Day 36: Back to Black

After a week off, it was never going to be easy making it back in to school. As one colleague noted, you get used to spending time with people who are nice to you, and so getting back to school is a bit of a culture shock.

I managed to get in pretty early and got straight to work sorting out photocopying and such like, panicking when I realised I couldn't find some of the stuff I needed and then panicking more when I saw a note on the board to say that the year 11 scheme wasn't ready and I should do some poetry instead (argh!)

I was feeling pretty stressed, to put it mildly. Luckily I had period 1 off so could rush around and sort out the final pieces. I had year 8 second period and i wasn't looking forward to them at all.

As it happened, they were horrible. I was stressing at first that I was doing a new scheme of work - Macbeth - and I wasn't confident about teaching it. I'm aware that Shakespeare can be very dull and I didn't want to make it so. A new boy turned up that had been transferred into my class for, as it turned out, bullying and extortion or something similarly horrific. He's a big lad, and OF COURSE is friends with my gang of outlaws, and I sent him out pretty sharpish because he was being unbearable: he wouldn't sit where I told him to, then wouldn't sit down when he finally agreed to go there, then turned around and chatted to the people behind him. He initially refused to go to the behaviour rota classroom, but I managed to get him to go. I returned to the class who were pissing me off so much I tried to make them work in silence but of course the little gang were obnoxious so I got all flustered and yelled "I SAID IN SILENCE!" which was a little uncool. I had found a rap of Macbeth to play them, which I did at the end, but otherwise I stuck to the rather dull scheme. I only have them one more time this week (tomorrow) so I'll relax after that. I don't know what to do about them. The girls are so rude to me, the boys are disruptive, and I just don't know what to do.

After that hilarity I began to panic about year 9 after the break, so set up the classroom then headed out for a cigarette. I was DELIGHTED to hear that I was confused; they were going to be after lunch and so I had year 7 next. Not only that, but the whole of year 9 were going to be watching an anti-homophobic bullying play so I wouldn't have to teach, although I would have to sit with them. More on that later.

Year 7 turned up and it was a little confuddled because I had to sort out the classroom but luckily two of my kids offered to help give out folders. We got the lesson going, and I had a new girl join - she was in the year 7 transition group so I sat her next to an able girl. Unfortunately I was interrupted several times as the year 7 class had had maths in period 1 and the teacher's mobile was stolen. What it was doing out in the classroom, I have no idea, but the pupils were taken out one at a time and questioned, then they had to empty their bags and pockets onto their desks. We had some peace for a bit, but then in the last 20 minutes the school's PC turned up and yelled at them, saying that if someone in the class didn't own up they'd all be sent home. The lesson was a bit of a write off, as the kids couldn't talk about anything else, and were upset at being accused, but I added fuel to the fire with my "evil prevails when good men do nothing" speech which even I didn't buy. As they left I asked one to stay behind to explain that, as horrible as the situation was (I think he was suspect #1) as long as he was honest and didn't take it personally it would be fine.

Anyway, I had lunch next, and managed a mouthful or so of my pasta then went to sort out my year 11 lesson - I decided to go over the unseen non-fiction they'd struggled with and answer it as a group. At the end of lunch my colleague came in for a little pep talk, which was much appreciated. I was still feeling pretty stressed about the whole thing so I really felt better after a little positive reinforcement.

Year 9 turned up and we lined them up and registered them, then I took them down to wait outside the theatre. I felt like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop when the fire drill happens the first time and he exits the building with screaming kids slung over his shoulders to find the rest of the school quietly lined up in silence. Well, it wasn't that bad, but my kids were definitely the rowdiest. We were eventually called in the kids sat down. I ended up sitting next to A, with whom I have a strange relationship that consists of me shushing him like a nagging aunt. He does respond though, so it's good to have that at least. I actually am developing a soft spot for the little guy. The play was quite good, but it was a bit embarrassing when one of the characters revealed she was a lesbian and "lost her virginity to a girl" because all the kids went "EEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW!" Another amusing part was when they were in the locker room and the male actors were topless - one of them was well-endowed in the pectoral region and so a girl in front of me screamed "MAN BOOBS!" which made me laugh as well as the rest of the kids. I left before the end to get to my lesson in time for year 11, and so missed the lesbian kiss apparently. Shame. Apparently the kids asked sensible questions at the end, which was nice to hear.

Year 11 crawled in, and I basically said to them that I too was tired and fed up, so if we got through the work together we could watch whatever they wanted on youtube. We had a nice lesson actually, reading through the passage again and I stopped to question for understanding, looking up photos on google images to show them tripe, haddock and saffron, among other things. We constructed the answer together, with me typing, so I hope it was useful. We'll finish it tomorrow. As it happens, the video requested on youtube was some awful crazy-frog inspired gummy bear song which was terrible.

I stayed behind till 7 to sort out photocopying for tomorrow, not wanting the same mad rush in the morning, and came home to some tasty soup.

I know I was feeling more positive at the end of half term, so I am pretty gutted to feel crappy again, and to know that there's 34 working days left till the next break, but I ain't going nowhere. Well, don't quote me on that.