Backflips and Breakthroughs

Easter holidays are here!!

Drove home in the sunshine, pile of books/tests/mocks on the passenger seat beside me, singing along to the radio and feeling *good*. But Skinny Love comes on the radio and the next thing I'm wondering why I can taste salt. I hadn't realised I'd begun to cry.

I've heard that song a few times since Tom's funeral and whilst it takes me back it doesn't always make me cry. It's never caught me so unexpectedly though. Maybe it's because I'm tired. Scrap that - I'm exhausted. Never in my life before yesterday have I gone to bed at 6pm (admittedly I got up again at 7.30 to eat/do work, but I just couldn't carry on without sleep first!). I am so ready for this holiday.

The kids were WILD today! And I do mean, wild.* For a moment I knew how nursery teachers feel. And monkey-trainers, although my apes didn't appear to be even remotely trained. Where is the 'dislike' button?



(Weird, huh? I hate monkeys.)

*Having said that they were wild, today we had no backflips, which meant that my heart rate remained largely normal for the entire hour with that class. (Seriously, Monday's lesson - I discovered I have most of the school gymnastic team in my class. And they decided to showcase their routine for me. Their ordinary teacher LOVED it. I was panicking like a... crazy, panicky thing... "No no no don't do it! [Oh, can't watch!]" The lighting in that room is LOW. Their backflips were HIGH. (They tried to do them off the desks, initially, but I managed to override the class teacher on that one). So they settled for doing them on the floor - safer, right? Well, maybe, but everytime their hair brushed the carpet I felt a little more sick. It was the kind of routine you would pay to see. But I would willingly have paid them to NOT do it during my lesson...).



But, today everyone remained in their seats - bonus! AND I made a major breakthrough with one child who is surrounded by C.P. issues: he spoke to me. He arrived early to my lesson - presumably trying to avoid being in the crowded corridors. I smiled, said 'morning' - cue awkward silence whilst he stared blankly at me and I carried on setting up my laptop, trying to look busy and hoping other kids would arrive soon. After a while, I heard "It's nearly the holidays, miss." Didn't recognise the voice. Turned round - still only him in the room. He doesn't sound at all how I imagined he would. Still - A.Mazing. On the way out, a quiet "have a good birthday miss". My word C, I could have hugged you.


But anyway, who decided it would actually be a good idea to put the end of term assessments (in exam conditions) on the last day of term??
When I am fully qualified, the last day of term shall be reserved solely for DVDs. I shall choose a few of my then-favourite films, whack them onto the projector at 8.30am and allow kids to file in and out every hour until it reaches 3pm. I may even share my popcorn with the lucky ones.

A Pupil Broke My Heart Today...

I have a real thing for the underdog children.

I realise how wrong that sounds - but hold off calling the police because it's really quite innocent. But, I have a couple of rough classes at the moment and seem to - unintentionally - get on best with the kids in my classes who everyone else seems to despise. I root for them. I talk to them in the corridor. I defend them when the staffroom turns on them like wolves and a chipmunk - and I always get eaten alive, because funnily enough experienced teachers don't always like to hear that the trainee doesn't agree with their bitter description of their nemesis.


This week, though, the boys I have been defending have let me down. Big time. More than that - (brace yourself for that immortal line) - they have really, REALLY let themselves down.

In fact, they could only be described as purebred idiots. Imbeciles. Fools. Twits. Tw*ts, even. Absolute flaming F'wits.

I'm only going to tell you about one today because I only have the time/mental stamina for one!

There is a current epidemic throughout the school for fighting. It only started recently, but has escalated with terrifying speed. The fights get more dangerous and more frequent every day. Only year 7 are not infected - but it's probably only a matter of time.

So, during tutor time today I overhear a conversation which makes me - literally - want to scream. And weep. And shake the child involved until his brains fall out because he clearly isn't using them.

Said boy - N - is in my year 11 class. They're predicted E grades - some Ds. N, however, is desperate for a C and together we're going to make sure he gets it. He is a lovely guy, works SO SO SO hard and is always friendly - very popular with his classmates.

He threatened someone with a weapon today, and then beat them unconscious. In front of a small number of teachers - most of whom were too afraid to physically intervene because of the extreme violence and the fact that there were weapons involved.

Hearing about fights at school is always sad.
But to hear that it was one of my favourite pupils...

I was just gutted.

What is going on in school at the moment? There seems to be no reason, other than bored and the rain (I've learnt that teachers blame a lot of things on the weather).

Bring on the Easter hols!