Things you didn't think you would ever say working at a high school:
"Why are you carrying around a fire extinguisher? Put it back! DO NOT put that hose in your mouth!"
Followed by things you don't expect to hear other teachers say in a high school:
"I had to confiscate the noose that he brought to school today".
Today, school was 100% drama. Start to finish, drama.
Three students were wearing onesie character jammies complete with face paint for no apparent reason, one student was painting her entire hand and arm in black paint, a girl refused to do any work because she was busy growing pot on an app on her phone, a kid was napping on the floor of the office... I could really go on and on.
The day ended when a guest speaker for the staff meeting introduced herself to me by showing me the name tag on her lanyard that indicated her name and what pronoun she prefers in reference to herself. Name (she/her). She explained that she would be speaking to us today about how to be mindful of using these type of name tags in order to show respect to others.
It was really the perfectly comical ending to the day.
This is life.
We have students doing absolutely no work at school, will likely not graduate and don't appear to be remotely interested in becoming contributing members of society, but our pressing issue for a staff meeting is how to be mindful of what pronoun to use when referencing gender confused/reassigned/transitioning student?
I get it, we need to be respectful of student's choices but really, if a student is mature enough to make the huge decision to make a gender transition I just feel like they should also be mature enough to understand if people in society don't innately know what pronoun to use when someone looks like they could be male or female.
I had to slip out to pick Matt up from the airport so I missed the presentation. But I did grab a staff meeting scone on my way out the door.
I look back on the day, picturing the faces of the students who drive me crazy by the fact that they are squandering an opportunity that is being handed to them, and I blink, and they are gone. I will not carry the burden of these students to my home, I will not lay awake stressing about what I can do to help them graduate. Nope. I will give them my 100% when I am there and hope that in some way I encourage them to work, teach them something new or at the minimum show them I care, and then I walk away and start it all again the next day.
"Why are you carrying around a fire extinguisher? Put it back! DO NOT put that hose in your mouth!"
Followed by things you don't expect to hear other teachers say in a high school:
"I had to confiscate the noose that he brought to school today".
Today, school was 100% drama. Start to finish, drama.
Three students were wearing onesie character jammies complete with face paint for no apparent reason, one student was painting her entire hand and arm in black paint, a girl refused to do any work because she was busy growing pot on an app on her phone, a kid was napping on the floor of the office... I could really go on and on.
The day ended when a guest speaker for the staff meeting introduced herself to me by showing me the name tag on her lanyard that indicated her name and what pronoun she prefers in reference to herself. Name (she/her). She explained that she would be speaking to us today about how to be mindful of using these type of name tags in order to show respect to others.
It was really the perfectly comical ending to the day.
This is life.
We have students doing absolutely no work at school, will likely not graduate and don't appear to be remotely interested in becoming contributing members of society, but our pressing issue for a staff meeting is how to be mindful of what pronoun to use when referencing gender confused/reassigned/transitioning student?
I get it, we need to be respectful of student's choices but really, if a student is mature enough to make the huge decision to make a gender transition I just feel like they should also be mature enough to understand if people in society don't innately know what pronoun to use when someone looks like they could be male or female.
I had to slip out to pick Matt up from the airport so I missed the presentation. But I did grab a staff meeting scone on my way out the door.
I look back on the day, picturing the faces of the students who drive me crazy by the fact that they are squandering an opportunity that is being handed to them, and I blink, and they are gone. I will not carry the burden of these students to my home, I will not lay awake stressing about what I can do to help them graduate. Nope. I will give them my 100% when I am there and hope that in some way I encourage them to work, teach them something new or at the minimum show them I care, and then I walk away and start it all again the next day.
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