sorry I haven't posted in ages. I try to maintain a policy not to talk/write/blog/otherwise make contact when I have nothing good to say and, i fear, there has been very little good of late. for those of you who don't have the film "princess bride" memorized in its entirety, the "pit of despair" is a torture chamber used by count rugen (aka the six-fingered man) to torture the charming westley for being cuter than him, essentially. the torture renders westley "mostly dead," but miracle max comes up with a magic pill thing that brings him back to life. I think it's fair to say that lately I have been feeling far more like westley than I'd care to.
my classroom has some incredibly challenging students with what I refer to as "explosive behaviors.". if you have seen me/my hands and arms lately, I think you'd agree explosive is an appropriate adjective. I have dealt with problem behaviors before. no sweat (well, only a little sweat, maybe). my classroom has aides that are more than willing to help, but have no training for working with our kind of students. my coworkers fall into the same category (I feel very lucky to have so many great people willing to help me out, btw). I have trained people before. no sweat. I am a brand new teacher who has a lot a lot a lot to learn in order to be a competent, successful teacher. I'm a fast learner. no sweat.
it is this tragic combination that has been getting me down. it feels nearly impossible to run a classroom while simultaneously training people, learning new things myself, battling the challenges faced by any new teacher, handling a group of students hugely varied in academic ability, teaching a variety of lessons, conducting data collection and assessments, and restraining students when problem behaviors err on the side of dangerous. there has been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
but, just as I was feeling "mostly dead," my principal pulled a miracle max and has presented me not with a magic pill, but with the promise of more help in the classroom. and a hint of a light has appeared at the end of the dark tunnel.
