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As a Teacher, This Was a Terrible Week
This week, I’ve been a bit non-responsive and absent from everything besides work. I’ve seen messages from friends and not had the wherewithal to respond to them. I’ve been running less.
As a special education teacher in Baltimore City, this is my third year. And this was my worst week of the year. Student behaviors were the worst I’ve experienced and had to handle so far this school year, and there were some class periods I felt I could barely teach. I wanted to call out of work to take a mental health day at some point, but I didn’t.
I understand everyone has very difficult weeks. But something this week caused me and the majority of co-workers I work with to have an awful week dealing with student misbehaviors. And some of these misbehaviors were personal even if the student didn’t intend for them to be. One student told me to get hit by a truck, said she would “beat my fucking ass” and told me to go back to China — I understand I am an adult, but how do I not take words like that seriously?
After the pandemic, student misbehaviors have been awful not only at my school, but across the country. The mental health challenges of students not being in school for almost a year and a half and the pandemic is giving schools…
