Those Little...

You ever get so frustrated to the point of wanting to cry, but you can't because you're just so angry?

As of right now, I'm not sure what's going on anymore. I'm pretty sure common sense has been forcibly thrown out the window and children are having run of the town...uh, school.

How else can all the crap that has happened...well, happen?

These kids need a whole lot of stability and consequences.

These kids need a super nanny.

But what these kids have is baby-glove-consequences.

And me.

And I don't know about those baby-glove-consequences, but I'm ready to do this. These kids can either act right, or go down to the Staff room and tell the adults why I sent them. Hell, I might even go over to Daiso, find myself some nice stationary, so I can write down the truth (because I can't trust them to tell them why they were sent), and then tell the student to go bring it to the VP.

"Today, I told the teacher she'll die."

"Today, I told a student if they wanted to die."

"I'd rather scream across the classroom than listen to the teacher."

"I decided to assault another student."

This list could go on.

No, really...it can.

I don't know about other English teachers abroad, but is this common behavior in your classes? I can only speak of my own teaching experiences and what I remember from when I was in school. I can never remember things getting so OUT OF HAND...

And back in the states, we had a whole list of consequences. There was no tolerance for violence in school.

Detention.

In-school suspension.

Out-of-school suspension.

Expulsion.

You can ask me if these things exist at this school, and I can honestly tell you that only one does...and its explusion.

Listen. I understand when things go bad, you want to get rid of the problem. And sometimes, that's what you have to do. But before you do that, you have to work with the problem. And I mean actually work with the problem.

Not just hope for the best.

For good behavior, reward it.

For bad behavior, acknowledge it and work through it. Together.

Clearly, a kid has anger issues. And clearly, many of the students don't know how to express themselves without getting physical, period.

So...less baby gloves and more actually helping these kids.

At this point, you might be wondering, "Damn Toya, that's a good point. But what are you doing to make a difference in these kids lives?"
Fair question, Fam.

And I'm not saying that I'll hold a culture class titled, 'mad, black woman' and teach them the ins and outs of where that stereotype came from, but these kids will learn something new about me.

I've already instilled my 'heads down' policy. I only use it when it gets too loud and no one is listening. Today, all I wanted them to do was write their vocabulary words. Instead, I had shouting across the classroom and students not staying in their seats. Three minutes in, I had had enough. Yesterday, a student assaulted another student with some scissors. This child could've been very badly hurt. Thankfully, there's only a few scratches. I have no idea what started that altercation or who said what, but frankly...it shouldn't have gotten that far to begin with.

That's why, three minutes in, heads down was activated. But, it was a little different than normal...

I put a touch of...'if ya'll don't put cho'heads down r'ght now, I'mma give you a reason ta be screamin' across this room' into my tone. It was the quickest I've ever seen them shut up and quiet down.

Oh ho ho, Toya-teacher don't play.

And what a wonderful lesson to learn!

That being said...

I'm about to go teach a class with all of my students in it, so that's roughly twenty students, and it's to practice singing an English song for the festival next week. And we both know, things are about to get wild.

#SaveOurToya

If you wanna keep up with the shenangians that are...well, my students at this point...go ahead and hit the 'follow' button on the right! And if something spoke to you at all during this post, please don't hesitate to leave a comment!