Wake me when October ends
October 19, 2008 by mr. g
October is not a good month for new teachers. October is the month you lose that initial adrenaline of “wow, I’m a teacher. I’m going to change lives” October is the month your ‘honeymoon’ period with students fades away. October is the month when students start to test you. Me: “Alright, you guys got that? You understand?” Student: “F*** NO I don’t!” (and then the whole rest of the class stares, awaiting your response).
After putting hours and hours of sweat, stress, and work into your teaching, October is the month you realize you probably won’t reach every single student. That realization is heartbreaking, heartbreaking to the point that you don’t want to do it anymore. You start to think, “what’s the point?” You start blaming the administration for handing you too rough a schedule. And you start to wonder how much greener the grass is on the other side.
Couple this with the horrifying reality that NO extended break exists in sight within a months time, and you feel suffocated.
Last year, October was the month I left ALC. This year, I have nights where I want to throw in the towel once again. One day I’m flying, the next, I’ll wake and hide under my blanket and hope responsibility will take a chill pill for once.
Last Thursday, I loved my job. This Sunday night, I feel overwhelmed by the weight of another 5-day week. October days have my emotions on an erratic track.
I’d like to send a shout out to all those who look out. The phone calls, the check-ins, the “how was your day?’s” – the positivity when you hear that it’s good, the concern when you hear that it’s bad. I know I’ll vent and complain over and over, but it’s comforting to know there’s folks out there who care, who understand, and who root for my success as a teacher – for the success of my students. I’m beyond appreciative.
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Hang in there Mr. G. By Thanksgiving you’ll have A LOT to be thankful for
I agree, October is very hard on everyone; families, students, teachers, administrators.
I know that our family usually experiences some kind of major upheaval in October, and we spent last week having a horrible time as a family. I teach and so does my husband, so it hits us really hard.
Keep going, hang in there.
October does have that draining feeling where you’re stuck in limbo between summer and winter and the kids who are struggling are already on their downward spiral. I agree that the honeymoon does fade, and to top it off the elementary kids go crazy during Hollween.
This is a crazy time of yera, and just take comfort in the small fact that x-mass is only getting closer. Keep up the good posts.
I’m actually curious what your response/reaction was to “F*** NO I don’t!” ….
.. do tell …
Keep it up, though, Mr. G. This is a unique opportunity for the public to share in an important side of the story. Thanks for sharing your struggles and your victories. I look forward to sharing these stories with my students (pre-service teachers). I hope some of them can do something similar. Thanks again. Found this via Dan Meyer (dy/dan), btw.
@Bronx2020: With all instances of extreme defiance, I deal somewhat the same way. I’ll first ask the student if he/she could step outside. If they agree, I’ll first give the rest of the class something to do, then I’ll walk out to speak with the student. I’ll then find a way to understand what’s up with them, then let em know what I expect and tell em exactly why I feel they acted inappropriately. Straight up. No jokin’ around.
In my experience, if you take away a defiant student’s stage, they become human beings once again. They’ll agree that what they did was wrong and they understand what they need to change.
If they don’t agree to step outside, as was the case during THIS particular instance, I’ll simply say “alright, we’ll talk about it later” which can come off as passive, but the last thing I want is to completely stop class because of one student. And unless that student is EXTREMELY defiant, I’ll let it go for a sec. But the key is to let the class know you aren’t simply letting things fly. You WILL deal with it.
Eventually, I’ll communicate with the student. Whether if it’s immediately after class, immediately before our next class, a phone call, or a letter. I like to try and gauge the human side of things before I call in reinforcements (in the form of referrals and communicating with parents).
In this case, it was definitely uncomfortable for a good 30 secs after the comment. The student refused to step outside, but eventually came back to earth and began his work. I then caught him before he left to speak with him.
You will be fine. Thanksgiving and Christmas will let you rebuild. Just don’t take too much of your work with you, meaning the emotional part. They are kids in flux. Tomorrow they will have a totally different personality/crisis/drama/attitude!
This month has been crazy for me as well. I have days where I am ready to lock the door, hand over the keys, and get a job in retail. Those days usually follow the days of great teaching experiences. At least the good days outnumber the bad ones. It’s hard to remember that while in the middle of a bad day.
October’s almost done! 3 more days!