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there was an effing fistfight in class today

oh yeah. right there. it was just after the bell rang and the kids were still getting settled in, getting books, sharpening pencils, the usual chaos. i'm telling billy which page to trun to when an avalanche of cussing comes tumbling over my head and i turn around to see sally pushing jenny and then they start swinging!!! and i know this isn't what you're supposed to do, but all i could think of was getting them to stop so i got myself in the middle telling/yelling them to stop and it's getting crazy there, w/sally punching jenny in the nose right past my face and jenny is doing less fighting, so i try to push her away ansd get her out of the room and then my vp walks in!!! gah!!! so jenny is bleeding from her nose and the vp takes both girls away and i start to cry. which shocks my seventh period class who have given me the most trouble this year. they were actually worried about me. there was dead silence for about 5 minutes. i told them i was crying b/c i was upset this happened in class and b/c jenny had been doing so amazingly well this year and neither girl can afford to get in trouble. mz.d came in a little later and asked what was up so i told her--she told me later that one of the boys who had asked ot use the bathroom and actually come by and told her to come talk to me b/c i was having a bad day. they can be so crazy sweet sometimes. i know that ultimately both girls are responsible for their own actions, but i feel responsible for the whole thing. i mean, what kind of environment have i created in my classroom that these girls think nothing of going at it? it's middle school i know they were not thinking. i am still ultimately responsible for the safety of all my students and i failed them both. anybody who saw me for the rest of the afternoon commented on how tired i looked. on the plus side, we had a naked teeth party in my seventh grade social studies class b/c leslie got her braces off and she couldn't stop smiling. it was so cute. also another girl decided she was going to be me for halloween. somehow i doubt it is actually going to happen, but still it's a nice compliment:)
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Published Tuesday, October 16, 2007 8:26 PM by mz.w

Comments

 

MysteryTeacher said:

First of all, don't take it personally.  The girls were obviously already having a problem before they came into class.  They brought it with them.

Second, you did everything right.  You separated the girls as quickly as you could.  Not the smartest thing to do but the quickest as far as the safety of the girls went.

Crying?  That is a shock reaction.  It is OK.  I mean OKAY!  It really helps you and the kids get back on track and aligned.  So, talk to the class and keep up the good work.

Let me just give you a memory:  I was teaching 7th and 8th grade 20 years ago and I was on bus duty when two HUGE boys literally fell off the bus with fists flying.  I blew my whistle until my lungs almost burst and then got in the middle of it.  I yanked those two boys apart and almost got hit in the face for it.  I could have really been hurt.  I was blessed.  However, the principal told me never to get between boys fighting again.  This was before girls started doing it on a regular basis.  I never have.  I just do my best to stop it other ways.  However, later one of the boys came to me and apologized because he told me he would have been more scared than imaginable if he had hit me.  He was afraid I would have hit him back. (I have never hit someone's child before or ever will)  I am just a strict teacher and I guess they have a fear of me. Either that or respect.  I don't know, he didn't explain.

October 17, 2007 4:04 PM

About mz.w

i teach 7th and 8th grade langauge arts and social studies. i'm going into year 3 of teaching social studies and year two of teaching language arts on my own. i have a single subject credential in social science. my goal is ditch language arts entirely. i love teaching! ah-ha moments are the best!!!