Taught three lessons today. Plenty of drama to go around.
Lesson 1: Year 7 (the x half of the year) were meant to complete their initial assessment test. First 15 minutes all good. Then one of the lads from my tutor group knocks on the door. "Miss, none of our class know where we're supposed to be for lesson 1". Oh dear. Leave my class for 5 minutes while I pop over to the main school. Lo and behold there are two Year 8 groups without teachers or classrooms milling about in the main corridor. Was surprised that things hadn't kicked off already; give them 5 more minutes and trouble would definitely start. One of the SLT is there trying to sort them out. She says she desperately needs the SLT chap in charge of timetabling. He's currently teaching in the room opposite where I am so I offer to briefly cover his room while he sorts out these kids. Obviously this takes up the whole lesson and he's not seen until break. Sooo, back in the maths block I am switching between my Year 7 maths test and the Year 7 science lesson next door. In the science lesson I have the kids drawing the equipment from their last lesson experiment and writing up methods. Have my eye on the other class too. Suddenly I hear a yell. Step back into my maths room and two boys are having a fight in the middle of the room. Excellent. Sort all that out and order them back in at lunch time for detention. When I return to the science class, one of the boys has managed to catch his trousers on a chair and is now causing a nice little scene. More fun.
Period 2 is spent sorting out the incident sheets for the fight and then trying to fix my tutor group documentation.
Period 3: Year 10. That kid, A, is back in my class. He saunters in late, uniform a mess, no stationery. Finally get him to open up his book. Lots of back chat so I ask him to leave the room to calm down. He comes back in and settles a bit, although he is still trying to push the boundaries. End of the lesson he thrusts his red report card in my face. "Sign it," he demands. How rude! I begin my lecture on politeness and how he is meant to put his report card on my desk at the start of the lesson. He starts kicking off, and then, the final straw. "You won't sign my report because I'm black and you don't like that". I am still so cross that he's said this that I have nothing more to say.
Period 4 was spent fuming and sorting out incident reports for him and another rather less naughty boy from that class.
Lunchtime: manage my detainees and plan for the afternoon, whilst trying to ignore day's drama so far. Also call the annoyed mother of a boy in my tutor group - he is studying Urdu when he asked to be in Spanish. Urdu?! Walk down the stairs and am about to leave the maths block. See a kid's head fly into the main door, and then two boys tearing pieces out of each other. Struggle to get the door open, but thankfully another teacher appears and yanks them apart.
Period 5: Year 9s after lunch woulda been trouble, but actually they were good as gold.
Tutor time: also manageable, despite issuing them with spelling lists! I vow to get my form under control. Have to keep one behind for constant talking.
And finally, just when I think I can get out of there, I check my pigeon hole. Three incident sheets for crazy H. I haven't seen him since morning registration, but clearly he has been causing trouble. Bunking lessons, calling teachers "pr*cks and bullsh*t, and my personal favourite....hiding in bushes and refusing to come out to go to lessons. We have no Head of Year at the moment so I have no clue what I'm supposed to do to sort him out.
It's a good thing I love drama.
My horoscope today:
The solar eclipse in Virgo suggests major life changes are imminent for many Virgos. You cannot remain the same and events from as long ago as 2003 are finally being sorted out. Don't try to tread the middle ground. The energy of these times says you have to come off the fence and make choices. So far this year you've been pulled from pillar to post, seemingly at the mercy of unpredictable changes. But you have a chance to break the mould, throw it away and begin again. It's time to take some small chances.
That all sounds fun doesn't it? My favourite bit is "the energy of these times". Right.
Lesson 1: Year 7 (the x half of the year) were meant to complete their initial assessment test. First 15 minutes all good. Then one of the lads from my tutor group knocks on the door. "Miss, none of our class know where we're supposed to be for lesson 1". Oh dear. Leave my class for 5 minutes while I pop over to the main school. Lo and behold there are two Year 8 groups without teachers or classrooms milling about in the main corridor. Was surprised that things hadn't kicked off already; give them 5 more minutes and trouble would definitely start. One of the SLT is there trying to sort them out. She says she desperately needs the SLT chap in charge of timetabling. He's currently teaching in the room opposite where I am so I offer to briefly cover his room while he sorts out these kids. Obviously this takes up the whole lesson and he's not seen until break. Sooo, back in the maths block I am switching between my Year 7 maths test and the Year 7 science lesson next door. In the science lesson I have the kids drawing the equipment from their last lesson experiment and writing up methods. Have my eye on the other class too. Suddenly I hear a yell. Step back into my maths room and two boys are having a fight in the middle of the room. Excellent. Sort all that out and order them back in at lunch time for detention. When I return to the science class, one of the boys has managed to catch his trousers on a chair and is now causing a nice little scene. More fun.
Period 2 is spent sorting out the incident sheets for the fight and then trying to fix my tutor group documentation.
Period 3: Year 10. That kid, A, is back in my class. He saunters in late, uniform a mess, no stationery. Finally get him to open up his book. Lots of back chat so I ask him to leave the room to calm down. He comes back in and settles a bit, although he is still trying to push the boundaries. End of the lesson he thrusts his red report card in my face. "Sign it," he demands. How rude! I begin my lecture on politeness and how he is meant to put his report card on my desk at the start of the lesson. He starts kicking off, and then, the final straw. "You won't sign my report because I'm black and you don't like that". I am still so cross that he's said this that I have nothing more to say.
Period 4 was spent fuming and sorting out incident reports for him and another rather less naughty boy from that class.
Lunchtime: manage my detainees and plan for the afternoon, whilst trying to ignore day's drama so far. Also call the annoyed mother of a boy in my tutor group - he is studying Urdu when he asked to be in Spanish. Urdu?! Walk down the stairs and am about to leave the maths block. See a kid's head fly into the main door, and then two boys tearing pieces out of each other. Struggle to get the door open, but thankfully another teacher appears and yanks them apart.
Period 5: Year 9s after lunch woulda been trouble, but actually they were good as gold.
Tutor time: also manageable, despite issuing them with spelling lists! I vow to get my form under control. Have to keep one behind for constant talking.
And finally, just when I think I can get out of there, I check my pigeon hole. Three incident sheets for crazy H. I haven't seen him since morning registration, but clearly he has been causing trouble. Bunking lessons, calling teachers "pr*cks and bullsh*t, and my personal favourite....hiding in bushes and refusing to come out to go to lessons. We have no Head of Year at the moment so I have no clue what I'm supposed to do to sort him out.
It's a good thing I love drama.
My horoscope today:
The solar eclipse in Virgo suggests major life changes are imminent for many Virgos. You cannot remain the same and events from as long ago as 2003 are finally being sorted out. Don't try to tread the middle ground. The energy of these times says you have to come off the fence and make choices. So far this year you've been pulled from pillar to post, seemingly at the mercy of unpredictable changes. But you have a chance to break the mould, throw it away and begin again. It's time to take some small chances.
That all sounds fun doesn't it? My favourite bit is "the energy of these times". Right.
