Hell’s Classroom

Happy Birthday Dave and Andy!

I know that it is extremely important to give deaf students visuals and activities.  This not only is the best way for them to learn, but it keeps them occupied and most importantly, prevents insanity on my part.  Well, I thought that I had prepared some very good lessons for the day and then everything went to shit.  One student just started crying.  I don’t know what happened.  Another student refused to listen to anything I said.  Correction, NONE of the students listen to me.  I feel like I have given this a very solid effort.  I was so frustrated I told everyone to get out.  I canceled class and went back to my house and took a nap.

Well, after my nap I was feeling a little better and after I enjoyed a delicious mango (mangos make everything better) I was slowly getting my motivation back.  I keep telling myself that this is a learning experience and that the harder I try, the more I will get out of it.

Tuesday rolls around and I think it was the worst day ever.  There were seven kids crying and at least three rather brutal fights.

I was furious.

The only way I’m going to discipline these kids is if I follow through.  After a few days of threatening them with the possibility of sending them to the head teacher’s office, I finally began to follow through.  I told one student to leave and go to the head teacher’s office.  He ignored me.  I demanded.  He ignored.  So what did I do?  I dragged him there.  He immediately starting crying once we got there.  The head teacher is a nice guy and he only asked the student what the problem was and that he apologize to me.  It was good that he and the class knew I am not playing around anymore.

About an hour later, another student started hitting the student next to him.  Again, I told him to go to the head teacher’s office.  Again he refused, and again I had to drag him there myself.  He too, started crying as soon as we left the room.  I hate it when they start crying, but its something that I have to learn to deal with.  The head teacher made him apologize and then we headed back to the classroom.

Right before I was going to dismiss the class for lunch a fight broke out.  I think it started over a pencil, but I’m not really sure.  These two kids were really going at it.  One of them started bleeding and bawled uncontrollably.  But I think she was the one who started it.  My plan was to let the rest of the class leave, and that I was going to attempt to talk to the two students myself and hopefully broker a peace agreement.  Of course, both students ignored me and took off with the rest of the class for lunch.  I followed them to the cafeteria and before the entire school demanded that they come to me.  Again, they ignored.

I gave up and went to eat my own lunch with the other teachers, deciding I would confront the issue after lunch.  I told the head teacher that I would bring some students to his office because they were fighting.  So after lunch I managed to find one of the students and I led him to the office.  He was crying the whole way there signing “sorry” over and over again.  Sorry doesn’t cut it anymore.  I’m sick of this shit.  I left him with the head teacher and took off in search of the other instigator.  I found her in the dorm and she actually obeyed me and followed.  However, about halfway to the office, she suddenly protested and tried to run away.  Fortunately, one of the older, more mature students in the school was nearby and he grabbed her before she could run away.  She was frantically kicking and screaming.  I realized that everyone, the students and teachers, were watching this event, and it would be a good time for me to really make a statement.  So what did I do?  I picked her up and carried her to the office, enduring the little fists of fury and piercing screams the whole way.

Ever since that day, things have been much improved.  However, there is still the occasional outbreak and I still feel like I’m managing a house of cards, but its nothing compared to the first few weeks of pandemonium.  Furthermore, there is another teacher helping me out.  I still teach almost all of the lessons, but her presence alone makes the classroom manageable.  Sometimes I feel like she doesn’t really need to be there because I think I finally have a grip on things but, I’m not going to take that risk.