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he walked out on his 3rd period

a teacher i work with walked out on his thrid period class this week. and i don't mean just walked out and away down the hall. he grabbed his stuff, walked out the door and got in his truck. and sat there with the door open. i know all this b/c i was talking to one of my students outside my room when his kids started to come pouring out the door. i told them to go back inside, they told me he left them, i asked what they meant, they clarified, i made sure they all went back inside and closed the door and tried to figure out what to do while checking on my class as they did their seat work. our wing parks behind our classrooms and i happened to look out and see him in his truck. i am so freaked out i am practically shaking and the adrenaline is starting to pump and i'm going into crisis mode: who do i take care of? who do i call if he actually leaves? should i leave my class to go check on his? do i go talk to him? ACK!!! so i go check on him(i am maybe 20 ft away from my classroom and can see them all through the windows) and tell him what's up w/his kids he says he doesn't care and i walk away...and he goes back to his class. i finish 3rd, finish 4th, 5th is my prep so i go down and listen at the door and everything is business as usual...check in at lunch and...yeah. he's tired of caring and having the kids not care in return. this 8th grade class had me in tears several times last year and i don't know how i would have made it w/out a TON of support. my 7period 8th graders had me crying and wanting to quit a couple of times this year too, but our reactions to the situation were so different. i could never get as far as my car w/out calling someone else to come watch my kids. the hallway, or my vp's office, maybe. he's been doing this for 11 years...job abdandonment is better than a lawsuit for hitting a kid, is his theory. and he's probably right. but oh... and things returned to normal for the rest of the week... also, admin knows. they chatted. i just...he's been helping me out w/lesson plans and activities so we've been working together a bit this year and i didn't think...this job is crazy.
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Published Sunday, January 13, 2008 7:20 PM by mz.w

Comments

 

MysteryTeacher said:

My prayers go out to him.  It is difficult to teach kids who don't care.  Jr. High is especially hard.  I started in Jr. High and it is a fluke (ESL endorsement) that moved me down to elementary.  Maybe he should try a lower grade for a few years.  Get his perspective back.  Walking out could have been really dangersous.  I remember a sub at our school who did that and left.  Finally one of the kids went to the office and told them.  Guess who never got hired in our district again.

January 14, 2008 1:09 PM
 

mz.w said:

he IS working at a lower grade; he used to teach high school. he is like me in that respect; we don't even like 6th graders. they are a seriously tough bunch of kids in some ways and i don't think he knows quite how to handle the situation for himself. i only made it through last year with a TON of support and the divinely inspired knowledge that i am in the right place doing the right thing...i have given up, well i don't know if that's it exactly, but anyway, i have pushed aside the fact that so many of the kids don't care--about school, themselves or the future and just focus on the fact that i care: i care about my students as a whole, as individuals and i care about the subject matter and as long as they know i care, well, that's all i can do. i guess my educational pedagogy is this: you(the student) are a human being and by being a human being you deserve love and respect and boundries and freedom of choice. i will give you all these things, and while we're at it, let's learn some history ok? why history? it's fun, fascinating and actually useful. what, you don't think you so? let me show you and give you the tools for you to learn on your own. you say you reject history? you reject me? that's all right. i'm going to love you anyway. and i can only do all this b/c i know that God has done the same for me and God has sourrounded me w/people to support me and remind me that He loves me and that He loves my students even more than I love my students, and oh wow. i'm crying now. i'm tired.

January 15, 2008 11:21 PM
 

mz.w said:

i think there are some spelling errors there...

January 15, 2008 11:22 PM
 

MysteryTeacher said:

Wow!  I do know about tough classes.  I had to worst class ever last year.  I had 10 of the naughtiest kids ever.  I have heard that high school is easier than Jr. High.  The hormones are just too rampant there.  I know we are fighting an uphill battle with old fashioned learning vs. technology.  It is hard to get their attention when the games they play move so fast and are so exciting.  We were talking about this yesterday.  Education must come up with some new ideas to use technology to keep kids interested in learning.  I talked to a guy at the airport who creates video games, and I told him they all need to have an educational component.  If they don't, education will lose out.  He thought that was a fantastic idea.  

It is tough to keep going when the kids faces are blank or they are watching, or talking to each other rather than paying attention to the list.  Keep supporting your friend.  Keep praying for him.  Remind him that there are others out there who are interested in his welfare and praying for him too.  Me for one.  Linda

January 16, 2008 9:07 AM

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!!!