We have one quarter left of this school year.

I’m not one to wish things away. Good, bad, or otherwise, this life is about the experiences, and wishing those away doesn’t feel right.

This is year though. This year has been a tough one, tougher than online teaching, than last year with Covid running amok and kids with masks. I was sharing with a co-worker that this year is just wearing me out because I feel so ineffective as a teacher.

I know I’m preaching to the choir about all the things that are different this year, so it’s hard to complain too much because everyone has seen crazy stuff.

I don’t put up a countdown for the end of the school year. Again, I don’t like to wish things away. And I know there are students who have done absolutely awesome work. The problem, they are the ones who get shouted down.

One of the huge changes I see is very similar to that last sentence. We have students who believe that if they talk the loudest, they are right. It’s been modeled on the national stage for years now, but it seems to have reared it’s ugly head, at least in our school, this year.

How do we cope? A lot deep breathing, a lot of positive self-talk, and a lot of just going “brain dead” (repeating the same things back to students, offering to argue at 3:20 when we leave, little things like that). They do work, but I know inside, it eats me up BECAUSE I have so many awesome kids.

This 6th class has been a real treat. They have their moments and I struggle with one section, but for the most part, they are a really nice group, which makes those behaviors even more difficult for me to stomach.

I don’t know. Kids have changed. Parents have changed. I’m feeling old and out of place more and more.

Again, not to wish things away because there are many great experiences left for our students.

We’ll just make sure to breathe and focus on the good.

Because that’s what we do.