Hazing, it's not for breakfast anymore

This was a hard day. The room was like an oven, the kids were bananas, and the day lasted about three days. I'm drenched in sweat, stinky, and dirty. I wish there was an alarm clock here because I could really use a nap before my class. Oh, who cares, I'll just sleep in class. I won't miss anything because we don't do anything.

I hope tomorrow is better. Every day lately is the first day of school with these kids. You practically have to say, "This is a chair, you park your rear on it. This is a book, it's made of paper. Never heard of paper? It's made from trees." It's so aggravating. Why are they like this?

I took their recess time because they were so horrible on Friday. The problem with taking their recess is that it punishes me. I have to stay with them and punish them with a writing assignment. (How counterproductive is that? I need to encourage their lack of interest in writing at every other point in the day.) Listening to 38 kids bitching when I could be eating a quiet lunch is enough to make you want to take the gas pipe. I hope I don't have to take their recess again but I probably will. They are incorrigible.

On a happier note, my new copy of Educational Leadership arrived and there's an article about hazing that is dead on. The article notes that many new teachers leave the profession because of hazing. New teachers are routinely given the hardest assignments with the worst support and supplies. New teachers are routinely given the runaround about everything. New teachers are given the worst classrooms, parking spaces, and prep times. New teachers drop out because they are tired of the pettiness. Right on! Finally an article that speaks my language. My ASCD membership is paying off!

My first year has been the longest hazing of my life and it isn't over yet. The kids are hard enough, but I have met so many awful people during this year. People who exist to bust balls and break your spirit. It sucks that these people are your fellow teachers and administrators. There are a lot of great people in education (and thank you for being great!) but there are a hell of a lot of cranks. If you are reading this and are saying to yourself, "Not me!" think for a moment. Have you ever ripped a rookie for something stupid like being a moment late with a memo, coming in the out door, parking in the wrong numbered spot, making too many copies, forgetting to attend a useless meeting, having a noisy classroom, or teaching a lesson at the wrong time of day? Come on, was your tirade that important? Did it make you feel good? Did it serve any purpose other than making sure the rookie knew and will always know who's the boss? If you found yourself answering yes to a lot of these questions then you should find the time for some sensitivity training or a new profession. Perhaps work at the DMV is for you? You should not be with fragile youth or equally fragile rookie schoolteachers.