End of 06-07 School Year

I am just about end my 4th year teaching at my current school. The freshmen I taught 4 years ago are graduating. One is even going to Harvard on a full scholarship! My favorite class of students will be seniors and most will be taking half their classes at the college (our school is not very challenging obviously).

I look back and am shocked by all that has transpired in those 4 years. We've had 3 principals (only one was good and he was railroaded out of town). It seems there is some scandal every year, some public--some hush hush. Last year was probably my best, all things considered. Where as this year has been the worst. Most days I had to force myself out of bed, every morning I would mutter " I hate teaching."

The only highlight of my day being Debate class. It was like the old days in the Coffee houses or Dennys just shootin' the shit with friends about politics and current events. Being in that class gave me hope for the future, that not all students were mindless lemmings content on doing everything they're told or the opposite...doing nothing at all.

I experienced the worst class ever since moving here (still not quite as bad as Little Rock), my English 1 repeaters...dwindled down from 22 to 10.

I was implied as a racist, by a woman who has definite issues with white people and whose daughter turned out to be a spoiled, little brat who plays her race card when things don't go her way. Oh and it was also implied that my drama class was not an important class.

And speaking of drama, I was not only kicked out of the auditorium by the wrestling class, but was denied the ability to charge a make-up lab fee even though multiple other classes do it. My class was described as "not a real drama department." When this school realizes sports are not the only thing in life things may turn around, but when art class are deemed a joke this school will only continue to fail.

As I look into the next school year I fear things will only worsen. We are losing our best administrator (she deserves her new posting). The "good-ole' boy" gang is only growing and is the reverse racism troupe. Teacher's with any salt to them are leaving left and right. Women's intuition tells me things will only worsen next year...two more years and I get to keep my pension...that is the mantra...2 more years. If this country can survive 8 years of Bush, I figure I can survive 6 years of APHS...