have to make sure that whatever I give the students is in new condition. If I give a workbook with a dog-eared cover to a student they’ll give it right back. If I say that’s the only one I have they will throw it on the floor or shove it back in my hand or throw it across the room. The same thing happens with papers of any kind. If I give a handout with a jagged edge or a crease the student freaks out.

They constantly hit each other with everything. I’ll be teaching and a kid will get up, walk across the room, and smack another kid in the face with a ruler for nothing. They hit each other constantly. They don’t even wait ‘til your back is turned. At least two or three times a day there is someone in tears in my room because they were punched, kicked, or hit in the face with a textbook. When they aren’t doing this they’re insulting each other. The insults fly constantly. The lessons are always interrupted by kids yelling insults at each other. Sometimes the kids are from other rooms. They will yell insults in my open classroom door. Every once in a while a student from another room will come into my classroom and fight one of my students. Sometimes they chase another kid into the room. God is it annoying. I've got enough students as it is. I don't need another kid running amok.